Does the legendary dragon really exist? What about the dragon in the zodiac?

The classification of dragon gods is ever-changing, and there are many kinds. Those with scales are called dragons, those with horns are called dragons, and those without horns are called autumn (Hongbu quoted Sao and Guangya). The one with wings is called (Wang Note). Dragon, Qiu, are not the orthodoxy of dragons. Dragon orthodoxy is called black dragon! These different kinds of dragons can be seen on bronzes of Shang, Zhou and Warring States Dynasties in China.

Lun Heng said: "The image of a dragon is the tail of a horse." It is also said that the shape of the dragon is the horn of a deer, the ears of a cow, the head of a camel, the eyes of a rabbit, the neck of a snake, the belly of a slug, the scales of a fish, the soles of a deer's feet and the claws of an eagle. Compendium of Materia Medica says that "dragons have nine similarities", which is a heterogeneous animal with the advantages of all kinds of animals. Legend has it that it can be hidden, detailed and huge, short and long. The vernal equinox ascends to the sky, and the autumnal equinox dives into the deep, omnipotent. After the later development, the images of these dragons are more and more complex than the original dragons, and more and more totems are incorporated, which shows that they are constantly enriching and developing.

About five claw dragons, four claw dragons and three claw dragons.

Before the Yuan Dynasty, the dragon spine had three claws, sometimes the first two feet had three claws, and the last two feet had four claws. Examples can be found in porcelain ornamentation in Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties. Four-claw dragon was popular in Ming dynasty, and five-claw dragon was the most popular in Qing dynasty. The folk saying of "Emperor with Five Claws, Emperor with Four Claws, and Doctor with Three Claws" in Zhou Dynasty was formed in Qing Dynasty, mainly because of the differences between emperors and ministers in dress decoration. The emperor wears the "dragon robe", while other royal families and ministers wear the "embroidered robe", but this is only the difference in name. From the shape of dragons, dragons and pythons are quadrupeds, and there is no difference in appearance.

Octopus: It's an early kind of dragon, which is modeled on a reptile-snake and often moves in the water. "It takes five hundred years to become a jiaozi, and it takes a thousand years to become a dragon." It is the embryonic form of the dragon, which once appeared on the bronze decoration in the late Western Zhou Dynasty, but not much. Chi Pan: Red Dragon is a snake-like monster of the genus Dragon, an early horned dragon. There is a description of "the red dragon has no horns" in Guangya. There are also two views on dragons, one refers to the yellow horned dragon and the other refers to the female dragon. There is a note in Han Zhuan that "the red dragon is also a female dragon", so the unearthed Warring States period is decorated with dragons and dragons, which means that men and women mate. From the Spring and Autumn Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties, bronzes, jade carvings, bronze mirrors or buildings were often decorated in the shape of flat flies, including single flies, double flies, three flies, five flies and even swarms of flies. Or as a title card, or as a ring, or as a book. In addition, there are Bo Gu beetles, ring beetles and other changes.

Qiu: Generally speaking, a little dragon without horns is called Qiu Long, which is a growing dragon. Therefore, the ancient literature records: "The horn is called autumn, and the horn is called dragon." The other is that young dragons are called dragons after giving birth to dragon horns. Although there are differences between the two statements. But everyone is called the growing Longqiu. Others call the dragon of Panqu the dragon, and Du Mu, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, has a sentence of "A thousand plays play a sheep's intestines" in his poem "Talking about Qingyun".

Jiao: Generally speaking, it refers to a scaly dragon that can cause floods. According to legend, the water of the dragon can make clouds and fog and soar in space. In ancient Chinese, it is often used to mean that talented people get the opportunity to display their talents. There are different opinions about the origin and shape of jiaozi in classical literature, some say that "dragons have no horns and are called jiaozi", while others say that "scales are called Xiaolong". The third volume of Mo Ke Dao Rhinoceros is more specific: Jiao is shaped like a snake, with a head like a tiger and an elder of dozens of feet. Most of them live under the caves in Xitan, and their voices are like cattle. If Jiao sees pedestrians on the shore or in the ravine, he will entangle them with his mouth and make people fall into the water, that is, suck their blood under his arm until the blood runs out. People on shore and on board often suffer from it. There is a story in Liu Yiqing's Shi Shuo Xin Yu in the Southern Song Dynasty, saying that he went into the water for three days and three nights at the beginning of the week to chop jiaozi back. Jiao may be a crocodile.

Ceratosaurus: refers to a horned dragon. According to Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, "A Thousand-year-old Dragon, a Hundred-year-old dragon five Horned Dragon", Horned Dragon is an old man among dragons.

Ying Long: The winged dragon is called Ying Long. According to Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, "dragon five has been a Ceratosaurus for a hundred years, and Ying Long for a thousand years", Ying Long is the essence of the dragon, so he has wings. According to legend, Ying Long was the dragon of the ancient Yellow Emperor. It was ordered by the Yellow Emperor to crusade against Chiyou and kill Chiyou to become a hero. In Yu's water control, Shenlong once swept the floor and diverted flood water with its tail, which made great contributions. This dragon is also called Huanglong, and Huanglong is it, so it is the hero of Yu. Ying Long is characterized by wings, prickly scales, long head, small nose, eyes and ears, big eyes, high eyebrow arch, sharp teeth, protruding forehead, thin neck, long tail tip and strong limbs, just like a Chinese alligator with wings. The image of Ying Long often appears in jade carvings, stone carvings, silk paintings and lacquerware in the Han Dynasty during the Warring States Period.

Fire dragon: It is a dragon threatened by fire. The whole body is purple fire, and wherever the fire dragon passes, it is all burnt.

Panlong: refers to the dragon that crouches on the ground and does not ascend to heaven. The shape of a dragon is coiled. In ancient buildings in China, dragons coiled on pillars and dragons on decorative beams and ceilings are customarily called Panlong. There is another explanation for Panlong in "Taiping Magnolia": "Panlong is four feet long, blue-black, with a brocade-like red belt, and often goes down with the water and into the sea. Toxic, it hurts. " I mix dragons with jiaozi, snakes and things like that.

Qinglong is one of the "four spirits" or "four gods", also known as the black dragon. Ancient astronomers in China divided some stars in the sky into twenty-eight star zones, that is, twenty-eight nights, to observe the movement of the moon and divide the seasons, and divided the twenty-eight nights into four groups, with seven nights in each group, four colors of blue, red, white and black, and four animals, namely dragons, birds, tigers and basalts (where turtles and snakes intersect), called "four elephants". Dragon means the east, blue, the so-called "East Palace Qinglong". In the Qin and Han dynasties, these four images became "four spirits" or "four gods" (dragon, phoenix, turtle and forest), and their mystery became more and more intense. The existing stone relief of the East Palace Black Dragon constellation in Nanyang Han Painting Academy consists of a dragon, eighteen stars and the moon, and is engraved with jade toad. This dragon is the symbol of the whole black dragon constellation. In the bricks, stones and tiles of the Han Dynasty, there are many images of "four spirits".

Yu Hualong: It is a dragon with a dragon head and a fish body, and it is also a form of "mutual change of arowana and fish", which existed in ancient China. In Shuo Yuan, there is a record that "the white dragon turned into a fish in the cold abyss in the past", and in Chang 'an ballad, "the big fish in the East China Sea turned into a dragon", and the carp circulated among the people jumped over the Longmen, all of which told the mutual changes of arowana. This kind of modeling appeared in jade carvings as early as the late Shang Dynasty, and it has developed in all previous dynasties. Jiaolong: Actually, "Jiao" and "Dragon" are the names of/kloc-0 mythical creatures of different ages: Jiao when they were young and Dragon when they grew up. Although they all have great power, they are different in essence. Xiaolong is a dragon. Pond fish, full of 3.6 thousand, jiaozi has been here for a long time, and jiaozi is gone if he can lure fish into the water. -Shuo Wen

Among them is Tiger jiaozi. Note: "Jiao, like a four-legged snake, is a dragon."

The female dragon is Moonracer. -"Bao Puzi"

Yixing water has jiaozi. (The dumpling here refers to salamanders, crocodiles and other animals. )-"Shi Shuo Xin Yu Rehabilitation"

Another example: Jiao Qiu (Jiao Qiu. Qiu: The little dragon with horns in ancient legends. Also refers to the aquarium); Diplomatic relations (dragon. Sting: an animal said to belong to the genus Xiaolong); Jiaocheng (Dragon and Cow)

Another ancient book said it was ceratosaurus.

Jiao is a dragon. No speakers say jiaozi. Rhyme club

Take a trip to eat six jiaozi. ―

Dragon is a miraculous animal in the legend of China. It is good at changing, arousing sexual desire and benefiting all things. It is the leader of scale insects and the head of the four spirits (dragon, phoenix, unicorn and turtle). There are many different images in ancient books. Speaking of slender, it has four feet, anticlimactic. Speaking of piercing scales, there are whiskers on the head and five claws. Compendium of Materia Medica says that "dragons have nine similarities", and it is a heterogeneous animal with the advantages of various animals. It has many names. Those with scales are called dragons, those with wings are called dragons, those with horns are called [multi-tower] dragons, and those without horns are called autumn. The little one is called Jiao, and the big one is called Dragon. Legend has it that it can be hidden, detailed and huge, short and long. The vernal equinox ascends to the sky, and the autumnal equinox dives into the deep, omnipotent. In mythology, it is the master of the underwater world (the Dragon King), a symbol of good fortune among the people, and the embodiment of ancient imperial power.

Dragon is one of the four gods in ancient China mythology. There are "Dragon King Products" in Taishang Cave's Divine Mantra Classic, which lists "Five Emperors Dragon King" by orientation, "Four Seas Dragon King" by ocean, and lists the names of 54 dragon kings and 62 dragon kings by everything in the world. 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 dragon god who should divide the water", which made the river chief sacrifice in 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. Dragons in Reality: Dragons appear frequently in China's ancient literature. There was a text in middle school, which was written in the early Zhou Dynasty of Jin Dynasty. So, what is a dragon? alligator

In my opinion, there are two prototypes of Xiaolong: one is crocodile and the English name is Alligator. There are only a few species left in the world, such as the Chinese alligator in China, the alligator in the United States and the Caiman in South America.

Most crocodiles in the world belong to Crocodiles. In China, there is a kind of saltwater crocodile, whose scientific name is Bay Crocodile. In the Tang Dynasty, Han Yu wrote an article about offering sacrifices to crocodiles in order to drive away the bay crocodiles that endangered the people in Chaozhou, Guangdong at that time. At present, this crocodile is the largest crocodile in existence, up to seven meters long, distributed in Australia and Malaya.

The difference between an alligator and a crocodile is: 1. When the latter's mouth is closed, four teeth of the mandible can still be seen; The former does not have this function. 2. The former is more adaptable to the cold environment than the latter. The former has a blunt kiss, while the latter has a sharp kiss.

In ancient times, the climate in the Central Plains of China was warmer than it is now. At that time, there were elephants in Henan, which can be seen from the abbreviation "Yu" in Henan Province. It is not excluded that there were saltwater crocodiles making waves in the rivers and lakes of the Central Plains at that time. The traditional dragon image in China also borrowed from the crocodile image to a great extent.

As for the alligator, as I said before, its snout is thick and blunt, which doesn't match the sharp kiss of the dragon. Moreover, the Chinese alligator, the only alligator in China, is smaller and can't do as much harm as the Gulf alligator. Therefore, I think the legendary dragon is a bay crocodile, which is rare in Chinese mainland now. Black Dragon: ① The name of the dragon. "Songs of Chu Xi Poetry": "The larva of the black dragon is on the left and the white tiger is on the right." Green dragon

2 horse names. The Book of Rites and the Moon Order: "Meng Chunzhi, ... took a trip to the black dragon." Note: "A horse over eight feet is a dragon."

(3) the ecliptic Oriental seven nights collectively, namely, tsing lung. Book Yao Dian: "The sun always has sparks, so it is midsummer." Legend: "Fire is the star of the Black Dragon. If you lift it, you will see seven stars."

(4) refers to the Tai Sui star. In ancient times, ancient astrologers regarded Tai Sui as a fierce side, so they also referred to ferocious people.

The Black Dragon's seven eastern lodgings-horn, health, mutuality, room, heart, tail and dustpan-are all very dragon-shaped. As can be seen from their meanings, the horn is the horn of the dragon, the health is the neck, the bian is the root of the neck, the room is the arm, and the tail is the tail.

There is still a part of the dragon's heart, which some people call' fire', which is related to sunny and rainy days, and because Qinglong is a wood, it is also the age of Jupiter. In many dynasties, some monarchs took Qinglong as their national title. For example, Wei Mingdi in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is an example. It is also recorded in the history books that the Xia Dynasty belonged to the Mude Dynasty, so there is a good omen that' Qinglong was born in the suburbs'.

In the era when the Five Elements Theory prevailed, the story about Qinglong began to spread slowly. According to the Yin-Yang and Five Elements, the Five Elements assigned five colors to the Southeast and Northwest Middle Schools, and each color was equipped with a beast and a god. The east is blue, with dragons. "Three Auxiliary Maps" says: "Qinglong, White Tiger, Suzaku, Xuanwu, Tiansi Spirit, with the square as the square, the king makes the palace pavilion and the palace pavilion." . Bao Puzi Miscellaneous English quoted the Immortal Classic to describe the image of the old gentleman in Taishang, saying that there were twelve green dragons on the left, twenty-six white tigers on the right, twenty-four suzaku in front and seventy-two Xuanwu in the back. Very imposing, really imposing. Later, the four elephants were gradually personified and had their titles. According to the Secret of the Seven Yuan Purple Extension in the Arctic, the name of Qinglong is Meng Zhang Shen Jun, the name of White Tiger is Shen Jun, the name of Suzaku is Ling Shen Guang Jun, and the name of Xuanwu is Meiji Shen Jun. Soon, the belief in Xuanwu (Zhenwu) gradually expanded, and it stood out from the four elephants and became the "Great Emperor". Qinglong and Baihu are included in the list of door gods, specifically guarding the Taoist temple gate. Fan Zhineng's "Yueyang Geography" in the Song Dynasty said: "There are two gods in Laozi Temple, called Qinglong and Baihu." Yao Ming's "Shu Guan, a Private Record of Changshu" said: "The two great gods who came to the entrance of the Taoist Temple, on the left, were the gods of Qinglong, and on the right, were the gods of White Tiger.

The forty-four volumes of Taizhi call Qinglong Dongdou as follows: "Jiao Su Tianmen, Kang Su Ting, Chang Su Tianfu, Su Fang Tian Yi Xing Jun, Xin Su Uranus Jun, Wei Su Tian Ji Xing Jun, Ji Su Tian Lu Xing Jun." As for its image, there are seven clouds in The Collection of Doors and Tongjiao: "Oriental Dragon Horn, full of air, spits clouds and glows, thunders, flies to octupole, walks around four ghosts and stands on my left. In addition, Taoism also uses it in alchemy. For example, Volume 72 of "Seven Chapters of Clouds" quotes the Dan of the four ancient gods, saying: The dragon is a dragon, and the oriental wood is also mercury. It is clear and unwilling, not turbid, not desirable, far away, and infinitely hidden, so it is called dragon. Dragon: The dragon (with a shell) lives on the coast or in the estuary. It looks like jiaozi, or it may be one of them.

There are deer fork-shaped horns on the head, red manes on the neck and back, and dark earth scales. It is said that from the scales on the back of the waist forward and backward, the feet are like jiaozi, and the front end is very wide.

Storks have an incredible ability to see all kinds of visions from the air exhaled by their mouths. Most of these phantoms are pavilions, luxury goods that no one has ever seen. From the window, you can see the well-dressed nobles walking around. The posture is amazing, and these visions vary from person to person. Even looking at the same phantom, there are differences in details in different people's eyes.

Storks like to eat swallows and are said to eat nothing else. But swallows fly very fast and rarely touch water, so the stork made a phantom to lure them into his mouth.

Mirage is a mirage made from the breath of slugs, but it can also be made from the fat of slugs: the fat of slugs is mixed with high-quality wax to make candles. Light it when it is about to rain at dusk, and you can see the phantom. But this illusion is far less than that created by storks.

As mentioned earlier, flies like to eat swallow meat, so in places where flies haunt (as can be seen from Mirage), the dishes cooked by swallows are absolutely not sold, and people are strictly forbidden to eat swallows. Because storks smell swallows and attack people who eat swallows; When it is found that there are no swallows, the stork will get angry, causing the bridge to collapse and the ship to sink, affecting others. So if it weren't for catching flies, no one would eat swallows and go to the waters where flies are infested.

Storks are rare dragons, all because of their breeding methods: snakes and pheasants mate in the first month and lay a very small egg, which will attract dark clouds and thunder all over the sky. When struck by lightning, the egg will push it into the soil, and it will become a coiled snake after dozens of meters. After two or three hundred years, the soil around the egg will turn to stone and begin to ascend to heaven. As for those eggs that have been struck by lightning but are not underground, they can only grow into pheasants. Many pheasants are hatched from eggs that never turn into cockroaches, but if these pheasants jump into the sea, they will turn into cockroaches.

First, the dragon culture of the Chinese nation has a long history and has been excavated in an orderly way. The earliest dragon image is a Xinglongwa Culture stone carving dragon found in the Chahai site in Fuxin, Liaoning Province, followed by the clam shell dragon in Xishuipo, Henan Province, attracting worldwide attention. The third piece is a dragon made of pebbles found in Jiaodun site of Zhangcheng Village, Baihu Township, Huangmei County. The well-known Inner Mongolia Samsung Tara Yulong and so on. All these fully prove that dragon worship was very common in China as early as six or seven thousand years ago, and that dragon culture is a local culture in China, not a foreign culture.

Secondly, according to the earliest archaeological data of Indian dragons, it is the mural "The Dragon King and His Family" in the first century BC, and the "Dragon Worship Bodhi Tree" before and after the times, which is about 5,000 years later than the Shilong in Chahai, Liaoning, China.

Thirdly, in terms of written records, according to the known historical data, the earliest written record of dragons in India is The Theory of Wisdom written by Long Shu around the second century A.D., which is only about 1800 years ago. China recorded dragons much earlier than India. There are many "dragons" and some records of dragon worship in Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty, which shows that dragon worship in China was very common 3500 years ago.

Fourthly, since its formation, Dragon Culture has spread rapidly not only at home, but also abroad. Long Dan in Indian Buddhism was handed down from China. There may be two ways of transmission: one is through the southwest of China. According to archaeological data, as early as the Neolithic Age, the stone culture of the Yellow River valley spread from the dragon to Tibet and its south. In the early Qin and Han Dynasties, the commodity trade between China and India was frequent. Therefore, it is entirely possible that China's dragon worship was introduced into India in this way. Another way to spread dragon culture is the Silk Road in the Western Regions. The Central Plains Dynasty had contact with the Western Regions as early as 3,000 years ago. It is said that immigrants came to Conglindong at the beginning of the week. After the Shang Dynasty destroyed Xia Hou, some Xia tribes migrated to the northwest. After arriving in Gansu and other places, they continued to migrate to the west and entered the Yanqi country in the western regions. Later, these dragon tribes who moved into Yanqi became the rulers of the country in the Jin Dynasty, and took "Dragon" as their surname. To be sure, they brought their own dragon culture to the western regions.

Fifthly, from the linguistic point of view, there is no special word for "dragon" in Sanskrit in ancient India, and "dragon" and "snake" are represented by the same word. In ancient Indian mythology, lightning was caused by Indra, a great god riding a white elephant and holding a lightning chisel. After the dragon was introduced into India, the dragon god quickly replaced Indra and became the master of wind, rain, thunder and lightning. So the word "snake" also means "dragon".

Sixthly, there are about 20 dragon legends recorded in "The Tale of the Western Regions of Datang", including 5 in the Western Regions, 5 in North India, 0/0 in China and 0/0 in South India. Judging from the contents of the coming year, the dragon legends of Qiuci and Yutian are very similar to those of ancient China. There is a story about Lapras and dragons mating with women, which has nothing to do with Buddhism. However, the myths and legends about the dragon south of Congling and adjacent to India in the Records of the Western Regions of Datang are related to the figures in Buddhism. This also shows that the western regions are a way for the dragon culture to spread to India.

Seventh, primitive dragons in China have many images and attributes of snakes, and so do Indian dragons, which are closely related to snakes. In Buddhist painting and sculpture, the dragon king usually has an unfolded cobra crown with three or five or seven heads behind his head. In addition, Buddhist scriptures often say that "dragons are shaped like snakes", which also shows that Indian dragons have the attributes of snakes. Dragon religion and dragon religion, golden dragon wall, Taoism and dragon.

Taoism is a native religion in China, and early Taoists have realized that dragons come from snakes. There is a cloud in "Yellow and White Articles": "The dragon of a snake is no different from its own life. However, the root causes are all caused by natural feelings. The descendants of Zhang Daoling, the founder of Taoism, all inherited his career and were called "Shi Tian", and were told that they were predestined friends with dragons. According to legend, the third generation surnamed Lu had ten sons, nicknamed "Zhang's Ten Dragons".

The most important role of dragons in Taoism is to help Taoists bury themselves and communicate with ghosts and gods. The dragon is considered as one of the "three sedan chairs". The "three sedan chairs" referred to here are dragon sedan chairs, tiger sedan chairs and deer sedan chairs. The sedan chair of Taoism is mainly used as a riding tool for burial. Mr. Zhang Guangzhi thinks: "The owner of No.45 tomb in Puyang is the primitive Taoist or wizard in Yangshao cultural society, and the dragon, tiger and deer made of clam shells are the artistic images of the three sedan chairs he can summon." He linked the clam, dragon, tiger and deer with the three sedan chairs in ancient primitive Taoism, and thought they were related.

Legend has it that Shi Tian and Zhenjun, who have magical powers, can also summon and drive away dragons. "Youyang Miscellaneous Skills" said: In a landlord named Yun 'an, there are fifteen dangerous beaches along the river, and no one pulls the fiber, so the boat can't cross.

Buddhism and dragons

In Buddhist scriptures, the Dragon King (Nāgarāja) has many names. For example, the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Method says that there are eight dragon kings, one is the dragon king who is difficult to reach, the other is the dragon king who is difficult to reach, the third is the dragon king who is in Gagaluo, the fourth is the dragon king who is with Xiuji, the fifth is the dragon king who is in the German family, the sixth is the dragon king in Anaboda, the seventh is the dragon king in Monas and the eighth is the dragon king in Fu Bo.

The relationship between dragon and Buddhism is still controversial in academic circles. It is said that China's worship of the "Dragon King" was introduced from India with Buddhism. The reason is that there is no "Dragon King" worship in China. Before the Han Dynasty, there were only "dragon gods" but no "dragon kings". After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Buddhist beliefs were introduced into China, and the belief in the Dragon King spread throughout the Middle-earth. Another way of saying this is that the dragon in Indian Buddhism was handed down from China and recreated by Indians to become the "Dragon King".

Dragon-Xilong In history, Xilong generally refers to dragon now, but for a long time, it was not like this. A branch of Semite founded Judaism at that time. Some people think that Seraphim in Judaism is the dragon that embodies the power of justice.

In western civilization, the concept of dragon closest to China in all aspects, essence, meaning and characteristics is Seraphim. Seraphim's position, function and significance in western mythology and religion are not only the most consistent with China protodragon in China mythology and religion, but also the etymological meaning of Seraphim in ancient Hebrew is the same as China protodragon. The dragon originated in China is a kind of snake. Seraphim is a python in ancient Hebrew, and it is the plural of Seraphim. It was also said that a suffix with the meaning of "flame" or "burning" was added. In early ancient Hebrew, python was often used to represent dragons because there was no word "dragon". The Bible shows that such a python has limbs. Some historical materials of Hebrew mythology also indirectly indicate that Seraphim's early image is closer to the dragon in Buron, China. The python with six limbs and six wings composed of fire is very similar to Ying Long in China's early mythology, while Seraphim is a familiar concept to westerners, but few people know Seraphim's true colors now. Now Seraphim in religious portraits and sculptures is human.

Seraphim is now generally translated as blazing angel, but in the apocryphal Enoch, Seraphim means python. In the early western civilization, the concepts of dragon and snake were often confused, but some people thought that it was blasphemy to understand the blazing angel as a python, and the religious issues involved were not explained.

Dragons appeared much later than Seraphim. They are the object of Celtic worship and their status is sacred. In the early Middle Ages, Vikings looking for a new channel in the Atlantic carved the bow of their pirate ship into a dragon, hoping that the dragon would give them infinite power.

With the birth of Christianity, the fate of dragons has undergone earth-shaking changes, and dragons have become synonymous with Satan. The birth of a new religion will inevitably conflict with the old religion. Just like the Aryans invaded India, they "degraded" Asura, who was worshipped by the aborigines, into a demon.

Dragon, regarded as the symbol of the devil in Christianity, originated from Mesopotamian mythology. In Mesopotamian mythology, the dragon is "a terrible life in the ocean, and its fate is to hurt people and be destroyed by God." Marduk's hand-held Amato in Babylonian mythology and Ilyushankas in Hittite mythology are all examples. Jews living near Mesopotamia were also influenced by it and inherited this idea. The dragon gradually became the symbol of the devil in Judaism and Christianity.

Descendants of Western Dragons In the impression of most people, "descendants of dragons" is almost synonymous with China people, but is it true that only China people in the world are called "descendants of dragons"? Let's go to Europe to meet other "descendants of the dragon".

Celtic

The red dragon is a symbol of the Celtic nation. The picture shows the Welsh flag.

Red Dragon Flag of Wales

Celtic is one of the oldest inhabitants in Europe, with a history of nearly 4,000 years, once spread all over Central and Western Europe. Today, their descendants are mainly distributed in Wales in the southwest of England and parts of Ireland in the north.

We are familiar with many fantasy stories set in the Middle Ages of Europe, such as Long Xiang, mage practice, knight galloping and so on. Most of the typical scenes in D come from Celtic myths and legends. Dragons play an important role in Celtic culture. In fact, the Celts worship the dragon totem as much as China. Their patron saint is Y Ddraig Goch, pronounced [? 0? 5 ? 0? 8 Raigox], which means Red Dragon, has always been a symbol of this nation. The film Long Zhixin is an image of Zhuo Ke based on Celtic mythology. Now, the common image of the European dragon comes from the Celtic red dragon. Although it is quite different from the dragon in China, in the eyes of the Celts and their descendants, its significance is no different from that of the dragon to the people of China.

The red dragon is not only printed on the national flag of Wales today, but also often printed on local handicrafts, costumes, buildings, cars and even cups, toothpaste, lighters and other daily necessities in Wales. Welsh people are proud to be called "descendants of the red dragon", and the red dragon pattern that can be seen everywhere has become a landscape there.

Porto people

Porto, located in the northern Iberian Peninsula, is the second largest city in Portugal. In the depths of modern industrialized civilization, the ancient Douluo River has a long history and splendid culture.

Porto has a famous large stadium called Dragon Stadium. The origin of the name of this stadium is also related to the Duluo River. Because it is surrounded by very rich minerals, the Duluo River is called the "River of Gold". There is an old legend in Portugal that a dragon wants to occupy the mineral deposits on both sides of the Douro River. Because it often emits flames, everyone can't do anything about it. However, the clever and industrious Porto people finally doused the dragon's flame with the Douro River, and the dragon became a servant and protector of the Porto people, and helped the Porto people repel many enemy invasions. Since then, many Porto people have said that they are children of dragons and named their stadiums after them.

Xilong in fantasy culture is a legendary creature with great power and magical ability. There are many kinds, and the family size is not inferior to that of Oriental Dragon. China's dragon is "the dragon gives birth to nine children, and each child is different", while the western dragon is "the dragon gives birth to a hundred children, and each child is different". There are sea dragons living in the deep sea, dragons sleeping in the west of the fire, dragons sleeping in swamps and countless grotesque dragons, as well as nine-headed dragons, dragon beasts, Yalong, biped dragons and so on.

Western dragons have strong bodies, long thick necks, angular or wrinkled heads, sharp teeth and long tails. It walks with four powerful feet and flies with a pair of big wings like bat wings. Its body is covered with scales to protect it. Its eyes have four layers of eyelids, of which the inner three layers are transparent, which can protect the eyes from injury and the ears can be opened and closed, but not all dragons have external ears. Teeth are sharp and sharp, usually bending inward to tear prey.

Western dragons live in caves and like treasures. Usually, there are many treasures in caves. It can carry out spewing attacks, depending on the type of dragon. For example, the red dragon can fire and the blue dragon can spray electricity. But also immune to similar energy attacks. The dragon is a terrible creature, which exudes a frightening momentum. It can also use some magical effects, depending on the species.

Western dragons have a strong territorial concept. Generally, there will only be one dragon in an area, and there will be no other creatures. Most dragons in the west act alone and sleep all the year round. Only when their treasure or territory is violated will they wake up from a deep sleep and defend their treasure and territory.