The dragon is so sacred in people's hearts, and there are actually religious reasons in it!

Taoism is a native religion in China. It is a religion that combines witchcraft, nature worship, animal worship, and the art of gods and fairies from the Qin and Han dynasties, and is theorized and systematic.

Early Taoists had realized that dragons came from snakes. The "Huangbai Pian" says: "The snake's dragon is no different from the self-grown ones. However, the root causes are all natural."

During the reign of Emperor Shun of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Daoling advocated the Five Doks of Rice, which was advocated by Lao Tzu as the leader, and with (Lao Tzu's 5,000-word writing) as the main classic, it formed an artificial religious form with doctrines, doctrines and rules in small quantities.

Since its inception, Taoism has been inseparable from the worship of dragons. In the pre-Qin period, riding dragons around the continents and the four seas, riding dragons to ascend to heaven, and using dragons to communicate with heaven and man, were fully inherited by Taoism.

The descendants of Zhang Daoling, the founder of the Dragon Taoism, all inherited their careers, and were called "Tianshi Masters". They also conveyed that the room was said to have a fate with the dragon. It is said that the third generation of Tianshi Master was named Lu, and it is said that he had ten sons, named "Ten Dragons of Zhang's Family".

Another legend says: Zhang Lu's daughter was washing clothes at the foot of the mountain, and suddenly there was white mist around her body. Therefore, she was pregnant without marriage and felt ashamed, so she committed suicide. She left her last words before her death, and she must be cut off the body and see what was in her belly. As a result, there were two twin dragons in her belly, and the maid put them into the Han River.

Many representative Taoist figures afterwards were said to have a mysterious relationship with dragons, such as Tao Hongjing, a representative Taoist figure in the Southern Dynasties. Legend has it that his mother was born in dreams of dragons, and he was a dragon species.

Dong Qichang of the Ming Dynasty's "Jihuan Gong Yuan's Operation": "When Duke Ji (Yuan Keli) comes from, his path is particularly in Longhai. I want to hear the news and ceremonies, and I hope he will make great progress in the time. I respond to the sages' wishes to seek talents, but the Duke is not waiting!"

The most important function of the dragon in Taoism is to help Taoist priests to go to heaven and earth and communicate with ghosts and gods. The dragon is considered to be one of the "three sedan chairs". The "three sedan chairs" referred to here are: one is the dragon sedan chair, the second is the tiger sedan chair, and the third is the deer sedan chair. The three sedan chairs in Taoism are mainly used as their riding tools to go to heaven and earth.

Mr. Zhang Guangzhi believed that: ‘The owner of Tomb No. 45 of Pu-Yang is a primitive Taoist priest or wizard in Yangshao culture society, and the dragon, tiger and deer shaped with clam shells are the artistic images of the three sedan chairs he can summon and use.’

He linked the clam shell dragon, tiger and deer with the three sedan chairs on ancient primitive Taoism, and believed that the two had a connection.

Legend has it that a celestial master with magic power can also summon dragons and drive them away.

"Youyang Miscellaneous Stories. Weird Art" says: On a landlord named Yun'an, there are fifteen miles of dangerous beaches by the river. If the boats and oars are not leveraged by people, they cannot pass. The thin-skinned master Zhai Ganyou thought about the work of business and traveling, and formed an altar and made a group of dragons. A total of 14 pieces were summoned, all of which turned into old people. Zhai Tianshi asked them to level the dangerous beaches and sailed for the benefit of the boats. The dragons took the orders and left.

Overnight, the wind and thunder were shaking, and the divine officials ordered it to come. Three days later, a woman came, and it turned out to be a female dragon.

Hao argued: Those who cross this river by boat are all wealthy businessmen and big businessmen who are pulling for them. They are all poor people in Yun'an, who have always lived by pulling for them. If the dangerous shoals are gone, the boats and boats are unhindered. What should they rely on to eat and wear? They would rather have dangerous shoals to support their boats than to benefit the rich businessmen.

After hearing this, Master Zhai Tian nodded repeatedly, so he summoned the dragons to restore everything to their original state.

It is not just Taoism that makes a big fuss about dragons for its own benefit. The same is true for Buddhism!

In Buddhist scriptures, there are many names for the dragon king nāgarāja. In Buddhism, dragons should be cobras, not traditional Chinese divine dragons. As the Lotus Sutra says: There are eight dragon kings, one is the dragon king of Nāgarāja, two is the dragon king of Vāgarāja, three is the dragon king of Sāgarāja, four is the dragon king of Hexiuji, five is the dragon king of Deyijia, six is ​​the dragon king of Anapadatha, seven is the dragon king of Manas, and eight is the dragon king of Fuboluo.

China's belief in dragon kings was born with the rise of Buddhism, but it is very different from that of dragon kings in Indian Buddhism. It can be said that the dragon kings in China are the product of the mixture of Buddhism and Taoism. Taoism introduced the dragon kings of Buddhism and transformed them to form its own dragon king system, called the dragon kings of heavens, dragon kings of the four seas, dragon kings of the five directions, etc. Specific examples:

The "Dragon Kings" in the "Taishang Cave Abyss Divine Mantra" lists the "Five Emperors and Dragon Kings" distinguished by direction, the "Four Seas Dragon Kings" distinguished by ocean, and the 54 Dragon Kings names and 62 Dragon Kings names distinguished by heaven, earth and all things;

The Dragon Kings of the Four Seas in "Journey to the West" (Ao Guang from the East Sea, Ao Qin from the West Sea, Ao Run from the South Sea, and Ao Shun from the North Sea);

During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, he ordered a dragon pond to be sacrificial officials to offer sacrifices to the Dragon King with the ceremony of worshiping the Rain Master.

In the second year of Daguan (1108), the Song Dynasty Huizong ordered all five dragons in the world to be granted the title of king, the Qinglong God as King Guangren, the Red Dragon God as King Jiaze, the Yellow Dragon God as King Fuying, the White Dragon God as King Yiji, and the Black Dragon God as King Lingze.

In the second year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1863), the dragon god of canal was named "the god of Yanmai Xianying Di Shui Dragon King", and the governor of the river channel offered sacrifices at the same time.

The relationship between dragons and Buddhism is still controversial in the academic community. It is said that China's worship of "Dragon King" was introduced from India with Buddhism. The reason is that in China's native dragon worship, there was no "Dragon King" worship.

Before the Han Dynasty, there were only "Dragon God" and no "Dragon King". After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Buddhist beliefs were introduced to China, and the beliefs of the Dragon King spread throughout the Middle Land.

Another theory is that the dragon in Indian Buddhism was passed down from China, and after being recreated by Indians, it became the "Dragon King". With the spread of Buddhism in the east, the worship of the Dragon King was passed on to China.

The introduction of Indian Buddhist art also had a great influence on the image of Chinese dragons. From the Han and Jin Dynasties to the Tang and Song Dynasties, the image of dragons was obviously influenced by Buddhist art during the evolution process. For example, the dragons on the murals of the Northern Wei Dynasty in Dunhuang were rushing, and the dragons in the Tang and Song Dynasties absorbed the image of lions. The head was round and plump, with a mane on the back of the head, and the nose was similar to the lion's nose.

Xijiangjiang-Ning-Nan Tang Dynasty, the dragon on the murals in the tomb not only has its head like a lion, but its entire body is a bit similar to a lion. The dragon absorbs the image of a lion mainly to express its magical power and increase its magical powers.

As a unique cultural condensation and accumulation of our Chinese, dragons have been rooted and deeply hidden in the subconscious of each of us. Not only are people's daily lives, birth, old age, sickness and death almost all marked by dragon culture, but also the perspective of dragon culture. The aesthetic consciousness of dragon culture has penetrated into all areas and aspects of our social culture.

The dragon is connected to everything in China.

In traditional Chinese culture, the dragon is a symbol of power, nobility, honor, and also a symbol of luck and success.

The reason why dragons have this cultural symbolic significance is that it has a lot to do with the incomparable magical powers of the legend and myth that when dragons fly in the sky, they fly in the sky, and when they go into the sea, they chase waves, and when they call wind and rain in the world, they call wind and rain. But more importantly, it is because dragons have often become slaves in China for thousands of years. The "exclusive patent" of the highest ruler of feudal society is synonymous with imperial power. Therefore, the emperor compared himself to the "true dragon emperor". The whole body is called "dragon body". The clothes they wear are called "dragon robe", the chairs they sit on are called "dragon chair", the carriage they ride, the boat is called "dragon chariot", and the dragon boat... In short, everything related to their daily life is called "dragon" to show the privilege of being high.

The history of the connection between dragons and imperial power is also a long time ago. It began since the time of Emperor Huang.

In the legendary era, Huangdi, who had a dragon's blood relationship, inspected and understood the people's sentiments. He asked people to mine the head mountain and then transported it to the foot of Jingshan to cast a tripod to commemorate his glorious victory in the battle.

After a while, the tripod was finally cast, and Huangdi held a celebration ceremony in Jingshan to celebrate the casting of the giant tripod.

The invitation to the ceremony was not only the gods, but also the people from all directions. Everyone wanted to see what the tripod cast by Huangdi looked like.

As soon as the time came, the emperor was probably unveiling himself. He saw a copper tripod that was more than three feet tall and as big as a jar, shining with dazzling golden light to the gods. In front of the people, everyone was impressed and looked forward to look carefully. The cauldron was carved with a vigorous dragon passing by in auspicious clouds, surrounded by ghosts and gods and various rare birds and beasts. It can be said to be in various shapes and vivid.

Just as the gods admired the giant tripod and the pattern on it with reverence, suddenly the sky was densely covered with clouds. It blocked the sunlight and the sky soon became dark. Everyone thought it was going to rain, so they knew that a golden light penetrated the thick clouds. A divine dragon wearing golden armor broke through the clouds. Its tail and lower body were held in the clouds, and its head was leaning against the treasure tripod, and its long dragon whiskers hung down to the ground along the tripod. Huangdi understood that this was his fulfillment of the mission in the world, and the heaven sent the divine dragon to pick him up to heaven. He jumped, stepped on the dragon's back, and flew back to the heaven.

The people on earth were reluctant to let the virtuous and wise monarch like Huangdi go back. Everyone pulled the dragon beard and refused to let go. As a result, many dragon beards were pulled off, and Huangdi and Shenlong left.

It is said that when the dragon whiskers fall on the ground, many small and slender grasses grow. People later called this grass "Dragon whiskers".

Most of the famous monarchs in the legendary era had an indescribable and unexplained relationship with the dragon. When Yao was in power, there were great prehistoric worlds, floods everywhere. In order to save the people, he ordered Gun to control the flood.

Gun stole the Xilan of the Heavenly Emperor and collected a "blocking" method to control the water. He was exhausted and killed by the angry Heavenly Emperor in Yushan, and Zhulong happened to be the guardian saint here. The landlord of Yushan cannot shine on the sun, and he relied on a candle in Zhulong's mouth for many years to illuminate it. Therefore, Gun's body did not rot for three years.

The Emperor of Heaven was afraid that Gun would resurrection and argued with him. He did not stop at all. He sent someone a god named "Wu Dao", probably the "knife and axeman" in the sky, holding a treasure sword to the realm and spitting on Gun's corpse. When Wu Dao cut off Gun's belly, a dragon suddenly appeared from inside, with a pair of sharp and sharp horns. He churned and jumped on the nearby hillside a few times, and suddenly became a big dragon. It was Gun's son Yu.

It is strange that after Yu was born, Gun's body rolled down the feather abyss and turned into a dragon that kept raising its beard and shaking its scales, and cultivating its waves horizontally.

Yu inherited his father's aspirations and finally subdued the flood and won the respect of all people. Later, the elderly Shun surrendered the throne to Yu, and Yu became the founding monarch of the Xia Dynasty. This may also be one of the historical basis for "the emperor is the true dragon emperor".

Another cultural symbolic meaning of dragons is outstanding and extraordinary. Dragons are divine objects that are comparable to ordinary people, so people often call those who have noble ambitions, good behaviors, very capable, prosper and achievement "dragons".

When Zhuge Liang and Ge Kongming were working in Nanyang, he had not yet come out of a thatched cottage, he compared himself to Guan Zhong and Leyi, and was named Mr. Wolong, which means that he had the three ambitions of a swan but had no talent.

In Chinese, dragons and insects are relative. What kind of insects are? Snakes are also called long insects. They can be seen everywhere, with a wide variety, and are common. It is not surprising, but not expensive.

‘Dragon and snake are mixed together’ means good things and bad things are mixed together. It is difficult to distinguish. This is a phenomenon that cannot be explained biologically - the archetype of a dragon, or the basic physiological animal of a dragon is a snake. The dragon and the snake are not brothers, but at least they are the same clan (the beautiful name of snake is also the "dragon"). However, once the dragon separates from the snake, it will not take care of the snake quietly, and even to express that it is incomparable to the snake, it will also "kill" the snake.

The most typical story is the story of Liu Bang, the Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty, killing the white snake. It says that Liu Bang's mother Liu Yimeng had an affair with Long and became pregnant and gave birth to Liu Bang. He had little ambitions. Once, on a wild road, he encountered a big python blocking the road. He immediately waved his sword to kill the snake, breaking his belly and taking off his gallbladder. It was said to be a good story, and people at that time thought it was good.

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang took the opportunity to raise troops in Pei County, wipe out all the heroes, and established the Han Empire. It achieved the foundation of the Liu family in the Han Dynasty for 400 years.

The dragon also symbolizes outstanding performance and extraordinaryness. In ancient times, those wise men and noble men were also called "dragon".

According to legend, Confucius went to meet Laozi Li Dan, the founder of Taoism, and did not speak a word three days after returning. The disciples were very surprised. They asked him: "How did you teach him when you met Li Dan?"

Confucius said: "What I saw was a dragon that changes infinitely along the yin and yang. I was speechless. How could I teach him? "It means that all words are redundant. Lao Dan is the dragon among humans. A rare sage.

In addition, when Zhuge Kongming was not yet known as "Mr. Wolong". Cai Yong, a doctor from the Eastern Han Dynasty, drank hundreds of pounds and got drunk on the side of the road, and everyone called him "Drunk Dragon".

Therefore, anyone with moral character, talent, skilled writing, or honest official, or behavioral behavior can be compared to "dragon".

As the saying goes, "I hope my child will become a dragon." It is not that I hope my child will become a monster with scales on his head and a dragon that will not see his tail. Instead, I hope that the child can have a future, make a name for himself and do a career in the future.

Among the popular new nursery rhymes in recent years, there is one that says ((100 points are a dragon)), which also means this.

In addition, we often hear news about the "Dragon and Tiger List in the Music Industry" in radio, television, newspapers and magazines. What is the "Dragon and Tiger List"? ((New Book of Tang? Biography of Ouyang Zhan)) It is said that when Ouyang Zhan became a Jinshi, he was on the same list with Han Yu, Li Guan, Wang Ya, Cui Qun and other famous scholars in the world. At that time, he was called the "Dragon and Tiger List", which means celebrities and superstars gathered here. The "Dragon" here reflects the successful people.

The pattern of "Dragon and Phoenix" was 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, but also symbolizes the harmony between the spirit and material yin and yang of all worldly spirits and material yin and yang.

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 oracle bone script are amorphous, how can it be seen that the dragon is a spiritual insect that is flexed and stretched due to the time, and the phoenix is ​​a spiritual bird with a gorgeous long tail. On ancient bronzes, the image of the dragon shows a hideous, mysterious and dignified overall effect.

By the Han Dynasty, it used heavy and powerful arcs, exquisite points to form a large structure and the main tone of the big dynamic momentum, breaking through the shackles of the mysterious and bizarre atmosphere.

During the Tang Dynasty, it was given a peaceful and gentle human character, forming a rich and graceful and booming style.

From the Song and Yuan dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties, they paid attention to the style of beauty, from fine workmanship to complicated piles, but the dragon and phoenix patterns between the two always maintained a simple, bright, concise and vivid style, with a strong sense of life.

In practical applications, dragons have always represented an authority or power, and their divinity has increased day by day.

Each part of a dragon has specific meanings: a protruding forehead indicates intelligence and wisdom; a deer antler indicates country and longevity; a cow ear indicates top ranking; a tiger's eyes show majesty; a demon's claws show courage; a sword eyebrows symbolize heroism; a lion's nose symbolize preciousness; a goldfish tail symbolizes flexibility; a horse's teeth symbolize hard work and kindness, etc.

Tian-An-the cloud dragon on the stone flower in front of the gate, Shan-Dongqu-Fu Kongzi Temple Panyun dragon stone pillars, so the palace dragon beds, etc. are all marks of imperial power in history, while the phoenix bird has more secular humanity and less divine nature.

The old saying goes, "There is a phoenix and the phoenix is ​​flying". This ideal spiritual bird has always been regarded as the incarnation of auspiciousness and happiness, and also symbolizes a happy love.

The theme of "Dragon and Phoenix Present Auspiciousness" is compared in court art. The dragon represents the emperor and the phoenix is ​​a symbol of female concubines.

Today, the patterns of dragons and phoenixes have been reunited with the enthusiasm of millions of people to create art, and have gained unlimited artistic life in the fields of architecture, sculpture, painting, arts and crafts.

The prominent manifestation of the dragon pattern is the emperor's "dragon robe". Its color is bright yellow, and the leader is all stone green and embroidered with gold. The embroidery text is nine golden dragons, with five colors clouds. There is one straight dragon in front and back, and one on the left and right sides and at the intersection. There is one straight dragon in the sleeves, and one on the lower side, and the eight treasures stand on the water hem opens on the left and right. The dragon robe is the supreme robe, which is exquisitely made and examined in work.

For example, the dragon robe made in the Qing Dynasty was carefully designed by the first-class engineers in the Ruyi Pavilion of the Qing Palace at that time, and made the drawings. After the emperor personally reviewed and approved, the Zhimao sent to Nanjing or Suzhou and Hangzhou for supervising and supervising work.

Sometimes a piece of robe takes 190 days to work, and its special robe is also used to twist threads on peacock tail hair, spread flat on the ground, and use thin lines to horizontal boundaries, and then use large rice and pearls to embroider the patterns of dragons, phoenixes or balls of flowers. The labor-intensive and luxurious materials are all terrifying.

In ancient times, there were also dragon flags with dragon patterns. The dragon flags began to exist in the Zhou Dynasty, and by the Song Dynasty there were 12 types 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, all of which are blue-colored yellow lanterns and red flames, and images of dragons of various shapes are painted.

For example, the dragon playing with the pearl flag is a type of dragon flag. There is a pattern of the yellow dragon carrying the river map on it, so it is also called the "Huanglong Carrying the Diagram Flag".

In order to ensure his own extravagant and luxurious entertainment, Emperor Yang of Sui also built the "dragon boat" and the "dragon boat fleet". The construction and furnishing of the "dragon boat" were extremely luxurious.

The Longwei Inkstone, named after the Longwei Inkstone, is a treasure among She Inkstones. It is made of the Longwei Stone from Wuyuan. Hence the name.

The inkstone is hard and soft, moist and clean. It is like skin care, and it is soft and sound, and it is like jade in color, and the texture is colorful, providing broad room for inkstone workers to use their art according to their material.

The inkstone worker carefully designed and deliberately carved according to the different shapes, colors and patterns of the stone to make square and round inkstones with a well-proportioned decoration, upright knife skills, and clear and exquisite square inkstones.

The use of dragon patterns on clothing has been a long time ago, but for a long time it was only a special product for royal relatives, and most of them were monopolized by emperors, dragon sons and grandsons.

According to legend, Huangdi believed that the dragon had endless changes and great magical powers, and liked the appearance of the dragon very much, so he asked his minister Shi Huang to paint images of the dragon on his clothes and paint them with colorful colors. This was the first "dragon robe" in Chinese history.

Because the emperor claims to be the "true dragon emperor", the dragon is an indispensable logo in his family: the emperor wears a dragon crown - a hat with a double dragon pattern; he wears a dragon robe - a rabble with a ball of front and back chests, mixed with clouds; he tied a dragon belt with a waist - a belt with a dragon as the main pattern, wearing a dragon and a phoenix jade pendant...

We have seen these with our own eyes in museums, imperial tombs, and folk art.

As for the things the emperor uses, they are mostly related to dragons: dragon cases, dragon chaises, dragon beds, dragon boats, dragon chariots, etc. The emperor was uncomfortable and called "the dragon body was not safe". When the emperor was angry, he called "the dragon face was furious". Even the emperor's straight steps had a unique wound, which was called "the dragon walking and the tiger step".
To be continued...