Dragon is an animal, which is regarded as sacred and magical by China people.
Dragons can ride clouds and fog and travel all over the world; Dragons can call the wind and rain and bless the people. Chinese sons and daughters are proud of the descendants of the dragon and have always been full of lofty admiration for the dragon.
But have you ever seen a real living dragon?
According to Shuo Wen Jie Zi, it is recorded: "Dragons and scale worms can be quiet and bright, thin and huge, short and long. The vernal equinox ascends to the sky and the autumnal equinox dives deeply. "
After reading this passage, you will feel the mystery of the dragon more and more.
Archaeologists believe that the early dragons were snakes with horns on their heads and were pure reptiles; Some people think that dragons are primitive, with a head like a pig and a body like a snake. Others pointed out that dragons were transformed from crocodiles; Mr Wen Yiduo, a famous scholar, has a unique view on dragons. Mr Wen thinks that dragons are formed by snakes and many other animals. They are based on snakes, incorporating horsehair, oxtail, antlers, dog claws, fish scales and beards. ...
Since entering the modern society, many experts and scholars have deeply explored the origin of dragons. From the analysis of many unearthed cultural relics about dragons, the formation of dragons has experienced a long history. Among them, the mussel dragon unearthed in Puyang, Henan Province has a history of 6,000 years. On the one hand, it embodies the context of Yangshao culture, on the other hand, it proves the initial formation of dragons.
With regard to the origin of the dragon, after long-term research and textual research, people finally reached a relatively consistent understanding: the dragon is a synthesis of various animals and a symbol of totem worship formed in primitive society.
The dragon is great because it is respected by all people in China. The dragon is nothing, because it is only a spirit, not a substance.
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The origin of dragons
The origin of the dragon-the mystery of life experience (1);
Two thousand three hundred years ago, there was a scholar-bureaucrat who was both a poet and a philosopher wandering around Dongting Lake. Sometimes he bowed his head and meditated, and sometimes he sang to the sky. In the poem "tracts", he poured out the doubts accumulated in his heart:
Who handed down that ancient initial state?
Heaven and earth have not yet formed, so there is no need for textual research.
It is wet and dark day and night.
Who can say the limit?
The weather is moving and the surplus is invisible.
How can you know heaven and earth?
Used.
How to communicate with rivers and seas?
How did Ying Long draw land with his tail?
What is the experience of the river flowing to the sea?
Sunlight is everywhere,
How to take another photo of Candle dragon?
The sun has not yet risen,
Why does the holy tree shine brightly?
This scholar-bureaucrat is Qu Yuan, a famous poet in the Spring and Autumn Period.
The poem above is from his Tian Wen. In the poem, Qu Yuan raised more than 100 questions in one breath, from nature to society, from history to legend, and he boldly questioned them. Naturally, the "dragon" did not escape his keen eyes. Because according to legend, when Dayu was controlling water, he used his tail to delimit the land, which pointed out the route of flood diversion for Yu, so there were mighty rivers in later generations.
In Qu Yuan's time, few people dared to question the dragon, because the dragon was the image of God. However, such a question raised by Qu Yuan has been echoing in the valley of history. When we wander in front of the Nine Dragon Wall, stroll in the Forbidden City, or stand in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the images of mighty and magical dragons with different expressions give people a vivid feeling, as if they were about to smoke and fly away. But science and reason tell us that the dragon is a fictional god, and its image is a combination that absorbs the most magical parts of many animal images. Wang Chong, a scholar in the Han Dynasty, once pointed out that the dragon horn is like a deer, the head is like a camel, the eyes are like rabbits, the neck is like a snake, the abdomen is like a dragonfly, the scales are like carp, the claws are like eagles, the hands are like tigers, and the ears are like cows. How did this dragon image form, evolve and develop? To answer these questions, we need to go back to distant prehistoric times.
When our ancestors changed from apes to humans, they faced a very difficult natural environment. Due to low productivity and backward knowledge, primitive humans tried their best to obtain food and other resources from nature, and on the other hand, they worshipped and feared the powerful and mysterious nature, thus gradually producing primitive religion and witchcraft. Primitive religion believes that everything in nature is spiritual and there is a "god" who dominates nature. This (or more) palm holds all the forces in the universe, which can bless and punish mankind. But people can communicate with God through witches and seek God's protection and help.
In primitive religion, animal worship is one of its important contents. The initial economic activity of human beings is hunting, so animals are the most interesting objects of human beings in nature. Primitive man escaped the attack of fierce animals that threatened life by grasping the belly of animals. In this process, primitive people worship and fantasize about the gestures of some animals, such as crocodiles, pythons, snakes, birds and some insects, and their peculiar abilities, such as soaring in the sky, swimming underwater, walking without feet, sleeping and so on.
Worship of animals and natural phenomena has become an extremely important part of witchcraft activities. Primitive humans often regard the success or failure of hunting, whether it is harmed by wild animals or whether it is harmed by the gods who dominate nature as the expression of God's will, and these animals become the embodiment of God's will. This led to the sacrificial activities of primitive people, that is, after returning from hunting, some hunted animals were sacrificed to the gods to express their gratitude to the gods, and then they were eaten. In this activity, sacrificial animals become the intermediary between man and God, and these animals express primitive people's desire and worship for God. When primitive humans transformed from hunting economy to agriculture and animal husbandry economy, although the importance of hunting animals as food sources gradually weakened, the fact that animals were used as sacrifices did not change, and animals were still used as tools for communication between man and god.
As a result, the sacrificed animals were gradually sanctified.
This ritual activity may be simple at first, but it has gradually evolved into a solemn ceremony, which is widely used in various matters that need to pray to God, such as the illness and death of tribal members, conflicts between tribes, hunting, farming and gathering, migration and so on. In addition to using animals as sacrifices, a large number of sacrificial vessels and ritual vessels were used in the ceremony. On these ritual vessels and vessels, primitive humans described or carved various natural images they revered, such as the sun, the moon, mountains, Sichuan, clouds, animals and plants, etc. With great piety. Although these paintings or sculptures are imitations, many imitations, especially those of animals, are exaggerated, reflecting the religious concept of the creators. Therefore, these patterns, decorative patterns or sculptures formed by imitation are not only different from prototype animals, but also have sacred religious significance. It is in this religious animal image that primitive animal patterns with dragon characteristics appear, which experts call primitive dragon patterns.
1987, archaeologists found a "dragon" pattern with a white clam shell beside the owner in an ancient tomb about 6500 years ago in Xishuipo, Puyang, Henan. Painted pottery with giant patterns has also been unearthed in Gansu, a jade "dragon" dating back 5,000 years has been discovered in Liaohe River Basin in Northeast China, and painted pottery with "dragon pattern" has also been unearthed in Shanxi. Of course, there is still a big gap between this "dragon" and the dragon image we see today.
The origin of ancient "dragon" is related to totem worship in addition to the above primitive religion and witchcraft. Totem is a symbol of a clan in primitive society, also known as clan emblem. In the clan society, people often think that their ancestors are certain animals, plants or other inanimate things, and this species becomes the symbol and protector of clan ancestors. According to ancient documents, many clans in China regard dragons as totems, such as the ancient Yellow Emperor and clans, Gong Shi, Zhu Rong, Yao, Shun, Yu clans and wuyue clans. However, these documents were written late, which is a review of future generations. When the literature was produced, the concept of dragon had been formed, so it is inevitable that there will be the possibility of addition and rendering in the description. Totem legends of ancient clans often turned into fairy tales, but left some clues. According to expert research, these so-called dragon totems are actually snakes, crocodiles, lizards and other animals similar to later dragon images. These animals are not only endowed with sacred significance in clan sacrifices, but also deified in form. In the long ancient times, the animal totem image was combined with the animal worship image in other primitive religions to form the original dragon image.
"Dragon" lost the word "primitive", that is, from the original dragon pattern to the real dragon pattern, about in the Shang Dynasty. About 2 1 century BC, China produced the first state power-Xia Dynasty. After summer, it was the Shang Dynasty. The commercial power is strong and unprecedented prosperity. In Ode to Shang in the Book of Songs, it is said that Shang is "a thousand miles for the country, the people stop it, and it is faked from all over the world." Translated into modern Chinese, it means "the business territory is thousands of miles wide, people live everywhere in the vast territory, and the business territory reaches four depths." People from all over the world came to praise the Shang Dynasty, with a large number of people and bustling. " The prosperity and unification of Shang Dynasty promoted cultural exchanges between different regions, such as the return of hundreds of rivers to the sea and the unprecedented integration of Shang culture. Businessmen's culture is open and willing to accept other types of culture, which is conducive to cultural integration. Shang dynasty attached great importance to religion and witchcraft, and also attached great importance to the casting of bronzes, which were indispensable ritual vessels in religious activities. Bronze ware, as a ritual vessel to communicate with heaven and earth, has its own religious significance, while the ornamentation on bronze ware has a stronger religious color, that is, through various symbolic ornamentation, it shows people the gods they worship and seeks their protection against monsters. In this decoration, the original dragon pattern becomes the main part.
A prominent sign of the formation of the "dragon" in Shang Dynasty is that the dragon began to have horns. Of course, at this time, the shape of the dragon horn is not fixed, and some are like giraffes, and the horns are tapered; Some are like sheep, with horns rolled back; Some are like corollas, some are like antelopes, and there are various shapes such as forward roll, tiger ears and spiral. There were no horns in the dragon statues before Shang Dynasty, but in Shang Dynasty, dragons gave birth to horns. The reason lies in the diagonal worship of Shang Dynasty.
Among animals, horns are generally found in male animals, and large and strong horns are often a symbol of strength. Therefore, the horn was valued and revered by ancient ancestors and became an indispensable item in religious ceremonies such as sacrifice. The worship of diagonal in Shang Dynasty reached an unprecedented level. Not only should there be sacrificial horns, but also the size and shape of the horns are different according to different occasions. Cattle sacrificed to heaven and earth should have horns as big as cocoons and chestnuts; Cattle used as sacrifices when offering sacrifices to ancestors should have horns that can be held in their hands without going out; Cows are guests, and the horns must be one foot long; Sometimes, cows used as sacrificial handles also require the horns to be even, absolutely speaking, shiny. There is a saying in the Book of Songs that praises horns: "If you kill a stallion, you have to lick its horns, so that you can continue to be like the ancients." The main idea of the poem is: "kill that bull, its horn is curved and beautiful, and use it to sacrifice the world and the country, so that you can inherit the divine power of your ancestors." Merchants added various horns to dragons that had no horns, because they thought horns were divine. With horns, dragons are more divine and can communicate with heaven and earth. With horns, the original dragon pattern got rid of the prototype animal form and became a kind of god beast different from any animal in the world. Merchants also used the same method to add different organs of animals such as elephants, tigers, pigs and crocodiles to dragons, thus making the image of dragons more magical. There is no essential difference between this dragon after artistic transformation and the dragon image we see now, only the difference of individual body parts.
Not only the animal worship and totem worship of primitive religion have become the source of the formation of dragons, but also some strange and rare natural phenomena have been integrated into the streams where dragons have formed. Because the image of the dragon is weird, its ability is magical, and it has the ability to reach the sky, so some strange natural phenomena similar to the meaning or image of the dragon are also attached to Jackie Chan. According to Shan Hai Jing, there is a mountain called Zhang Weishan outside the Northwest Sea and north of Chishui. There is a "Candle dragon" on the hill. This dragon snake face is thousands of miles long, and its eyes are upright, just like two straight seams. It controls the change of day and night and the flow of time by blinking, closing eyes at night and opening eyes during the day. There is a poem in the Jin Dynasty: "The sky is short of western soil, the dragon has fine fire, the gas is cold and hot, the eyes are dim, and the body is thousands of miles long." Candle dragon's place of residence is "Hanze" where the sun can't shine. According to expert research, the so-called Candle dragon is actually the Northern Lights. After the rain, the rainbow is also attached to the dragon. The colorful seven colors of the rainbow, like the shape of an arch bridge connecting heaven and earth, are closely connected with rain, which makes it easy for ancient ancestors to associate the rainbow with dragons, and even think that it is a two-headed dragon that absorbs water from rivers. In addition, huge tornadoes and thunderbolt lightning in thunderstorm weather are easily considered by the ancients as dragons or dragon activities.
When did dragons originate?
Dragons originated in the early Neolithic age, and the time from today will not be less than 8000 years. During this period, primitive ancestors did not simply and passively rely on God's reward. They raise wild horses, bison, wild boar and so on. We don't just eat those picked wild fruits, but selectively plant grains to harvest them. They can skillfully use fire, learn to build simple houses with wood, start grinding stone tools and bones, make pottery by hand, and gradually settle down and engage in production activities. Production activities make people's contact with nature more and more extensive, and nature, as an incredible force outside people, has a greater impact on people's spiritual world.
Why can't fish swim? Crocodiles in the bay sound like Hong Zhong, snakes are eerie and lizards have strange shapes. Why are clouds rolling, thunder and lightning, and heavy rain pouring down? Why do waves roll, rainbows run through the sky, and mudslides roar down, devouring people and animals and being invincible? ..... The behavior of these animals and the ever-changing natural phenomena are beyond the scientific explanation of the ancients.
They vaguely guessed that there should be such a powerful "sacred object" related to "water" to command and manage these animals and astronomical phenomena, just as a clan must have a leader; In other words, these animals and natural phenomena are the embodiment of this "sacred object", just like people want to talk, scream, eat, drink, sleep, laugh and curse.
As a worship phenomenon and an "understanding" of incredible natural forces, the dragon began its "fuzzy collection" from this time.
The "dragon carving" unearthed from the site of the original village of Chahai in Fuxin, Liaoning Province provides evidence for our "time positioning". Chahai site belongs to the "pre-Hongshan Culture" remains, dating back about 8,000 years. The "Dragon Sculpture" is located in the central square of this primitive village site and is made of red-brown stones of equal size. This dragon is nearly 20 meters long and 2 meters wide. Its first mouth is tilted, its back is bent and its tail is looming. This stone dragon is the oldest and largest dragon found in China so far. It is said that there is a 10,000-year-old fish-tailed deer Longyan painting on the stone cliff of Persimmon Beach in Jixian County, Shanxi Province, which is considered as the earliest prototype of the dragon. This rock painting has not been published, and its appearance is still unknown. Then there are pottery dragon patterns unearthed in Xinglong Valley, Aohan Banner, Inner Mongolia, painted pottery dragon patterns unearthed in Beishouling Site, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province, and dragon patterns unearthed in Xishuipo, Puyang City, Henan Province, dating back more than 6,400 years.
The process of fuzzy dragon mining began in the Neolithic Age, and it basically took shape in the Qin and Han Dynasties after considerable development in the Shang, Zhou and Warring States periods. This "basic" has two meanings. One is that the framework, elements and styles of dragons were basically available in Qin and Han dynasties; Second, the dragon is an open, constantly absorbing new systems, which is not satisfied with the basic formation of Qin and Han Dynasties. Later dynasties, until today, are constantly changing and developing.
How did dragons form?
How did dragons form? There have always been different views, such as from crocodiles, snakes, lizards, horses, pigs, lightning, rainbows and so on. The author's viewpoint is "fuzzy set theory", and his thinking is that the ancestors of the Neolithic Age faced the outside world with primitive thinking, which is a "fuzzy thinking" characterized by intuitive superficiality, overall relevance, illogical mystery and group representation. This kind of thinking is enough to lead our ancestors to gather and sublimate various objects from the outside world into several "sacred objects" and then worship them.
In the eyes of the ancients, the world outside is mysterious and confusing, and the intuition and superficiality of fuzzy thinking make them unable to distinguish clouds, thunder and lightning, rainbows, tides and mudslides as clearly as modern people. It is also impossible for modern people to study the living habits of fish, crocodiles, snakes, lizards, pigs, horses, cattle and other animals with rich biological knowledge. In their view, clouds, thunder and lightning, rainbows and so on are all related to rain, almost of the same kind; Fish, crocodiles, snakes, etc. Swimming in the rivers and lakes is close to the water, and it is generally the same kind; Pigs like water, and horses, cows and so on can't live without water-hippos and buffaloes are aquatic things. And the rain in the sky falls to the ground, which is water; Water rises to the sky and then falls. This is rain. Since the rain in the sky and the water flowing on the ground are the same thing, clouds, thunder and lightning, rainbows, etc. Rain is almost the same as fish, crocodiles and snakes. They are closely related to water and swim in rivers and lakes. Moderate rain, abundant grass and abundant grains; Less rain, withered leaves and hay, and drought in all crops; There is too much rain, people and animals are flooded and farmland is destroyed. Production and life can't rely on rain, but rain often makes people rely on it. Look at these rain-related images: clouds are rolling around and changing; Lightning is all-powerful in the sky, thunderous; The rainbow bows its head and bows its back, with magnificent colors; There are fish, crocodiles, snakes, lizards and so on. Different sizes, different temperaments and different lengths: how mysterious, magnificent and terrible all this is!
Therefore, the ancients speculated that there must be a "sacred object" in charge of all this, leading all this forever, dominating all this and rehearsing all this. This "sacred object" is very large, but it can be large or small; Skin color is diverse, which can be bright or dark; It should also have a head and a tail, be able to get up and lie down, be good at climbing and swimming, be tortuous and act quickly; In a word, it has great energy, can go up and down, is good at changing, can fly in the sky, can hide in the water, integrates all kinds of "water" characteristics, and has a particularly close relationship with rain.
What should I call this "sacred object"? It is found that when it rains, dark clouds surge, lightning flashes and thunder is accompanied by "rumbling" thunder; Tides rise and fall, tornadoes absorb water, and mudslides go down the mountain, all of which make a "rumbling" sound; Crocodiles, cattle, pythons and other animals are also close to the "rumbling" sound; The "rumbling" sound itself is thick, vigorous, deep and distant, giving people a feeling of terror, heroism, loftiness and mystery. Therefore, people call this vague "sacred object" by its sound and "long" sound.
The pronunciation of "holy things" is onomatopoeia. What should the image of "sacred objects" look like? Some people say it is like a fish, some people say it is like a crocodile, some people say it is like a snake, some people say it is like a cloud, like lightning, like a rainbow; It is also possible that today is like this, tomorrow is like that, and the day after tomorrow is another way; You might think it's both this and that. When you rise to the sky, it is clouds, lightning and rainbows. Fish, crocodiles and snakes fall into the water. On land, it is pigs, horses and cows. Fuzzy thinking has no logic and is unaware of contradictions. This kind of thinking allows the same object to appear in different places at the same time, allowing parts to be the same as the whole, singular and plural.
It's time to create Chinese characters, and it's time to give this sacred object named "Dragon" a symbol. At first, our ancestors created characters with images. So, what shape should this relic be? Some people say they are like crocodiles, so they made several figures like dragons. Some people say it looks like a snake, so they made a few words like "dragon"; Others said it was like lightning, so they created several words like lightning. Others say that the body is like crocodile, snake and lightning, but the head is like horse, cow and pig, so make a few "dragons" like this. Therefore, various characters of "dragon" appeared in Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Jin Wenzhong. Later, it gradually evolved until it was finally simplified into this "dragon".
In this way, we can say that the dragon is a kind of deity produced by the ancient people in China who vaguely gathered fish, crocodiles, snakes, pigs, horses, cows, clouds, thunder and lightning, rainbows and other natural phenomena. Based on the real biological and natural phenomena, the ancestors infiltrated, bet and concretized the fear, dependence, suspicion, imagination and worship of the outside world into the fuzzy collection of dragons.
From the aesthetic point of view, the dragon is undoubtedly the artistic creation of the ancients. It comes from fish, crocodile, snake, cloud, electricity, rainbow and other concrete images, and through the fuzzy collection of many people, it forms a new image based on and including each concrete image. Its formation process is the process of integrating the factors of "beauty". In a popular saying, it is "from life, higher than life", which is permeated with ancient myths and conjectures, religious interests, aesthetic pleasure and artistic interests.
Is the dragon a totem?
Totem, originally a dialect vocabulary of American Indian Gibois, means "his kin". The core of totem worship is that an animal, a plant or an inanimate object is related to one's clan, and is the ancestor and relative of the clan, so it is regarded as the symbol, symbol and protector of the clan. Many scholars around the world have investigated and studied totem worship, an ancient and peculiar cultural phenomenon. It is generally believed that many nationalities in the world once had totem worship, and its remains can still be seen in some modern nationalities.
The dragon totem was first put forward by Wen Yiduo. In one of his articles devoted to dragons and phoenixes, Mr. Wen said: "In the earliest sense, dragons and phoenixes represent the two most basic units of our ancient nation-Xia and Yin, because people have vaguely seen this in the two myths of' changing the Huanglong after death, using it for it' and' the bird of destiny (that is, the phoenix) descended and gave birth to business'. Because the Xia and Yin Dynasties in history have been far away from the totem culture period, and the so-called totem is a system and belief of the Xia and Yin people far before the Xia and Yin Dynasties), it is no longer appropriate to regard the dragon and phoenix as the symbol of the birthplace of our nation and the beginning of culture. "
So, how did the dragon totem form? In his masterpiece Fuxi Kao, Mr. Wen said: the dragon totem "is a virtual creature that exists only in totems but not in biology, because it is a synthesis made up of many different totems"; It is the result of the annexation and assimilation of many weak units by the snake totem.
Dragon totem theory began in the 1940s, and has been passed down to this day, once becoming the mainstream view. In 1980s, some scholars began to question the dragon totem theory, and some negative views appeared. In any case, totems are always real objects in nature. Because in the final analysis, the totem system embodies the relationship between human beings and nature. Therefore, according to the prevailing theories and accepted materials in academic circles, it is unacceptable that dragons, as totems, do not exist in nature at the same time. "(Yan Yunxiang)" So far, there is no credible information in archaeology and history to prove that there was a powerful clan tribe with snakes as its totem in the history of China. As for the idea of integrating other clan tribes with horses, dogs, fish, birds and deer as totems, it is entirely out of imagination. " (Liu Zhixiong, Yang Jingrong)
Scholars also pointed out that it is also very wrong to regard the animal shapes or ornamentation appearing on ancient cultural relics in China as the manifestation of totem. Because a certain type of culture in archaeology and a clan tribe in sociology are two completely different concepts. In terms of time and space, the former is much bigger than the latter. Therefore, it is impossible to equate a certain decoration in a certain culture with the totem of a certain clan. Some scholars put forward paradoxes from the basic characteristics of totem culture, such as: totem is the object revered by clan members and cannot be destroyed, killed or eaten. In China's ancient books, myths and legends, there are many descriptions of belittling, insulting, fighting, chopping dragons and eating dragons.
Looking at the dragon totem debate, I think there are at least two issues worth considering:
One problem is that totem theory comes from western scholars. Did the ancient clan tribes in China have the same totem worship period as those in Australia and North America? Analyzing the relevant records in ancient books, the answer seems to be yes. However, according to the general view of academic circles, totem culture occurred in the middle of Paleolithic Age and flourished in the late Paleolithic Age. Entering the Neolithic Age, it tends to decline and enter the class society, leaving only some remnants to continue. According to the physical data provided by archaeology, the origin of the dragon should be after the Neolithic Age, which leads to a problem: totem worship has declined, but the dragon originated. It is against the basic logic of the development of things to classify the rising dragon as a declining worship phenomenon.
Another problem is that the concept of totem has its original connotation and extension, which is basically recognized by the academic community. Such a totem is a totem in a strict sense, and it can also be called a "narrow totem". The totem after its connotation and extension is not a totem in the strict sense, but also a "generalized totem". Strictly speaking, totems are physical objects that exist in nature, but dragons do not meet this condition. They are sacred objects that do not exist in nature. Therefore, if the dragon is a totem, it can only be classified as a generalized totem. The problem is that narrow totem and broad totem sometimes conflict. For example, according to the requirements of narrow totem, totem is not allowed to be insulted and killed, while dragon, as a broad totem, has been repeatedly punished and beheaded. How to explain this problem? If I have to choose between narrow totem and broad totem, I prefer narrow totem, because I think totem is totem, and we should respect the original connotation and extension. If it is too broad, there will be no totem.
In view of this, I did not use the word "totem" in a series of books and articles about dragons, but chose the concept of "emblem".
What are the dragon gods?
The divinity of dragons can be summarized by love the water, flying, flying, fickle, supernatural, auspicious, ominous and indicative.
In the divinity of dragons, "love the water" ranks first. This is because dragons are originally "water" and "water phase", or that dragons originated from "water" and "water phase". Many vague collection objects of dragons can be said to be "water objects" or "water phases". Fish, crocodiles, hippos, seahorses and buffaloes live in water; Snakes and lizards like to be in wet places; Pigs, cows, horses and deer can't live without water. However, clouds, thunder and lightning, rainbows, tides, tornadoes, mudslides and other natural phenomena are closely related to rain and water. It seems that jujube can be called "water phase". How can a dragon that originated from water and water not "like water"?
The divinity of "love the water" makes the dragon particularly competent for running clouds, distributing rain and managing water.
"Good flying" occupies a particularly important position in the basic divinity of dragons. Dragons "fly well" for several reasons: First, as the fuzzy collection objects of dragons, clouds, thunder and lightning, rainbows, etc. are originally "astronomical phenomena" flying in the air; Second, fish, crocodiles, snakes, etc. Swim fast in the water, while horses, cows, deer, etc. Running at a speed similar to "flying" on land; Thirdly, due to the fuzziness of thinking, the ancients often put fish, crocodiles, snakes and so on. Diving, horses, cows, deer, etc. Running on land, there are clouds, thunder and lightning, rainbows and so on. Flying in the air is a different manifestation of a sacred object, so that if you can swim in the water and run on the ground, you can fly in the sky. Fourthly, since human beings have a spiritual life, they have been dreaming of transcending their own limitations, getting rid of the suffering of this world and soaring to the sky full of stars, moons and white clouds. As a sacred object that embodies the ideals of the ancients, the dragon can't fly, and it is not a dragon if it can't fly well.
The divinity of "flying well" makes the dragon a natural convenience for some immortals, sages and emperors.
The direction and field of "flying" is naturally and can only be a mysterious, vast and supreme sky. Therefore, "flying well" is bound to "reach the sky." As early as the black pottery ear basin unearthed from Hemudu site in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province, there were patterns depicting "fish algae pattern" and "bird pattern" together. The "bird and fish pattern" unearthed from the site of Beishouling in Shaanxi Province also connects the birds flying in the sky with the fuzzy collections of fish, dates and dragons swimming in the water, indicating that as early as the early Neolithic Age, at the beginning of the fuzzy collection of dragons, many architectural sculptures and paintings in later generations made dragons appear in boundless sky and clouds, such as the Yunlong column in the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Yunlong stone in the Temple of Heaven and the Pearl Dragon in the Confucius Temple.
Dragons "like water", and water gathers on the ground; The dragon "flies well" and soars in. In this way, the dragon has the ability to communicate with heaven and earth and become a bridge and messenger between heaven and earth. Those emperors compared themselves with dragons because they saw the divinity of dragons and their ability to act as bridges and messengers between heaven and earth.
Because the dragon is a fuzzy collection of many objects, and there are such differences between the collected objects, the dragon has a "fickle" divinity. In the eyes of the ancients, Long Zaitian can be clouds, electricity or rainbows, pigs, horses or cows on the ground, fish, crocodiles or snakes in the water. That is to say, clouds, electricity and rainbows in the sky, pigs, horses and cows on the ground, fish, crocodiles and snakes in the water and so on. Can be variants and incarnations of dragons.
The dragon has an impetuous divinity, and if it changes, it will inevitably produce some lightness, knowledge, implication, effectiveness, absurdity, strangeness and weirdness. Therefore, the dragon has a supernatural divinity and has become one of the "four spirits" in the minds of the ancients (the other three spirits are forest, wind and ghost).
One of the purposes for people to create and worship God is to believe that God can bring benefits to themselves. Dragon is a mythical creature created by ancient people's fuzzy collection of many animals and astronomical phenomena. If this mythical creature can't bring happiness and auspiciousness to the world, what did the ancients create it for? All the divinity of the dragon mentioned above provides the basis for the divinity of auspicious Kerry, the symbol of the dragon: dragon loves water, and water is?