The dragon is a virtual animal created after the Chinese nation entered the agricultural society, belonging to the water objects, and its creation is related to the demand for water in agriculture. The dragon, the longest of the scale insects, ascends to the sky at the spring equinox and dives into the abyss at the fall equinox. "Scale insects" are water snakes, crocodiles and the like. The dragon usually lives in the water, and at the spring equinox it ascends to the sky and makes rain to moisturize the seedlings. The image of the dragon is quite generalized, but the standard dragon form was embodied in the emperors: Fuxi and Nuwa with human heads and serpent bodies. The "snake body," or snake tattoo, was an ancient Vietnamese custom. Later emperors were no longer tattooed, but the dragon on the yellow robe was still a slender, coiled snake. The Layman: Southern Barbarians, Southeast Yue, snake species. Road history": three kings snake body. B Si Zhan": Yue Yun as a dragon. These records show that the emperor on the dragon pattern from the Yue culture of the snake. Since ancient times, the dragon and the phoenix have been called together. Dragon is rain, phoenix is wind.
1. China's ancient legends of the spiritual gods, but also the head of the beasts. Legend has it that the tiger beard and hyena tail, long as a snake, scales like fish, horns like deer, claws like eagles, can walk, can also fly, can pour water, can be big, can be small, can be hidden, can turn the river, swallowing the wind and spitting fog, cloud rain. 2. Feudal era dragon as a symbol of the emperor, also used to refer to the emperor and the emperor's things: dragon face, dragon court, dragon robe, dragon palace, etc.. 3. Shaped like a dragon or equipped with a dragon totem: dragon boat, dragon lamp, dragon car. 4. Lóng 龍 姓氏. 5. The dragon ranks fifth in the traditional Chinese zodiac. The Green Dragon is the fifth of the twelve animals in the traditional Chinese Zodiac, along with the White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Xuanwu, the Four Divine Beasts. 6. 6. a winged animal in Western mythology. See also Western Dragon. 7. One of the eight heavenly dragons in Buddhism. 8. 8.. Abbreviation for dinosaur, e.g. Mamenchisaurus Chinese Simplified Chinese: 龙 Pronunciation lóng Sanskrit Nāga English dragon (differentiated from the Western lizard, transliterated loong)
Edit paragraph Character evolution
Oracle
Small Seal Script
Italic
Edit paragraph Origin of the dragon
Origin of the Dragon
Source of the dragon
In Chinese myths and legends, it is a legendary divine animal with the image of a snake body, lizard legs, phoenix claws, deer horns, fish scales, fish tail, and a mouth with Chinese character (traditional) "dragon"
tiger whiskers, and beads under the forehead. The Classic of Mountains and Seas records that Xia Houqi, Matsui, and Jumang all "rode the rain dragon". There is also a record of "Zhuanxu take the dragon to the four seas", "帝?喾春夏乘龙". There are four types of dragons: those with scales are called Jiaolong, those with wings are called Yinglong, those with horns are called Qionglong, and those without horns are called Chi-dragon. China has found the earliest dragon pattern from 8,000 years ago in the Xinglongwa culture Chahai site (Xinglongwa culture due to the excavation of Inner Mongolia Aohan Banner Xinglongwa site and named, Aohan Banner adjacent to Liaoning Province, Chahai site in Fuxin County, Liaoning Province) found a length of about 19.7 meters, with a reddish-brown stone stacked, placed in the dragon. The discovery of this dragon in the Xinglongwa culture pushed the history of the Chinese people's respect for dragons up to 8,000 years ago. The dragon
In the early days, the ancients were unable to rationally explain most of the natural phenomena, so they hoped that the totems of their own people would have the power of the wind, rain, thunder and lightning and the majesty of the mountains, and that they would be able to swim in the water like a fish and fly in the sky like a bird. Therefore, the characteristics of many animals are concentrated in the dragon, the dragon gradually became "nine unlike" (with nine animal characteristics), this composite structure, meaning that the dragon is the head of the beasts, the almighty God. Dragon's image of the ancient records of its image more than one. One of them is said to be slender with four feet, horse head and snake tail. One said for the body clad in scale armor, head with bearded horns, five claws. The Compendium of Materia Medica said "the dragon has nine like", for the combination of various animals of the strengths of the heterogeneous. Its name is very different, the scaly one is called Jiaolong, the winged one is called Yinglong, the horned one is called chi dragon, and the hornless one is called gnarled dragon. The small ones are called Jiaolong, while the big ones are called Dragons. Legend has it that it can be visible and hidden, fine and huge, short and long. It ascends to the sky at the spring equinox and dives into the abyss at the fall equinox, calling for wind and rain, and is omnipotent. There are "Dragon King Characters" in the "Taishang Dongyuan Divine Mantra Scripture", including "Dragon King of the Five Emperors", "Dragon King of the Four Seas", "Dragon King of the Four Seas", "Dragon King of the Four Seas", "Dragon King of the Four Seas", "Dragon King of the Four Seas", "Dragon King of the Four Seas", "Dragon King of the Four Seas", "Dragon King of the Four Seas", "Dragon King of the Four Seas" and "Dragon King of the Four Seas". The names of 54 Dragon Kings and 62 Divine Dragon Kings are differentiated by all things in heaven and earth. When Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, he stuttered in the Dragon Pond, set up altar officials to offer sacrifices, and sacrificed the Dragon King in the same way as he sacrificed the Rainmaker. Emperor Taizu of Song Dynasty followed the system of sacrificing five dragons in Tang Dynasty. In 1108, Emperor Huizong of Song stuttered that all the five dragons in the world would be given royal titles. The Green Dragon God was named the King of Guangren, the Red Dragon God was named the King of Jiaze, the Yellow Dragon God was named the King of Fuying, the White Dragon God was named the King of Yi Ji, and the Black Dragon God was named the King of Lingze. Qing Dynasty Tongzhi two years (1863) and sealed the canal dragon god as "Yan protection should be obvious water division of the Dragon King of the God", so that the river governor in time to offer sacrifices. In "Journey to the West", the Dragon King are: East Sea Aoguang, South Sea Ao Qin, West Sea Ao Leun, North Sea Ao Shun, known as the Four Sea Dragon King. On the origin of the dragon, after a long period of research and verification, people finally achieved a more consistent **** knowledge: the dragon is a variety of animal complex, is the formation of primitive society, a symbol of totem worship. The prototype of the dragon in the late Neolithic period has sprouted, is the main body of the summer totem virtual imagination. Ancient people have various interpretations of it. It was said [tng] that snakes could fly without feet (see Xunzi - persuasion); those with scales were called Jiaolong, those with horns were called gnarled [qiu prisoner] dragons, and those without horns were called chi dragons [chī eat] dragons. (All see Li Sao, Hong Supplement, citing Guang Ya.) The one with wings is called Ying Long (Tian Man, Wang Note). Some say that the dragon resembles a dog like a cow, while the Lun Heng says: "The likeness of the dragon is the head of a horse and the tail of a snake." Others say that the shape of the dragon is the horns of a deer, the ears of an ox, the head of a camel, the eyes of a rabbit, the neck of a snake, the belly of a mirage [shenzhen], the scales of a fish, the paws of a tiger, and the claws of an eagle. This is clearly a late development of the image of the dragon, becoming more and more complex than the original dragon, with more and more totems being synthesized into it, suggesting that it was constantly enriching and developing. For the discussion of the main original form of the dragon, scholars have made many useful studies. There are crocodile said, lizard said, horse said and so on. But generally agreed that the base of the dragon is a snake. Initially systematically put forward this insight is wen yiduo's famous article "fuxi kao". The dragon is the big snake and the snake is the small dragon. Wen Yiduo believes that the snake clan annexed other clans, "absorbed many other kinds of totem group (clan), the big snake, which accepted the four feet of the beasts, the horse's head, iguana [lie inferior] tail, deer's horns, dog's claws, fish scales and whiskers," and later became the dragon. Later generations have made many enrichments and additions based on Wen Yiduo's research.
Evolution of characters
Evolution of characters
The character for "dragon" in the oracle-bone inscriptions is an animal with a serpent's head and a "xin" symbol for a knife-like weapon (see the picture on the left, cited in Kang Yin's "A Brief Commentary on the Origin of Characters"). ). The oracle-bone character for "dragon" is both figurative and highly generalized. First, the beasts are known for their ferocity, especially those with fangs and huge teeth; the layered lightning illuminates the clouds in the shape of a face, similar to the face of the beasts, and the head of the beast in the picture is especially depicted with teeth, which gives people the shock of the fury of the sky. Secondly, the body of the snake is in the shape of a bar; the bar-shaped lightning is also in the shape of a bar. Thirdly, the snake walks in twists and turns; the lightning bolt is also in twists and turns. Fourth, the snake hides itself in a dark place and appears suddenly; the lightning strips hide themselves in the dark and dense clouds and appear even more suddenly. Fifth, snakes are very poisonous, and a single strike can kill a person, which is very scary, and many people are even afraid of snakes by nature; bar lightning is also very intimidating, and the sound of thunder after the lightning is even more frightening. When people see a beast or a snake, they will be terrified. The use of beasts and snakes to describe the dragon in the oracle bone inscriptions indicates that it is a mysterious power that is terrifying and awe-inspiring. In the oracle bone inscriptions, the symbol "xin" means "to be driven". The oracle bone character for "dragon" indicates that it is a force that is driven by the heavens, the highest deity in the minds of the ancients. It is interesting to note that in ancient myths and legends, dragons were indeed driven by people, such as the Yinglong, who helped Yu to control the water. What did the sky drive the dragon to do? Naturally, it was to "raise clouds and spread rain", which the ancients longed for. Therefore, the oracle bone character for "dragon" represents the following concepts: firstly, it is driven by heaven; secondly, its voice is a rumbling sound; thirdly, its image is a lightning bolt, with a head like a beast and a body like a snake, which is invisible in the clouds; fourthly, its tool is a cloud; and fifthly, its function is to receive heaven's will and to spread rain. The fact that the ancients portrayed the dragon in this way implies that people both feared it and could not live without it, and were in awe of it.
Archaeological Discoveries
The "dragon sculptures" unearthed at the site of the primitive village of Chahai in Fuxin, Liaoning Province, provide evidence of our "temporal orientation". The Chahai site belongs to the "pre-Hongshan culture" remains, about 8000 years ago. The "Dragon Pile" is located in the center square of this primitive village site, and is made of reddish-brown stones of equal size. The dragon is nearly 20 meters long and two meters wide, with its head raised, mouth open, back bent and tail hidden. This stone dragon, is so far found in China traditional writing
The earliest age, the largest dragon. (According to an article, there is a petroglyph of a fish-tailed deer dragon on the stone cliffs of Kakizitan in Jixian County, Shanxi Province, which is 10,000 years old and is the earliest prototype of the dragon. The petroglyphs have not been published, and it is not known what they look like.) Next, there is the pottery dragon pattern unearthed in Xinglongwa, Aohan Banner, Inner Mongolia, which is 7,000 to 8,000 years old, the colorful ceramic thin-necked vase dragon pattern unearthed in the Beishouling site of Baoji, Shaanxi, which is 7,000 years old, and the clam sculpture dragon pattern unearthed in Xishuipo, Puyang, Henan Province, which is more than 6,400 years old. In the 1970s, a "C" type jade dragon was unearthed in the village of Samsung Tara, Wengniuote Banner, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia, and the jade dragon was confirmed to belong to the relics of the Hongshan culture, which was more than 5,000 years ago, after archaeological investigation. In 1987, the No. 45 tomb of Xishuipo Site in Puyang, Henan Province discovered a clam-plastic dragon and tiger, and the age of the tomb was determined to be around 6,500 years ago by archaeology and carbon-14. According to scholars Li Xueqin and Feng Shi, the clam-shaped dragon and tiger found in Tomb 45 is closely related to the four elephants in traditional Chinese astronomy. Liaoning Fuxin Chahai primitive village site unearthed reddish-brown stone stacked "dragon-shaped pile molding". The site belongs to the "Pre-Hongshan Culture", about 8,000 years ago. The "dragon pile sculpture" is located in the central square of this primitive village site, nearly 20 meters in length and two meters in width, with its head raised and its mouth open, its back arched and its tail hidden from view. This stone dragon, is China's earliest age found so far, the largest dragon. (Some articles say, jixian county, Shanxi province, persimmon beach rock cliffs, there is a 10,000 years ago, the fish tail deer dragon petroglyphs, when the dragon's earliest prototype. This petroglyph has not been published, and it is not known what its face looks like.)
Origin of the new say
"the drought of the hope of the clouds," the Chinese people have a deep understanding of this, Chinese painting dragon photo gallery (18) "drought meets the rain" is listed as one of the four great joys of the Chinese people. When rain or wind comes, it is often preceded by the faint sound of thunder. When the Chinese ancestors, who counted on rain for almost everything in their lives, stood in the farmland where they sowed their hopes for the whole year, guarding the wilting seedlings with no plan, when they suddenly heard the sound of rumbling thunder coming from the northern sky, and then saw the golden snakes dancing among the thick clouds, knowing that the sweet rains were about to come, the sound of the rumbling sound must have been engraved in their hearts and minds, and they must have had unlimited respect for the sound of the rumbling sound. Undoubtedly, the Chinese ancestors will therefore abstract a tangible (lightning) and sound (rumbling) concept, and use onomatopoeia to name it "rumbling", and year after year to look forward to "rumbling" look forward to "rumbling! "year after year, looking forward to the sound of "rumbling" to send rain. After the advent of writing, the ancestors created a character for "dragon" to specifically represent this concept and pronounced it as "rong".
Evidence of the dragon
The paper-cut dragon, which is now kept in Seiryu-ji Temple in Naniwa-ku, Osaka, Japan, is in fairly good condition and has a history of more than three hundred and seventy years. It is about 1 meter long, has horns on its head, long whiskers around its mouth, huge eyes, and only three claws, so it is a dragon in the water! The back feet are short due to degeneration, and the snake-like backbone, the whole body with scales, was painted with gold lacquer, there is through the process of embalming made of specimens, and compared with the legendary dragon is obviously smaller, is a tail has not yet grown to maturity of the dragon. In the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the yellow dragon appeared in Wuyang Chishui and stayed for nine days before leaving, and a temple and monument were built in the place where this yellow dragon appeared at that time. According to the "Supplementary Record of Tang Dynasty", on a certain day in the last year of Tang Xiantong, a green dragon fell in Tongcheng County and died on the spot because of a wound in its throat. The dragon was more than ten feet long, with half of the body and half of the tail. The tail was flattened. Its scales were similar to those of a fish, with double horns on its head, mouth whiskers as long as two zhang, and feet under its belly, with red membranes on its feet. Shaoxing thirty-two years of the Southern Song Dynasty (1162 AD), Tai Bai Lake found a dragon, giant scales and long whiskers, white belly and green back, fins on the back, the head towers high double horns, in a few miles away can be smelled fishy odor. The local people used mats to cover its body, the government also sent people to personally sacrifice. After a night of thunderstorms, the dragon disappeared. A deep ditch was left where it had lain. In August 1944 AD, hundreds of people gathered around a black dragon lying on the beach after Chenjiaweizi Village in Fuyu County along the southern edge of the Songhua River. According to Ren Dianyuan, an eyewitness who is still alive, the dragon was about 20 meters long. The animal was shaped like a four-legged snake, with a face similar in shape to that of a painted dragon, seven or eight long, thick, hard whiskers, and the front half of its body was about a meter or so in diameter. Four claws were y embedded in the sand. It was covered with scales and shaped like crocodile scales. In the summer of 1953, an unidentified animal landed somewhere in the eastern part of Henan Province, and many good people hiked for miles to see it. According to the shape described by the witnesses, it resembled a huge shark. Its fishy odor attracted many flies. The fish would have been a rare fish that lives in the deep sea, and it seems that a correlation can be made with the cause of the dragon's fall as to why it fell from the sky. In the winter of 1960, there are two people in the evening, in Harbin Songhua River hear the sound of breaking ice in the distance. Stopped to check, the sound from far and near to move over, the speed is very fast. To close to see a pair of similar conical horns from under the ice out, cut through the ice, quickly moving forward. It was speculated that it might be an auger. Because there were no machines that could break through the ice on the bottom of a river, let alone an inland river in freezing times.
Editing the image of the dragon
The dragon, in Chinese myths and legends, is a divine animal with the image of nine animals in one. Specifically which nine animals are disputed. According to legend, the shape of the dragon "nine like nine unlike", "Er Ya wing" cloud: the dragon of the scale insects of the long. Wang Fu said its shape has nine like: head like a cow, horn like a deer, eyes like a shrimp, ears like an elephant, neck like a snake, belly like a snake, scales like a fish, claws like a phoenix, palm like a tiger, is also. Its back has eighty-one scales, with nine nine Yang number. Its sound is like a copper disk. Beside the mouth there are whiskers, under the chin there are pearls, and under the throat there are reverse scales. The head has a Boshan, also known as the ruler wood, the dragon can not ascend to heaven without the ruler wood. Huffing into the clouds, both water and fire. Another said: "mouth like a horse, eyes like a crab, beard like a sheep, horns like a deer, ears like a cow, mane like a lion, scales like a carp, body like a snake, claws like an eagle ..."; There is another said: "head like a camel, eyes like a ghost, ears like a cow, horns like a deer, neck like a snake, belly like a mirage, scales like a carps, claws like an eagle The head is like a camel, the eyes like a ghost, the ears like a cow, the horns like a deer, the collar like a snake, the belly like a mirage, the scales like a carp, the claws like an eagle, the palm like a tiger. Taiwan painter passed down the painting of the dragon mnemonic, but also quite interesting: "a painting antlers two shrimp eyes, three painting dog nose four cow mouth, five painting lion mane six fish scales, seven painting snake body eight fire, nine painting chicken feet painting dragon strike", perhaps remember it, you can also draw a lifelike dragon it!
Edit this section of the historical record
Fuxi's time, there are dragons presented, and therefore the dragon chronicle, the creation of the text. Gaotao Muo: "I want to see the image of the ancients, the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountain dragons, Chinese insects for painting." Zuozhuan - Zhaoshu 17 years: "Taiyuan's to dragon discipline, so the dragon teacher and dragon name." Bamboo Book Chronicle" records: Fuxi's clans have Flying Dragon's, Submerged Dragon's, Jurong's, Descending Dragon's, Earth Dragon's, Water Dragon's, Green Dragon's, Red Dragon's, White Dragon's, Black Dragon's, Yellow Dragon's. Zuo Zhuan - Zhao 29 years ":" Gong Gong Yan lamb fur, so that the offering of the dragon to assist in the Qi Hou " record;" Gleanings " also said: Shun," the state of South Xun dedication of the hair of the dragon, a female and a male, placed in the Palace of the animal dragons, to the Xia Dynasty, the animal dragons do not stop, because of the fate of the family ". It shows that the summer dynasty prevailed in the custom of keeping dragons and dragons as the clan name of the clan group. Certain ancient books recorded: for the ruler of the Xia dynasty dragon breeder surnamed Liu, not available! Zuo Zhuan - Zhaoyuan 19 Years: "Zheng Dashui, the dragon fights in the depths of the river beyond the time gate". Rites - Rites of Passage: "Scales, phoenixes, fish and dragons are called the four spirits". Zhuangzi: "The pearl of a thousand pieces of gold must be in the nine abysses, under the chin of the black dragon." Zhouyi (Zhouyi): "The first nine - the submerged dragon should not be used; nine two - see the dragon in the field, and it is good to see the adults; nine four - or leap in the abyss, no blame; nine five - the flying dragon in the sky, and it is good to see the adults;" "The four spirits". -The dragon is in the sky, and it is good to see the adults; Shang Jiu - the dragon has regrets; Use Jiu - the dragon has no head, auspicious Kun: Shang Liu - the dragon fights in the field, and its blood is yellow. "Shuowen" dragon, scale insects of the long, can be hidden, can be fine, can be huge, can be short, can be long, the spring equinox and ascend to the sky, the autumn equinox and submerged in the abyss. "Guangya" has scales said scaly dragon, have wings said should be dragon, have horns said gnarled dragon, no horns said chi dragon, did not ascend to heaven said coiled dragon. "Zodiac" cloud: dragon ear loss, so it is called the dragon. Romance of the three kingdoms ": (boiled wine on heroes) Cao Cao said:" dragon can be big can be small, can rise can be hidden; big is rising clouds spit fog, small is hidden intermediary hide shape; rise is soaring in the universe between, hidden is lurking within the waves. Fang now deep spring, the dragon by the time of change, as if people have the will to cross the four seas. The dragon is a thing, comparable to the world's heroes 。。。。。。"
Edited Chinese Dragon
The dragon is a good change in Chinese mythology, can raise clouds and rain, and benefit all things of the gods and animals, the legend can be hidden and can be seen, the spring equinox ascends to the sky, the autumn equinox submerged in the abyss. And can rise clouds to rain, for the long of the scaly insects, the four spirits (dragon, phoenix, white tiger, Xuanwu turtle) of the first, and then became a symbol of imperial power, successive emperors are appointed as a dragon, the use of artifacts are also decorated with dragons. The Classic of Mountains and Seas" records, Xia Houqi, Matsui, Jumang, etc. are "riding the rain Dragon
Dragon". There are also records that Zhuan Xu (zhuān xū) rode the dragon to the four seas, and that Emperor ?u (ku) rode the dragon in spring and summer. In the past, there were four kinds of dragons: those with scales were called jiao (jiāo) dragons; those with wings were called yinglongs; those with horns were called gnarls (qiu), and those without horns were called chi dragons (chī). Up and down thousands of years, the dragon has permeated the culture of Chinese society, in addition to the spread of inheritance in the Chinese land, but also by the overseas Chinese to all over the world, in the world's countries of the Chinese residential areas or China Town, the most and the most striking ornaments are still dragons. As a result, the "heir of the dragon" and the "land of the dragon" have gained worldwide recognition. The dragon is the representative of the Chinese nation! It is the symbol of China!
Editing this paragraph Classification of Dragons
There is the dragon snake that has no legs but can fly (see Xunzi - Persuasion); the one with scales is called the Jiaolong, the one with no horns is called the chi dragon, and the one with horns is called the gnarled dragon (qiu) (all in Li Sao Hong Xuan quoted in Guangya). The one with wings is called Yinglong (Note by Wang in Tianwen). Jiaolong, chi dragon, gnarled dragon, and Yinglong are not the dragon proper; the dragon proper is called Canglong. We can see these different kinds of dragons on Chinese Shang, Zhou and Warring States bronzes. The Lun Heng, on the other hand, says, "The likeness of the dragon is the head of a horse and the tail of a snake." Others say that the shape of the dragon is the horns of a deer, the ears of an ox, the head of a camel, the eyes of a rabbit, the neck of a snake, the belly of a mirage [she even], the scales of a fish, the paws of a deer, and the claws of an eagle. Compendium of Materia Medica" said "the dragon has nine like", for the combination of various animals of the strengths of the alien. Legend has it that it can show and hide, can be fine and huge, can be short and long. Spring equinox ascends to the sky, autumn equinox submerged in the abyss, call the wind and rain, omnipotent. These are already late development of the image of the dragon, more complex than the original dragon, was synthesized into more and more totems, indicating that it is constantly enriching the development.
Classification by claws
Five-clawed dragons (toes)
Dragons before the Yuan Dynasty were basically three-clawed, sometimes with three claws on the first two feet and four claws on the last two. Examples can be found in the porcelain decoration of Tang, Song and Yuan. Ming dynasty popular four-clawed dragon, the Qing dynasty is five-clawed dragon is more. Zhou dynasty "five-clawed son of heaven, four-clawed vassals, three-clawed doctor" folk "five-clawed dragon, four-clawed python" said the formation of the qing dynasty, mainly as the emperor and ministers of the difference in clothing decoration, the emperor wore a "dragon robe ", other royalty and ministers wear "python robe", but this is only the name of the difference, from the form of the dragon, no matter whether the dragon and python are four-legged snakes, no difference in shape. Three-clawed dragon
Chinese dragons did not start with five claws, but from three-clawed, four-clawed to five-clawed development. The evolution of dragon shape in Chinese history can be roughly divided into four periods: I. Kui Long Period Since the Yangshao culture, Daxi culture, Qujialing culture, Dawenkou culture, Longshan culture period, through the Shang and Zhou, continued to the Qin and Han Dynasties, with the Shang and Zhou Kui dragons as representatives. The prototype of the Kui dragon was the Bay crocodile or giant lizard, with one kite (phoenix) foot and four claws. Shang kui dragons, one kite foot and two or four claws. In the middle and late Shang Dynasty, the kui dragons and chi dragons and kui winds were used in parallel, resulting in six types of kui dragon-based parallel kui dragons and chi dragons and kui winds emblems, signifying the same ancestor. Western Zhou continued to use, and the kui dragons and kui chi dragons synthesized into a new form, at this time a kite feet, mostly curved moon shaped two claws. Second, should be dragon period should be dragon concept is very early, the earliest seen in the Shang Zhou, but as an artistic staging should be dragon, may begin in Qin, Sheng in Han, continued to the Sui and Tang dynasties, the foot is mostly three toes. Four-clawed dragon
Three, yellow dragon period Began in the Tang and Song dynasties, Liao, Jin and Yuan laid the foundation of the image, prevalent in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Song, Liao, Jin, Yuan, mostly three-toe, Ming and Qing Dynasty, mostly four-toe, five-toe. Since the Yuan Dynasty, only the royal can use five-clawed dragon modeling, folk can only use three-clawed or four-clawed dragon pattern. Fourth, the return of the period after the Qing dynasty of the current generation. As the dragon is detached from the feudal rulers, it can be painted or molded into three, four or five toes according to people's preferences. Of course, the history of the five-clawed dragon has had a special status, so people generally still favor the five-clawed shape. Japan had frequent exchanges with China during the Tang Dynasty. At that time, Chinese dragons were three-clawed, so Japan could only introduce three-clawed dragons from China. After the appearance of four-clawed dragons in China, has begun to close the country, and Japan cut off exchanges. And South Korea in ancient times called Goryeo, until the end of the Qing dynasty are China's vassal state, when the Chinese rulers began to use the five-clawed dragon pattern, naturally, it is not possible to let the vassal state and their own equal, so South Korea's dragons can only be four-clawed. In the final analysis, the Japanese and Korean dragons react to the very process of the development and evolution of the Chinese dragon.
Categorized by function
Heavenly Dragon, Divine Dragon, Earthly Dragon, and Ambrosial Dragon "Yuchan Class Letter" Volume 438 quoted from the "Inner Canon": "There are four kinds of dragons: the Heavenly Dragon, who guards the heavenly palace and holds the order not to fall; the Second Divine Dragon, who raises clouds and causes rain to benefit the earth; the Third Earthly Dragon, who decides to open up the malfeasance of the river; and the Fourth Ambrosial Dragon, who guards the king's dafu people's hideout."
Classified according to the form of birth
There are four categories of fetus, egg and wetting. The "Inner Canon" is cited in the "Abstruse Guan Class Letter," Volume 438: "There are four types of dragons, the fetus and the egg, and the wetting and the transforming."
Other classifications
Vermin (huǐ): an early type of dragon, imagined using a reptile, a snake, as a model, often in water. "The viper turns into a jiao in 500 years, and the jiao turns into a dragon in 1,000 years." It is the juvenile stage of the dragon, which appeared on bronze decoration in the late Western Zhou Dynasty, but not much. Gnarl: A small dragon that has not produced horns is generally referred to as a gnarl, a growing dragon. Therefore, the ancient documents annotated, "Without horns is said to be gnarled, with horns is said to be dragon." The other says that young dragons are called gnarled dragons only after they have developed horns. Although there are discrepancies between the two statements. But they all refer to the growing dragon as a gnarled dragon. Others refer to coiled dragons as gnarled dragons. The Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu wrote in his poem, "The Question of Green Clouds", "The gnarled dragon coiled in thousands of feet is a dramatic goat's intestines". Chi-dragon: It is a serpent-like deity of the dragon genus, an early dragon without horns, and there is an account of "chi-dragon without horns" in the collection Guangya. There are also two ways of saying chi dragons, one refers to the yellow hornless dragons, the other refers to female dragons, in the "Book of Han - Sima Xiangru biography" in the "red chi dragons, female dragons, too," the note, so in the unearthed jade pendant of the Warring States period on the shape of dragons and chi dragons as a decorative, meaning that male and female cross-tailed. From the Spring and Autumn period to the time of Qin and Han, bronze, jade carving, bronze mirror or building, often coiled chi dragon shape for decoration, the form of a single chi dragon, two chi dragons, three chi dragons, five chi dragons and even a group of chi dragons a variety of. Or as a card, or as a ring, or as a scroll. In addition, there are also various variations such as Bogu chi, ring-body chi, and so on. Jiao: Generally refers to the dragon with scales that is capable of generating floods. Legend has it that the dragon is capable of producing clouds and fog, and can move into space. It is often used as a metaphor in ancient texts to describe a talented person who has been given the opportunity to show his talents. About the origin and shape of the auger, classical literature say different, some say "dragon without horns said auger", some say "scaly said auger dragon". And the "inkers waving rhinoceros" volume three is more specific: the shape of the jiao like a snake, its head like a tiger, the longest to several zhang, more than in the creek pools and caves under the rock, sound like a cow. Southern Song Dynasty, Liu Yiqing, "Shishu Xinyi" in the Zhou Division into the water for three days and three nights to behead the jiao and return to the story. People often say "Jiao Long", in fact, "Jiao" and "Dragon" is a kind of legend of the deification of creatures of different ages when the name: hour for "Jiao ", older into "dragon". Although both have strong power, but one good and one evil, there is a fundamental difference. There are two archetypes of the dragon: one is the alligator, called Alligator in English, and now there are only a few species left in the world, such as the Chinese Yangzi crocodile; the other is the saltwater crocodile, known as the Bay crocodile, Han Yu in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a crocodile sacrifice to chase away the Bay crocodile that was harming the people in the area of Chaozhou in Guangdong Province at that time. Now this kind of crocodile is the largest of the existing crocodiles, the longest up to seven meters. Horned Dragon: refers to the dragon with horns. According to the Record of Descriptions of Differences, "a dragon is transformed into a dragon in a thousand years, and a dragon becomes a horned dragon in five hundred years", and the horned dragon is the oldest among the dragons. Yinglong: The dragon with wings is called Yinglong. According to the Records of the Descriptions of the Different Kinds of Things: "The dragon becomes a horned dragon in 500 years, and a Yinglong in 1000 years", the Yinglong is the essence of the dragon, so it grows wings. Legend has it that Yinglong is the ancient period of the Yellow Emperor's dragon, it has been the Yellow Emperor's order to crusade against Chi You, and killed Chi You and become a meritocracy. In the Yu flood, the dragon had a tail sweeping the ground, channeling the flood and merit, the dragon is also known as the yellow dragon, yellow dragon is Yinglong, so Yinglong is also a minister of Yu. The Yinglong is characterized by two wings, a scaly body with spines, a large and long head, a pointed muzzle, a small nose, eyes and ears, a large eye socket, a high arch of the eyebrow, sharp teeth, a protruding forehead, a thin neck, a large belly, a long pointed tail and strong limbs, just like a winged Yangzi crocodile. In the Warring States jade carvings, stone carvings, silk paintings and lacquer ware in the Han Dynasty, often appear in the image of the dragon. Fire Dragon: It is a dragon that is intimidated by fire. The whole body has purple fire winding, where the fire dragon passes through, all objects are burnt. Coiled Dragon: refers to the hibernation in the ground without ascending to the sky of the dragon, the shape of the dragon for the coiled around. In China's ancient architecture, generally coiled in the columns of the dragon and decorated Zhuang beams, the ceiling of the dragon are customarily called coiled dragon. In the "Taiping Yuban", the coiled dragon has another explanation: "coiled dragon, body length of four zhang, green and black, red belt such as Jinwen, often with the water and down into the sea. Poisonous, hurt people will die." The coiled dragon and the scaly dragon, snake and so on mixed together. Qinglong: one of the "four spirits" or "four gods", also known as the Canglong. China's ancient astronomers will be a number of stars in the sky is divided into twenty-eight star area, that is, twenty-eight hosts, to observe the operation of the moon and the division of the seasons, and twenty-eight hosts are divided into four groups, each group of seven hosts, respectively, to the east, south, west, and north of the four directions, the green, red, white, and black four colors, as well as dragons, birds, tigers, and Xuanwu (tortoises and snakes) four kinds of animals, known as the "four elephants "or "Four Palaces". The dragon represents the east, the color green, the prisoner is called "East Palace Qinglong". To the Qin and Han, the "four elephants" and become "four spirits" or "four gods" (dragon, phoenix, tortoise, Lin), the mysterious color is also getting stronger. Existing in Nanyang Han painting museum of the Han dynasty "East Palace Canglong constellation" portrait stone, is composed of a dragon and eighteen stars and engraved with jade and toad of the moon, the dragon is the whole Canglong constellation of the sign. There are a large number of images of the "Four Spirits" in the portrait bricks, stones and tiles of the Han Dynasty. Canglong: ① Name of the dragon. The Chu Si - Shiyi oath: "Canglong larva gnarled in the left 4 horses, the white tiger galloped and for the right horse." ② horse name. "Rituals - the month order": "the month of Mengchun, ...... by luan chariot, driving Canglong." Note: "Horse eight feet above the dragon." ③ Zodiac eastern seven hosts general term, that is, the Green Dragon. Book - Yao Code ":" Day Wing Star Fire, in order to be in midsummer." Biography: "Fire, the center star of the celestial dragon, lifting the center then the seven stars to see." ④ Refers to the star of Taiyao. Ancient mathematicians use the place of Tai Sui as the evil side, so it also refers to the evil people. Mirage Dragon: Mirage inhabits the coasts or the estuaries of large rivers and looks very much like a jiao, or possibly one of them. Mirage has the incredible ability to see all kinds of phantoms from the gas exhaled from its mouth. Most of these phantoms are pavilions and pavilions that are as luxurious as anyone has ever seen, and from the windows you can see richly dressed nobles moving about. This is often called a mirage. Yunlong: a dragon entangled in clouds. Looking at the dragon: the dragon with a sideways head.