The cultural influence of dragons

In China, the dragon culture and the legend of the dragon contain the world view that China people attach importance to the unity of man and nature; The appeal of the concept of mutual subject of love; The development view of yin-yang intercourse; The inclusive view of multiculturalism. Dragons have rich cultural connotations. From the nature and connotation, dragon culture can be divided into three types: religious dragon, political dragon and artistic dragon. Religious dragon gods worship dragons as sacred objects or gods, and regard dragons as the dominant or protective rain gods. The political dragon is that the ruling class takes advantage of people's universal worship of the dragon and describes the emperor as the incarnation of the dragon god, which is sacred and inviolable to safeguard the rule. Artistic dragons express their admiration and worship in the form of art, that is, through carving, shaping, painting, dancing, myths and legends, competitive activities and so on.

Dragon culture has distinct characteristics.

It has a long history. The history of dragon worship is the oldest in the world. Archaeological data show that the earliest dragon statue was found in the Chahai site in Fuxin, Liaoning Province, and was excavated in 1994. There is a Xinglongwa Culture stone dragon dating from 7000 to 8000 years ago. Many dragon images have also been found in Neolithic sites. As for jade dragon and dragon pattern, there are even more.

Continuity Dragon culture has a long history in China and has been handed down from generation to generation. It can be said that it is one of the longest-lasting and most vital cultural phenomena.

Diversity. Dragon culture is rich and varied. The images of dragons are various, and the images of dragons in different dynasties in China are different. Folk activities related to dragons vary from place to place. The myths and legends of dragons are rich and colorful, and the Dragon Boat Festival ceremonies are complex and diverse.

Universality. Most ethnic groups in China worship dragons, and there is a custom of dragon head-lifting festival. The names of places, things and people with the word "dragon" are all over the country.

Integration. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the dragon god has been combined with the worship of emperors, and the dragon has gained a more prominent position, blending different dragon cultures of various regions and nationalities. The integrated dragon culture has stronger vitality and communication power.

Taoism is a native religion in China, which was formed on the basis of primitive religion. In the pre-Qin period, Lapras traveled around the world, Lapras ascended to heaven, and the belief that the dragon was connected with heaven and man was completely inherited by Taoism. Dragon is considered as one of the "three sedan chairs" in Taoism. The "three sedan chairs" referred to here are the dragon sedan chair, tiger sedan chair and deer sedan chair, which are used as riding tools for going to heaven and entering the earth. In Taoism, there is a famous fairy story about the establishment of Xu Zhenjun's Yulong and Suolongjing. The author of the story of Lock Longjing in China is a wizard, that is, a Taoist in China.

There are "Dragon King" in the mantra sutra of Taishang Cave, and "Five Emperors Dragon King" distinguished by position. In Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, an altar official was set up to offer sacrifices to the Dragon King. Song Taizu followed the Five Dragon Sacrifice System in Tang Dynasty. In the second year of Song Huizong Daguan (1 108), all the five dragons in the world were crowned kings. Seal Qinglong God as King of Ren Guang, Red Dragon God as King Jiaze, Huanglong God as King Fu Ying, White Dragon God as King Yiji, and Black Dragon God as King Lingze. In the second year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1863), the dragon god of the canal was named "the god of the dragon king who should divide the water", so that the river chief could pay homage at the right time. The dragon kings in The Journey to the West are Ao Guang in the East China Sea, Aoqin in the South China Sea, Aorun in the West Sea and Aoshun in the North Sea, which are collectively called the Four Seas Dragon Kings.

Nine sons of the Dragon: According to Li Dongyang's Collection of Huailu Hall in the Ming Dynasty, the nine sons of the Dragon don't become dragons, but each has his own interests. Prison Bull: Sex loves music, which was carved on Hu Qin's head in the old days. Yázì: I like killing and bloody gas all my life. He looks like a jackal with a dragon horn, glaring, and the horn is next to his back. Often engraved on the scabbard of the handle. Cháofēng: full of adventure spirit, it is often decorated in the corner of the temple with its shape, which has the meaning of scaring demons and eliminating disasters. Púláo: I like to roar. People often put it on the clock. Sister-in-law (suānní): She looks like a lion and likes to squat. Seeing his patience, the Buddha put it on his crotch as a mount. Holmium: It's as heavy as a turtle. You can see palaces, ancestral temples and tombs all over the country. Armadillo: A litigious person looks like a tiger and is often engraved on the prison gate. Funeral: a good article in a person's life is often coiled at the top of the inscription on a stone tablet. Chρwěn: Like to look around, it is often arranged on the roof as a kissing animal upstairs. But the dragon in folklore is far more than the above nine, and nine is a virtual finger to show the number; It is also an expensive anode number to show respect for status. It reflects our Chinese ancestors' cultural concept of expecting more descendants, cracking variation and affirming acquired knowledge.

Long Mai: Geomantic omen called the rolling mountains Long Mai. In ancient times, Geomantic omen initiated "five geographical techniques", namely "finding dragons, checking sand, watching water, acupoints and standing upright". Dragon is the geographical context, soil is the meat of dragon, stone is the bone of dragon, and vegetation is the hair of dragon. Looking for dragons, we must first find the mountains of ancestors and parents, judge the pulse, don't be angry, and divide yin and yang. The most famous Long Mai are Kunlun Mountain and Qinling Mountain.

Descendants of the dragon: the so-called descendants of the dragon mainly refer to the inheritors of the dragon's blood. They think that the ancient ancestors were the product of the intercourse between man and the dragon, and secondly refer to the inheritors of the dragon's fearless spirit. In addition to the Han nationality, China Baiyue Zhuang Dong Tai Lao Shan Mang and other ethnic groups are said to have been born because Shennong married the dragon daughter of Dongting Jun. One of the ancestors of Miao nationality, Chiyou, is said to have two horns, and some ethnic minorities in Northeast China, such as Tibetan Mongolians and Manchu, also worship dragons.

Zodiac: Dragon ranks fifth among the traditional Chinese zodiac animals in China, and its corresponding earthly branch is Chen, so it is called Chen Long. Dragon, phoenix, unicorn and Xuanwu are also called "Four Spirits".

Dragon Dance on Lantern Festival: Dragon Dance, commonly known as playing with dragon lanterns, is one of the traditional folk cultural activities of Han nationality in China. It performs during festivals, praying for peace and harvest. When dancing the dragon, the dragon follows the hydrangea to do various movements and interpenetration, constantly showing various postures such as twisting, waving, leaning back, kneeling, jumping and shaking.

On February 2 nd, the dragon looked up: the second day of the second lunar month, commonly known as the Qinglong Festival, is said to be the day when the dragon looked up. The Book of Changes records that before this day, although it was spring, it was still in a dormant state, which was called "Hidden Dragon in the Deep". After this day, the yang is rising and the spring is faintly visible, so there is a saying that "seeing the dragon in the field". As the name implies, the dragon appeared and everything began to emerge. At first, it was the "Dragon Head Festival", offering sacrifices to dragons and praying for rain, so that God could bless the agricultural harvest. More commonly, on February 2nd, the dragon raised its head, and everyone had to get a haircut to get rid of the "dragon" spirit and welcome good luck. There is also a saying that "the dragon looks up in February and the dragon ends in August" in the Zhuang area in central and northern Guangxi.

Dragon boat race: Dragon boat race is an ancient Han folk activity. Legend has it that after Qu Yuan, a doctor of Chu in the Warring States Period, committed suicide by throwing himself into the river on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the people of Chu were reluctant to part with Qu Yuan, a saint, and many people rowed boats to save people. This is the origin of the dragon boat race. Later, they rowed a dragon boat every May to commemorate and disperse the fish in the river so as not to eat Qu Yuan's body. Folk dragon boat race is an important activity of Dragon Boat Festival, which is very popular in southern China. At the earliest, it should be regarded as a sacrificial activity of the ancient Yue people to worship the water god or the dragon god, and its origin may begin at the end of primitive society.

Dragon and phoenix become auspicious: the classic Confucius' note: "The emperor Bude will be peaceful, and the phoenix, turtle and dragon will make it auspicious first." In China's traditional concept, dragons and phoenixes represent auspiciousness, and the combination of dragons and phoenixes is often a kind of celebration. According to legend, Qin Mugong's daughters, Nong Yu and Ma Xu Shaw History, lived in seclusion in Huashan and were killed by dragons and phoenixes. Later, in order to commemorate the touching stories of Nong Yu and Shaw History, people used "the dragon and the phoenix become auspicious" to describe the faithful love between husband and wife, flying with me, loving each other and caring for each other for a hundred years. With the emigration of China people, the dragon culture of China has spread all over the world. In fact, long before white people came into contact with dragon culture, dragons had already crossed the ocean to Japan, Southeast Asia and even Native Americans.

For one or two thousand years, Japanese farmers and fishermen have been offering sacrifices and worshipping dragons in order to achieve good weather and good harvest. In Gao Songzhong's tomb, there is a seventh-century mural "The Dragon Map", which has almost the same shape as a dragon. Among Japanese ancient buildings, China's dragons were common in the Han, Tang, Ming and Qing dynasties, but rare in the pre-Qin period. It can be seen that the art of dragons was introduced into Japan in large quantities from the Han Dynasty.

Dragon culture was introduced into Southeast Asia much earlier than Japanese culture, so it was more primitive. The art of dragons and phoenixes in Viet Nam, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia is obviously characterized by the Yangtze River Culture Department in China. Dragons have big heads, some like lions or cows, thick bellies, big tails and small feet. This dragon image can be seen everywhere in architecture, costumes, sculptures, dragon boats, dragon dances, dragon lanterns and other folk activities. There are sporadic rivers and lakes to the south of the Yangtze River. Dragon boat culture is very developed. The bronze drum commanding the dragon boat race is decorated with auspicious animal patterns such as dragons and phoenixes. The art of bronze drums in Southeast Asia originated in China. The difference between Yunnan and Guangdong bronze drum art has also been found in Southeast Asia, which has become the local evolution of the dragon and phoenix culture in the Yangtze River. From the perspective of ancient cultural history, the dragon culture in Southeast Asia is an extension of the Yangtze River culture department, especially the Miao Man culture to the south.

The ancient American Indians accepted the dragon culture much earlier than Southeast Asia. Archaeologists found that as early as 7,000 years ago during the Columbus period, the art of dragons was introduced to America and combined with local indigenous cultures, becoming the backbone of dragon cultures of Olmec, Maya, Astek, Inca and other tribes. Olmec culture rose in 1000 BC (equivalent to the late Shang Dynasty and the early Zhou Dynasty in the history of China), and is considered as the cradle of Indian culture. There are two kinds of primitive dragons in Olmec culture: Keelung and Keelung, commonly known as Dalong and Xiaolong in China. Similar to the origin of the dragon in Shang and Zhou Dynasties. In Indian myths and legends, the fire dragon and the water dragon represent North and South Er Shen respectively. In ancient China mythology, the northern water god was the water dragon, and the southern Vulcan was the fire dragon Zhu Rong. Archaeologists have found that the dragon of Maya culture is very similar to the dragon of Yellow River culture and Songliao culture, and the dragon of Inca culture is almost a copy of the dragon of South China culture and Bashu culture. The pyramids and other altars and temples in China are also decorated with dragon images, which shows that ancient Indians worship dragon culture as much as Americans. In fact, dragon culture is only a part of ancient China culture. The spread of Dragon Culture in the United States proves a historical fact, that is, China people traveled eastward to America as early as ancient times and brought splendid Chinese civilization. Dragons are the origin of culture. The Book of Changes is the head of the group classics and the source of the avenue. The source of Yi can be traced back to the Book of Dragons. In Yi, the main diviners are Gan and Kun. "Gan Yi Yi Ci" takes six hexagrams as the sequence, which reveals the universal law of everything including the growth of life. Taking the dragon as a metaphor, this paper summarizes the six life stages of becoming a successful person who travels around the world. Such as the ninth day: Hidden Dragon, no need. Refers to the early stage of life, symbolizing the learning stage of life. 92: See the dragon in the field, so you can meet adults. Refers to the fledgling dragon, symbolizing the internship stage of life. 93: A gentleman works all day long, and he is blameless when he is late. It refers to all experiences and symbolizes the entrepreneurial stage of life. 94: It's not strange to jump deep. It means that life has achieved both ability and political integrity, symbolizing the successful stage of life. The ninth five-year plan: the flying dragon is in the sky. It's good to see adults. Refers to the dragonfly out of the river and flying off the land, symbolizing the pursuit and achievement of life to the extreme. Shangjiu: Kang Long has regrets, revealing the iron law that extremes must be reversed and ups and downs must be reversed. Yi Kun Yi Ci is an induction, refinement and interpretation of the growth stage of those in a subordinate position. In the last stage, there was a saying, "Fighting dragons in the wild, its blood is mysterious and yellow", which means that Yin qi is extremely abundant, and it is very difficult for subordinates to become leaders, and the cost is also very high, so they should make full psychological preparation and strain.

At the folk level, dragons have a great influence and are widely distributed with dragons as their surnames; Wang Long temples are all over China, and many place names are named after dragons. Animals include earthworms and chameleons. Longan, gentian, etc. In plants. The village temple fair has a long history of dragon boat racing in Jiangnan water town.

The dragon is the embodiment of justice, and the descendants of the Chinese people have endowed the dragon with many beautiful and kind hearts. There is a folk saying that "on February 2nd, the dragon rises". It is said that Xiaobailong once offended the Jade Emperor because it rained to save people. In order to remember the kindness of the little white dragon, people set February 2 as the Spring Festival, burning incense and praying for good weather and abundant crops in the coming year. The traditional Spring Festival also officially ended on this day. Dragons can represent heroes. The image of dragon is active in almost all levels and fields, with strong vitality and appeal, and it is a typical ideal hero. A nation's culture is the carrier of national spirit, and the humanistic spirit of ancient China people can also be seen from the colorful dragon culture.

Innovative spirit. The long-standing dragon culture is inseparable from the innovative spirit of the ancient people in China. Dragon culture has gone through several stages of development, and each stage of development is mainly completed through internal innovation. Observing the different dragon art forms in different historical periods, from having no horns to having horns, from having no wings to having wings, and from having no feet to having feet, we can see that the image of the dragon is formed through continuous innovation.

Comprehensive spirit. The image of dragon was formed by ancient China people who combined the advantages and disadvantages of animals, birds, aquatic animals and reptiles. The comprehensiveness of dragon culture is also manifested in the long-term development process, and the dragon constantly absorbs foreign excellent artistic elements, thus making its image more perfect. For example, in the Tang and Song Dynasties, the dragon absorbed the image of a lion in Indian Buddhism, with a round head, a collar at the back of the head and a nose similar to a lion, which increased the dragon's sense of authority.

Inclusive spirit. The ancient dragon culture is rich and colorful, which is inseparable from the tolerant spirit of ancient China people. Dragon culture was impacted by the Indian Dragon King belief in its own development, but China people did not reject it, but tolerated and transformed it, forming the China Dragon King and enriching the connotation of dragon culture.

Enterprising spirit. Judging from the dragon image described by ancient people in China, the dragon has a strong enterprising spirit. The dragon's activity space is very broad, which can last for nine days and dive into the abyss. The dragon images in various arts are mostly flying dragons, soaring dragons or running dragons, full of vigor, striving for progress and perseverance. Dragons in myths and legends are mostly indomitable, unstoppable and fearless. These are all manifestations of Gu Long's pioneering spirit.

Independent spirit. The artistic image of the dragon is unique, and so are various cultural phenomena related to the dragon. In the traditional culture of China, although the dragon culture is closely related to Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, it has always maintained relative independence and is not affiliated with any religion.

Dragon culture is a typical representative of China traditional culture. There are indeed dross and essence in it. Religious and political dragon worship in history, such as praying for rain, begging for children, seeking peace and "real dragon emperor" during the Dragon Boat Festival, should be abandoned. However, the artistic and folk dragon culture has great vitality, such as dragon dancing and dragon boat racing, which should be protected as intangible cultural heritage.

In contemporary times, we should also give play to the cohesion of dragon culture. The formation and development of dragon culture is almost synchronous with the formation and integration of the Chinese nation. Historically, no matter how dynasties change, the inheritance of dragon culture has always been the same. China people at home and abroad regard the dragon as a symbol of the Chinese nation. Therefore, in the process of publicizing and carrying forward the dragon culture, we should give full play to its cohesion and centripetal force. dragon

Born in the east

Clouds shuttle between the earth and the sky.

Carrying great virtue and benevolence

Take water as the heart.

This heart

Is the core of everything.

Help yin and yang

Embrace each other and not repel each other.

Fight each other without making enemies.

My heart is the Tao.

in all ages

It is wise for a wise man to know this.

The villain knows himself and is inhuman.

No one knows.

Word of mouth is empty.