Information about dragons

Dragons, are very amazing animals. The dragon is the symbol of the Chinese nation. For thousands of years, the influence of the dragon has extended to many areas of Chinese culture and has been y integrated into the lives of Chinese people. The dragon originated in the Neolithic era of China's primitive society. At present, some artifacts related to dragons, such as colored pottery jars with dragon motifs and colored pottery plates with dragon motifs, have been unearthed in the late primitive society sites in Inner Mongolia, Henan, Shanxi, Liaoning, Shaanxi and Gansu in China. However, the images of dragons at that time were far away from the images of dragons after the Qin and Han Dynasties. Some of the body is thick, long kiss and flat nose, like a pig; some of the head bowed back, eyes and nose upward protruding, like a crocodile; some of the body is curved and slender, footless and clawless, similar to the snake. In the course of the development of the dragon, these dragons belong to the "pre-dragon" stage, that is to say, the image of the dragon is at the origin of the period. Between different regions, and even within the same region, the image of the dragon has a big difference. More than 3,000 years ago, the Shang Dynasty, the image of the dragon was initially standardized. The word "dragon" in the oracle bone inscriptions depicted the image of the dragon in people's conception, and the dragon patterns on bronzes and jades were also similar to the word "dragon" in the oracle bone inscriptions. Like a Shang Dynasty wine vessel unearthed in Funan, Anhui Province, "Longhu Bronze Zun", the image of the dragon has been different from any kind of animal in nature, but from the birds, animals, fish and insects of all kinds of animals to choose a part of the recombination, fused into an organic whole. At that time, the image of the dragon mainly includes the head, crown, horns, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, eyebrows, feet, scales (feathers), tail and body and other parts. We call it the "real dragon".

Through the changes in the image of the dragon, we can trace the reason for the origin of the dragon, and we can see an important point, that is, the origin of the dragon is related to agricultural production. China is one of the world's important agricultural origins. As early as 10,000 years ago, China had primitive agriculture. Yuchanyan in Tao County, Hunan Province had unearthed rice grains that were 10,000 years old. As we all know, water is the lifeblood of agriculture. During the primitive agricultural period, there were no irrigation projects, and we had to rely on rainwater, and we were even more afraid of river flooding, so our forefathers longed for an ability to control water. But at that time, it was really difficult for them to have this ability, so they put their hopes on the mythical image of the dragon they created. The reptiles of the pre-dragon stage, such as snakes, crocodiles and lizards, were all associated with water, and some even lived in it. People living on land saw crocodiles that could dive in the water, water snakes that swam quickly in the water, and snakes that had no feet but could move freely, all of them had a sense of mystery, and from mystery to awe and deification. Entering the period of the true dragon, people simply gave the dragon a home in the water. People let the dragon live in the water, in order to make it dominate the waters, in order to agriculture when you need water, respect the dragon king Xing Yun rain. In the minds of the ancestors, since the dragon is a god, of course, the concept of the dragon and auspicious associated. People use the dragon as a metaphor for beautiful things and objects, and the image of the dragon penetrates into every aspect of social life. In all kinds of art works, in the language and text, in all kinds of objects, there is no lack of dragon image. In the field of "food" is even more with the dragon has formed an unbreakable bond. Such as food in the lobster, longan, dragon ly, dragon beard vegetables, dragon tiger, dragon well tea, dragon beard noodles and so on. The names of these foods, some of which are similar to its shape, and some of which is a symbol of good luck. Another example is in the festival food customs, as early as the Yuan Dynasty, there has been "February 2, the dragon carries the head" record. In order to express the hope for a good harvest, this day many places prevailed in eating noodles, this day made noodles called dragon beard noodles, pancakes called dragon scale, dumplings called dragon teeth. In the Qing Dynasty, people in the "dragon head" on this day, but also with white ash from the door winding into the kitchen, and around the water tank for a week, called the dragon back. People in Beijing to use corn flour, jujube cake, wheat and other oil fried into food, known as fumigation insects. In addition, in the Lantern Festival people want to dance dragon lanterns, the Dragon Boat Race at the Dragon Boat Festival, these are all part of the food and cultural activities related to the dragon.