In the Yellow River Basin, the birthplace of the Chinese nation, affected by the temperate monsoon climate, flood disasters pose a great threat to people. Therefore, the greatest wish of ancient ancestors was to long for a god who could control the rain, protect the weather, and ensure good harvests. Ancient humans in different regions and environments were benefited and harmed by different natural objects around them. Therefore, the objects that represented the essence and aura of natural objects in people's minds were different. Certain animals living around them were the most commonly used objects to create gods. Therefore, our ancestors created an allegorical image of the main water spirit - the dragon, which is based on the alligator, a reptile of the genus Crocodile that is unique to my country.
Although the image of the dragon was fused and merged with the content of other animals in the form of oral transmission by the ancients, and was artificially distorted and deformed, resulting in the loss of its original appearance, it still has all the basic morphological characteristics of the alligator: 1 , a body covered with scales; 2. a long jaw, a large mouth and a turned nose on the top of the head; 3. sharp cone-shaped fangs; 4. large, round protruding eyes; 5. a thick long tail; 6. strong limbs and five-fingered claws; 7. Abdomen with horizontal stripes. [Reposted from Iron Blood Community/]
In order to make up for the alligator’s bald head and sharp tail that undermines the image of the god, the ancients used their full imagination to add horns, whiskers, tail fins and protrusions that line the back lengthwise. The horny spines were also transformed into serrated dorsal fins, and the body was elongated to exaggerate the momentum and enrich the decorative effect. As a result, the alligator was shaped into the image of a dragon depicted in the legend with fangs and claws, capable of flying in the clouds and mists. Although there are many differences between the transformed dragon and the real alligator after artistic exaggeration, in comparison, the main features of the alligator can still be seen - long jaws, fangs, scales, sharp claws and other main features.
Later, due to man-made ecological destruction, slash-and-burn cultivation, and indiscriminate deforestation in the Yellow River Basin, soil erosion, environmental deterioration, and climate cooling made the alligator, which was suitable for warm and humid environments, unable to survive and gradually became extinct (now the only remaining in southern Anhui Province, my country). Because the alligator no longer exists in real life, the impression in people's memory fades and disappears, leaving only the image of the dragon created by the ancestors and passed down from generation to generation. As a result, the dragon and the alligator have become two different concepts, and the origin of the dragon has begun to change. confusing.
Early dragons were hornless. In an ancient tomb 6,000 years ago unearthed in Puyang, Henan in 1987, an alligator (dragon) figure made of clam shells was found. The dragons depicted on Yangshao Culture pottery are also reptiles with large heads and long tails. The Yunlong stone carving sculpture in Dazu Nanshan, Sichuan is a vivid image of an alligator with no horns, no beard, and glaring eyebrows. Horned dragons were first seen on oracle bones and bronzes of the Shang Dynasty. A Shang Dynasty bronze dragon-patterned gong unearthed in Shanxi Province has double horns in its shape, and the body pattern is exactly the same as that of an alligator.
Chinese characters are pictographs, and the dragon character in oracle bone inscriptions is an animal image with a large mouth and a curved body. The pronunciation of the word "dragon" is an imitation of the roar of the crocodile. The roar of the crocodile is a low "rumbling" sound. Therefore, the sound of "dragon" (dragon) became the name for the crocodile in ancient times. To this day, the alligator In southern my country, the common names among the people are still "earth dragon" and "pigpo dragon".
The appearance of gods is not a blind and intentional fabrication. It is a true record of human understanding and experience. Throughout the ages, many records, legends, and folk customs about dragons are related to the living habits of alligators.
Alligators live in rivers, lakes and swamps. In "Zuo Zhuan", "Dragon and snakes grow in deep mountains and swamps." This means that dragons (i.e. alligators) and snakes live in similar environments and have similar habits. of two animals. [Reposted from Iron Blood Community/]
Alligators build labyrinth-like underground caves by the water. The caves are 2-3 meters deep from the ground. They usually live in the water, so people imagine that "the Dragon King lives in the underwater Dragon Palace." magical sight. When I saw the alligators escaping because their caves were washed away every time there was a flood, I thought "the dragon king is making trouble." Didn't they know that the alligators were also victims of floods?
Alligators feed on fish, frogs, clams, etc. There are many pearls in the clam shells. Crocodiles are ferocious by nature and will kill each other when hungry for a long time.
The rainbow after the rain is also associated with the dragon. The colorful seven colors of the rainbow, the shape like an arch bridge connecting the sky and the earth, and the close connection with rain and water easily made the ancient ancestors associate the rainbow with the dragon, and even thought it was a double-headed symbol. The dragon sucks water from the river. In addition, huge tornadoes and thunder and lightning in thunderstorms are easily regarded by the ancients as dragons or dragon activities.