Dragon, as a unique cultural cohesion and accumulation of our Chinese people, has taken root and is deeply hidden in the subconscious of each of us. Not only people's daily life, birth, old age, illness and death are almost all marked with dragon culture. From the perspective of dragon culture, the aesthetic consciousness of dragon culture has penetrated into all fields and aspects of our country's social culture. Dragon, in China, is connected with everything in the world. Dragon is a symbol of power, nobility and honor in traditional Chinese culture, as well as a symbol of luck and success. The reason why the dragon has such cultural symbolic significance has a lot to do with the incomparable magical power of the dragon in legends and myths: it soars in the sky and rides the mist, chases the waves when it descends into the sea, and controls the wind and rain in the world. But more importantly, it is because of the dragon’s incomparable magical power. For thousands of years, it has often been the "exclusive patent" of Chinese slaves and the supreme ruler of feudal society. It is synonymous with imperial power. Therefore, the emperor compares himself to the "real dragon emperor", and their bodies are called "dragon bodies" and the clothes they wear It is called "Dragon Robe", the chair they sit on is called "Dragon Chair", the cars and boats they ride on are called "Dragon Chariot", "Dragon Boat"... In short, everything related to their daily life is named "Dragon". The privilege of being above the rest. The relationship between dragon and imperial power has a long history, starting from the time of the Yellow Emperor. In the legendary era, the Yellow Emperor, who had the blood of a dragon, once patrolled around to observe the people's sentiments. He asked people to mine the copper from Shoushan Mountain and transport it to the foot of Jingshan Mountain to cast a tripod to commemorate his glorious victory in the war against Chiyou. After a period of time, the tripod was finally finished. Huangdi held a celebration ceremony in Jingshan Mountain to celebrate the completion of the giant tripod. Those invited to the ceremony were not only gods from all walks of life, but also people from all over the world. Everyone wanted to see what the tripod made by the Yellow Emperor looked like. When the time came, the emperor probably unveiled it in person. A bronze tripod that was more than three feet tall and as big as a vat appeared in front of gods and humans with dazzling golden light. Everyone admired it and stepped forward to take a closer look. The tripod was engraved with A vigorous swimming dragon shuttles among auspicious clouds, surrounded by ghosts, gods and various rare birds and animals from all directions. It can be said to be various and lifelike. While the people and gods were admiring the giant cauldron and the patterns on it with reverence, suddenly the sky was covered with thick clouds, blocking the sunlight. The sky quickly became dark, and everyone thought it was going to rain. Unexpectedly, a golden light penetrated the thick cauldron. From the cloud, a divine dragon wearing golden armor came out of the cloud. Its tail and lower body were held in the cloud, its head rested on the tripod, and its long dragon beard hung down from the tripod's feet to the ground. Huang Di understood that he had completed his mission in the world, and God sent a dragon to pick him up. He jumped up, climbed on the dragon's back, and flew back to heaven. The people in the world were reluctant to let such a virtuous and wise monarch like Huang Di go back. They pulled the dragon's beards to prevent him from leaving. As a result, many dragon beards were pulled off, but Huang Di and the dragon still left. It is said that when the dragon's beard fell on the ground, many small and slender grasses grew. People later called this grass "dragon's beard grass". Most of the famous monarchs in the legendary era had an inexplicable and unclear origin relationship with dragons. When Yao was in power, there was a great famine in the world, and floods were everywhere. In order to save the people, he ordered Gun to control the floods. Gun stole the soil from the Emperor of Heaven and used "blocking" methods to control the water, but his efforts were in vain. He was killed by the angry Emperor of Heaven on Mount Yu, where Zhulong happened to be the patron saint. The landowner in Yushan did not receive sunlight, so he relied on a candle held in Zhulong's mouth for lighting all year round, so Gun's body did not rot for three years. The Emperor of Heaven was afraid that Gun would resurrect to seek revenge on him, so he never stopped trying to prove the truth, so he sent a god named "Wu Dao", probably the "axe hand" in the sky, to go down to the world with a sword to spit on Gun's corpse. , when Wu Dao cut open Gun's belly, a horned dragon suddenly emerged from it, with a pair of pointed and sharp horns. It rolled and jumped a few times on the nearby hillside, and suddenly became a big dragon. It was Gun's son - Yu. Strangely enough, after Yu was born, Gun's body rolled down the Yuyuan and turned into a dragon, "raising its beard and shaking its scales, crossing the waves". Yu inherited his father's ambition and finally conquered the flood and won the respect of all people. Later, the old Shun obeyed the public opinion and abdicated the throne to Yu, and Yu became the founding monarch of the Xia Dynasty. This may be the reason why "the emperor is a real dragon" One of the historical basis for "Emperor". Another cultural symbolic meaning of the dragon is to be outstanding and different from the ordinary. The dragon is a divine creature, incomparable to other people, so people often call those who have noble aspirations, good behavior, great ability, ambition and achievements as "dragons". When Zhuge Liang and Ge Kongming were plowing the land in Nanyang before growing up, they called themselves Mr. Wolong compared to Guan Zhongleyi, which meant that they only had three ambitions but no talent. In Chinese, dragon and insect are relative. What is an insect? It is a snake.
Snakes, also known as long worms, can be found everywhere. They come in many varieties. They are common, not surprising, and not expensive at all. "Dragon and snake are mixed" means that good things and bad things are mixed together and it is difficult to distinguish. This is a phenomenon that cannot be explained biologically - the prototype of the dragon, or the basic biological animal of the dragon is the snake. The dragon and the snake are not just brothers, but at least they are from the same clan (the snake's nickname is also "dragon"), but the dragon Once separated from the snake, he will not pay any attention to the snake, and even "kill" the snake in order to show that he and the snake are not the same. The most typical one is the story of Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, who killed the white snake. It is said that Liu Bang's mother Liu Yu dreamed of having intercourse with a dragon and became pregnant and gave birth to Liu Bang. He rarely had great ambitions. On a wild trip, he encountered a big python blocking his way, and he immediately swung his sword to kill the snake. , breaking one's stomach and extracting gallbladder, became a good talk, and people at that time thought it was not vulgar. At the end of the Qin Dynasty, when the world was in chaos, Liu Bang took the opportunity to raise troops in Peixian County, defeated the heroes, established the Han Empire, and established the Liu family's 400-year legacy in the Han Dynasty. The dragon also symbolizes being outstanding and extraordinary. In ancient times, those wise men and scholars were also called "dragons". It is said that Confucius went to see Li Dan, the founder of Taoism, and did not speak a word for three days after returning. His disciples were very surprised and asked him: "Master, how did you teach Li Dan when you met him?" Confucius said: "I saw him. What he saw was a dragon that could change endlessly along the lines of yin and yang. I was speechless, how could I teach him?" It means that all the words are superfluous. Lao Dan is a dragon among men, a rare great sage. In addition, Zhuge Kongming was called "Mr. Wolong" when he was young. Cai Yong, a doctor in the Eastern Han Dynasty, drank hundreds of kilograms and fell drunk on the roadside. Everyone called him "Drunken Dragon". Therefore, anyone who is virtuous, talented, or well-crafted in writing, or is an honest official, or has outstanding behavior can be compared to a "dragon". As the saying goes, "I hope my child will become a dragon." It does not mean that I hope my child will turn into a monster with horns on his head, scales on his body, and a dragon that has its head but not its tail, but that the child can be successful and become successful in the future. One of the popular new children's songs in recent years is "100 Points is a Dragon", which also means the same thing. In addition, we often hear news about the "Dragon and Tiger Chart" on radio, TV stations, newspapers and magazines. What is the "Dragon and Tiger Chart"? "New Book of Tang: Biography of Ouyang Zhan" says that when Ouyang Zhan became a Jinshi, he was on the same list as Han Yu, Li Guan, Wang Ya, Cui Qun and other famous people in the world. It was called the "Dragon and Tiger List" at that time, which means celebrities, celebrities, and superstars. Gathered together here, the "dragon" here reflects the successful ones. The "dragon and phoenix" pattern became widely circulated after the Tang Dynasty. It not only symbolizes the authority of emperors and empresses, but also symbolizes the happy union between all human couples, and can also symbolize the harmony of yin and yang between spiritual and material things in the world. It can be said that the dragon and phoenix pattern is the most representative image symbol of the Chinese nation and a wonderful artistic image. Although the dragon and phoenix in the oracle bone inscriptions are amorphous, we can see that the dragon is a spirit insect that bends and stretches according to the seasons, and the phoenix is ??a spirit bird with a gorgeous long tail. On ancient bronzes, the image of the dragon shows an overall effect of ferocity, mystery and dignity. By the Han Dynasty, it broke through the shackles of the mysterious and bizarre atmosphere by capturing the heavy surface, unrestrained and powerful arcs, and exquisite points, forming the main theme of large structure and momentum. In the Tang Dynasty, it was endowed with a peaceful and docile humanized character, forming a rich, graceful and vigorous style. From the Song and Yuan Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the emphasis on extravagance and beauty shifted from fine workmanship to cumbersome stacking. The intervening dragon and phoenix patterns always maintained a simple, clear, concise and vivid style, with a strong flavor of life. In practical applications, the dragon has always represented a kind of authority or power, with increasing divinity. Each part of the dragon has a specific meaning: the protruding forehead represents wisdom; the antlers represent the country and longevity; the ox's ears represent the leader; the tiger's eyes represent majesty; the devil's claws represent bravery; the sword eyebrows represent heroism; the lion's nose represents preciousness; and the goldfish tail Symbolizes flexibility; horse teeth symbolize hard work and kindness. The Yunlong on the Shihua Table in front of Tiananmen Square, the Panyunlong Stone Pillar at the Confucius Temple in Qufu, Shandong, and the Dragon Bed in the Forbidden City are all symbols of imperial power in history. The phoenix bird is more worldly and humane, less divine. As the old saying goes, "a phoenix comes to the instrument" and "a phoenix flies". This ideal spiritual bird has always been regarded as the embodiment of good luck and happiness, and it also symbolizes perfect love. The theme of "dragon and phoenix presenting auspiciousness" is common in court art, with the dragon representing the emperor and the phoenix serving as a symbol of female concubines. Today, the dragon and phoenix patterns have been reunited with the enthusiasm for artistic creation of millions of people, and have gained unlimited artistic life in the fields of architecture, sculpture, painting and arts and crafts. The outstanding performance of drawing dragon patterns is the emperor's "dragon robe".
It is bright yellow in color. The leaders are all embroidered with blue stones and gold, embroidered with gold dragons and nine embroideries, with five-color clouds in between. There is one dragon on the front and back of the collar, one dragon on the left and right and one on the lapel, one dragon on the sleeves, and eight treasures on the bottom. The water train opens to the left and right. The dragon robe is the robe of the Supreme Being, made with fine details and exquisite workmanship. For example, the production of dragon robes in the Qing Dynasty was precisely designed and made by the top craftsmen of the Ruyi Pavilion of the Qing Dynasty at that time. After the emperor personally reviewed and approved the designs, he was sent to Nanjing or Suzhou and Hangzhou to supervise the manufacturing. Sometimes one piece of robe material takes 190 days of work. The special robes are also made with peacock tail feathers twisted into threads, spread flat on the ground, and thin lines are used to cross the border. Large pearls are strung on top and embroidered into dragon, phoenix or group flower patterns. The amount of labor required and the extravagance of materials used are appalling. In ancient times, there were also dragon flags with dragon patterns. Dragon flags have been around since the Zhou Dynasty. By the Song Dynasty, there were 12 kinds of dragon flags, such as the Yellow Dragon Flag, the Qinglong Flag, etc. Although there are many types of dragon flags, the patterns of all dragon flags are roughly similar, with green and yellow circles, red flames and colorful footsteps, and various dragon images of different shapes. For example, the Panlong Playing with Pearls flag is a type of dragon flag, with a picture of a yellow dragon carrying a river on its back, so it is also called the "Huanglong negative picture flag." Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty also built "dragon boats" and "dragon boat fleets" for his own extravagant and flashy entertainment needs. Its "dragon boat" construction and furnishings are extremely luxurious. The "Dragon Tail Inkstone" named after "dragon" is a treasure among She inkstones. It is named after the dragon tail stone from Wuyuan. Its inkstone is hard but soft, moist and clean, feels like skin when touched, makes no sound when rubbed, has a jade-like color and brilliant texture, which provides a broad scope for inkstone craftsmen to apply their skills according to materials. Inkstone craftsmen carefully design and carve according to the differences in shape, color, and pattern of the stone to produce square and round inkstones with well-proportioned patterns, straight knife skills, and exquisite carvings. The use of dragon patterns to decorate clothing has a long history, but for a long time it was only a product exclusively for the royal family and relatives, and was mostly monopolized by the emperor, the dragon's son, and the dragon's grandson. According to legend, the Yellow Emperor believed that the dragon had endless transformations and vast magical powers. He liked the appearance of the dragon very much, so he asked his minister Huang Shi to draw the image of the dragon on his clothes and paint them with five colors. This was the first "dragon robe" in Chinese history. ". Because the emperor calls himself or is considered the "True Dragon Emperor", the dragon is an indispensable symbol in his family: the emperor wears a dragon crown - a hat edged with a double dragon pattern; wears a dragon robe - front and back There is a dragon coiled up on each chest, mixed with clouds; a dragon belt is tied around the waist - a belt with dragon as the main pattern, and dragon and phoenix jade pendants are worn... We see these in museums, in imperial tombs, and in folk art. I've seen it with my own eyes. As for the things used by the emperor, most of them were related to dragons: dragon tables, dragon chairs, dragon beds, dragon boats, dragon chariots, etc. When the emperor was uncomfortable, he called "dragon body is not good", and when the emperor was angry, he called "dragon face is furious". The emperor's steps were also unique, called "dragon walking and tiger walking". Since it is a royal patent, others cannot easily get involved. Such an interesting incident happened during the reign of Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty, which later led to the distinction between dragon robes and python robes. During the Zhengde period, King Annan went to Beijing to pay tribute. Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty saw that his sincerity was commendable. When he was happy, he said that he would give him a dragon robe. The dragon robe symbolizes the country, how can he give it away easily? But there is no joke in your land, and the words you say and the water you throw out cannot be taken back, so what should you do? The ministers discussed for a long time before they came up with a workaround that had the best of both worlds - subtracting one claw from the dragon on the dragon robe and turning it into four claws, with three claws forward and one claw behind the can. On the surface, it looks similar to the dragon robe. No different, in fact it is no longer a dragon. The five claws are dragon and the four claws are python. Annan received a "fake" and returned home overjoyed. Later, the emperor gave the python robe to his closest and most capable ministers as a reward. The important ministers who wore the python robe were all proud of it. Later, even the servants and guards of the palace also wore the python robe, and the python robe was looked down upon by others. Therefore, the audience refers to the people who do chores, flags, and shouts on the stage as "walk-ins", which means that they have no real skills and are just filling in. Interestingly, while ordinary people opposed the imperial power, they also paid great attention to depriving dragons of their royal patent rights. According to historical records, by the end of the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties period, people's uprisings had raised scripture flags and put on homemade dragons. In the Song Dynasty, the Liao, Xia, Jin, and later the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties, which competed with the Song Dynasty, absorbed the Han culture of the Central Plains, and the costumes of their leaders were often decorated with dragons; more interestingly, there is a story in "Water Margin" The green forest hero's name was Shi Jin, nicknamed "Nine-Patterned Dragon". According to legend, nine dragons were tattooed on his body with ink lines. Most people with tattoos have the subconscious intention to show off this part, so "dragon tattoo" is also a part of "clothing". In ancient Chinese mythology and legends, Emperor Huang and Emperor Yan are both "sons of the dragon". The descendants of Yan and Huang are naturally the "descendants of the dragon."
In the myths and legends of ethnic minorities, there are also many contents about ancestors being dragons. The most typical one is the ancestor story of the Ailao people that has been popular since the Han Dynasty: Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Sha Yi at the foot of Ailao Mountain. While washing clothes by the river, he saw a fish swimming around. He became playful and went into the river to catch it. He was accidentally hit by a piece of wood drifting down from the upstream of the quilt. Soon after he returned, he became pregnant. The fetus gave birth to 10 sons. The children gradually grew up under her care. One day she took them to the river to play in the water. Suddenly she saw a dragon jumping out of the water and asked her: "Are they the children you gave birth to for me?" Sha Yi nodded and called The children come and meet their father. The children were so frightened by the dragon's strange appearance that they dispersed. Only the youngest child was not afraid of it, but curiously touched its horns, pulled its whiskers, and finally sat on the dragon's back. The dragon liked him very much. , stick out your tongue and lick it. Sha Yi mistakenly thought that the dragon was going to eat him, so he yelled for the child on the dragon's back. The pronunciation of Ailao was close to Jiu, and the pronunciation of Zuo was close to Long. The dragon thought this was the name of the child, so he called him Jiulong. Later, the ten brothers of Jiulong married ten sisters from the back mountain, and they multiplied and formed their own clan. The emperor elected Jiulong as the clan leader.