How did the ancients depict dragons?

The ancients often worshiped unseen but incredible things, and later extended totems. There are always wars between tribes, and many of them have planted each other's totems into their own side to show that they are victorious, and gradually, the appearance of a dragon is formed! The current depictions of dragons are all from the Han Dynasty.

Zhang Guoxingjing "Cloud": "If there are auxiliary wings, it is a real dragon", thinking that the winged side is a real dragon. For example, in the Western Zhou Dynasty, there were a large number of winged dragon pattern vessels, and even the green dragon also had wings in the pre-Qin ornamentation, and it was said that the green dragon was the ancestral dragon.

In the feudal era, the dragon was a symbol of imperial power, and the utensils used in the palace were also decorated with dragons.

The dragon is the fifth of the 12 traditional Chinese zodiac signs, and is called the "Four Spirits" along with the phoenix, turtle and lin in the Book of Rites and Fortunes. The dragon in Western mythology also translates to dragon, but the two are not the same.

The creatures that can be seen in the Chinese classics in ancient Chinese folk myths and legends cannot be found in reality, but the composition of their images originates from reality and plays the role of dispelling evil spirits, avoiding disasters and praying for blessings.

Chinese culture has been around for 5,000 years.

We often say that we are after the Yellow EmperorThe descendants of Yan and Huang, the descendants of the dragonIn modern times, the dragon has become a sacred symbol of our country and nation, so we can't help but ask ourselves:How did the ancients imagine the dragon as a creature? Did dragons ever exist?

What is the origin of dragons?

Don't worry, the story is a bit long, and let me tell you.

The product of fear and mythological superstition from genes

As we all know, in fact, we humans first evolved from apes, thenIn ancient times, ape-man production intelligence was low, and in the face of poisonous snakes in the wild, once bitten, there was basically no cure but death, and the ape-man who goes out hunting inevitably often encounters snakesSo over time, the fear of snakes is engraved in the genes of humans.

There are foreign scholars who have done oneFamous experiment: A young child who had never seen a snake in his first place was placed in front of the snake, and the child was frightened without warningIt is not as some people think (newborn calves are not afraid of tigers, and young children are not afraid of snakes if they don't know them), so it can be seen that the fear of snakes is deeply rooted in our genes.

So it's easy for us to come to the conclusion,The ancients were also very afraid of snakes, and during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the ancients worshiped deification (this point is recorded in the historical records of the Shang Dynasty, when people had to do tortoise shell divination, and King Wen of Zhou could see a hint of divination), thinking that snakes were powerful gods, so snakes were believed to be dragon gods as the prototype of dragons(Dragons were considered powerful in ancient times).

From the period of the Three Emperors and Five Emperors, the blending of tribal totems.

As we all know, the beginning of Chinese civilization was based on tribes, because of the low productivity in the early daysRelying mainly on the great rivers for their farming life, these tribes used different animals as their totemsAt this time, the tribe born in the Yellow River Valley (the Yellow Emperor tribe) defeated the powerful Chiyou tribe in the east(According to historical records, the Chiyou tribe gradually completed partial unification in the area of present-day Shandong.

At the same time, unificationThe Yellow Emperor fused the totemic characteristics of various tribes to form a true dragon totem in a broad senseThat is, with the snake body and snake tail as the main body, it has the image of shrimp eyes, antlers, bull's mouth, dog nose, catfish's whiskers, lion's mane, fish scales, eagle claws, and nine kinds of animals in one. Since then, the dragon totem of China has become a national belief, after the mythology of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, after Qin Shi Huang unified the six kingdomsThe emperor proclaimed himself the true dragon emperorSince then, the dragon has been linked to the rulers of previous dynasties and has been passed onAfter 5,000 years of cultural baptism, it has gradually evolved into today's national symbol.

In summary

The image of the dragon originated from the early people's fear of the snake (now some places also call the snake a small dragon) and then turned to the influence of feudal superstition, was mythologized as a dragon, had some religious colors, and later was bound by the ruler and the emperor's identity to maintain their feudal rule, inheritance and development into the Chinese national belief for thousands of years.

With the spread of dragon culture, we are also known as the descendants of dragons.

The grace of driving the eight dragons, and the snake of the cloud flag.

The dragon walked on the breath, and the sky was half silent. Chaos is suspicious of the first judgment, and the flood is like the beginning.

The dragon is one of the core elements of Chinese culture, and we are all descendants of the dragon. But there's one question worth pondering:The dragon is not a real image in nature, the image of the dragon is a product of cultural development.

So, what is the origin of the image of the dragon? Why did the Chinese create the image of the dragon as a symbol of their own civilization? In short, how did dragons come about?

At present, there are three hypotheses that are more popular, namely:The astronomical hypothesis, the insect hypothesis and the totemic hypothesisLet's analyze these hypotheses one by one

This hypothesis is that the ancients abstracted the image of a dragon from the pattern of the constellations in the sky. As the ancestors' worship of ancestors and the needs of material and spiritual life, and as the root of the "dragon" mythological motif, the ancient celestial phenomena are consistent with the productivity level and cognitive ability of the ancestors at that time.

At that time, the ancestors imagined the Oriental Blue Dragon constellation as a dragon, which can be found in the oracle bone inscriptions, because of the striking similarity between the two images. The seven constellations of the Oriental Green Dragon were also depicted by the ancestors of the seven parts of the dragon, namely: horns, hyper, deuteration, room, heart, tail, and Kei.

Such as the cloud of "Biography":

When taking six dragons to control the sky.

It is recorded in the "Zhuangzi":

Only insects can be heavenly. In other words, insects can turn into flying butterflies, because dragons can also fly to the sky and hide on the ground, so there is a certain reason why the image of the dragon originated from insects. In the Great Dai Li Ji, phoenixes, unicorns, turtles, dragons, and saints are considered to be typical representatives of feathered insects and beetles, all of which are related to insects.

Mainly in the eyes of the ancients, insects could change from pupae to insects, and then from insects to butterflies, flying into the sky. In addition, among all living things, it seems that only insects have extremely strong vitality, which is in line with the ancient concept of feather regeneration. Therefore, the insect hypothesis is also more reasonable.

In ancient times, people were in the period of primitive tribes. At first, they lived a life of hunters and gatherers. However, with the advancement of people's means of production, many people began to gather together to lead a social life, that is, tribes began to appear.

Each tribe had its own primitive totem, usually one of birds, animals, insects, and fish that was worshipped as a totem.

As the tribe continued to expand, the scale of the war grew. Later, a capable person appeared in the Xuanyuan clan and led his tribe to grow and develop. After that, he began to annex the surrounding tribes, and after one tribe was annexed, he added the totem of the annexed tribe to his own tribal totem.

As the tribes combined, the patterns on these totems became more and more numerous, and then they were fused to become the appearance of today's dragons, also known as dragon totems.

To sum up, the Chinese nation's worship of the dragon stems from the natural worship of the oriental green dragon star, which stems from its practical guiding significance for the ancestors to observe, give time, and guide farming.

The choice of early realist dragon images was influenced by people's perceptions and regional differences. Since then, it has developed religious and cultural significance, and we have also become descendants of the dragon.

Dragon ......The spring equinox ascends to the sky, and the autumn equinox dives into the abyss.

First of allThe dragon, as a cult phenomenon, an "understanding" of the incredible forces of nature, began its "fuzzy collection" from this time.

Originating in the early Neolithic period, it will not be less than eight thousand years from today.

During this period, the primitive ancestors no longer simply and passively relied on the rewards of heaven, they raised wild horses, bison, wild boars and other animals they hunted; Instead of just eating the wild fruits that were picked, they were selectively planted with grains for harvest.

The dragon, as a cult phenomenon, an "understanding" of the incredible forces of nature, began its "fuzzy collection" from this time.

They were able to skillfully make fire, learned to build simple houses out of wood, began to polish stone and bone tools, and made pottery by hand, and gradually settled down and engaged in productive activities.

Production activities have made people's contact with nature more and more extensive, and the impact of nature, as an incredible force other than man, on people's spiritual world has also become greater and greater.

A fuzzy collection of dragonsThe starting point of the process was in the Neolithic Age, after the rapid development of the Shang, Zhou and Warring States periods, and it was basically formed by the Qin and Han dynasties.

This "basic" has two meanings, one is that the framework, elements, and styles that make up the dragon were basically in place in the Qin and Han dynasties;

The second is that the dragon is an open and constantly accepting new system, which does not meet the basic formation of the Qin and Han dynasties, and the subsequent dynasties and dynasties, until today, are still constantly adding, subtracting, changing and developing.

Chinese dragon culture, up and down 8,000 years, has a long history. The image of the dragon has penetrated into all corners of society, and the influence of the dragon has spread to all levels of culture, and it is colorful. As a descendant of the dragon, you can't be ignorant of China's dragon culture.

Without understanding dragon culture, you can't understand ancient Chinese civilization.

In the early days, the productivity was low, people survived in the harsh natural environment, and they could not independently control the natural forces, nor could they explain themselves, they were full of illusions, longings and even fears of the natural world, and worshiped various natural or supernatural forces that were more powerful than human beings, which was the social basis for the production of totems and ghosts.

The time of the formation of the dragon totem can be traced back to the ancient Fuxi era, when the Fuxi clan used the snake as the totem. It is recorded in ancient books that Fu Xi was born in Chengji, ruled Chen Cang, all in Chen, reigned for 150 years, and passed on to the 15th generation. Fuxi originated in the Chengji, after the development and growth, along the Weihe River valley into Guanzhong, out of Tongguan, Pang Kun Mountain, Wangwu Mountain, Taihang Shandong migration, and then turn to the southeast, and finally in Chen.

This activity area is generally consistent with the distribution area of the ancient sites of Yangshao culture.

The formation of the dragon totem originated from Fuxi, in addition to Mr. Wen Yiduo's discussion, there are other evidence. Sima Zhen's "Supplement to the Three Emperors" said that in the front of the "Supplement to the Three Emperors", although it was said that Fuxi had a snake body and a human head, but at the end, he said that Fuxi's "has Long Rui, and he is called the Dragon Master with the Dragon Discipline Officer". This account hints at the leading role played by the Fuxi clan in the formation of the dragon totem.

The snake is called the little dragon in the zodiac. If a serpent has a spirit, it becomes a dragon.

Maybe there really existed dragons in ancient times, and later dragons sublimated to other places, or slumbered, there are many things to explore, and humans may not have evolved from apes, I have seen fish fossils in the mountains.

The reason why ancient people imagined such a thing as a dragon may be because the snake is a more common animal for us, and then this animal is also very fierce, so we further feel that the snake is very spiritual, and then it is transformed into an animal that we look forward to more, so that the dragon appears, that is, we imagine a very powerful animal, she can overcome everything, or he can give us strength, such a person needs such a heart sustenance, That's why they treat such a dragon as if it were a real thing.

Professor Zhou Jili, a dragon scientist at Sichuan Normal University, believes that the dragon seen by ancient Chinese may be a crocodile. However, the first to propose this research was Wei Juxian, an expert on ancient Chinese history, who proposed this theory as early as 1934, and other professors from Chinese mainland Qi Qingfu, Wang Mingda, Tang Lan and other professors supported this theory. There are 27 species of crocodiles, among which only the Chinese alligator hibernates, the climate was warm in ancient times, and the Yellow River Basin was full of Chinese alligators, and the ancients were very familiar with crocodiles.

Judging from the description of dragons by the ancients: dragons are oviparous amphibians, hibernating, with five claws on their front paws, and like to lurk in water, which are all characteristics of Chinese alligators. It's just that crocodiles can't fly, and there are three key arguments:

Zuo Biography mentions that during the Yu Shun period, there were some people who raised dragons, and there was a record of "deep mountains and large rivers, real dragons and snakes", which shows that dragons and snakes are different things but often appear together in swamps, which is also the origin of the idiom "dragons and snakes are mixed". Dragon descriptions in ancient texts such as Chinese and Yi are also very similar to crocodiles.

In the "Zuo Biography", it was recorded that Zheng Guo was flooded, and there were dragons fighting in the ring river outside the city gate, so a question and answer story in which everyone asked whether the child should be sacrificed shows that the so-called "dragon" was not uncommon at that time.

The "Historical Records" records the "Oroyu clan" who raised dragons in history, so it is likely that the prototype of the dragon was an animal.

In ancient times, the totem was worshipped, and there was a Xia tribe who was more powerful, and his totem was a snake, and later he annexed other tribes and integrated the totems of other tribes to form the dragon totem we see now.

People everywhere have their own totems to yearn for. All of them belong to their own national sacredness. Things, then in ancient China, we can imagine that those things that we don't have around us are also a kind of faith or something.

1. The dragon is a beast in ancient Chinese legends, and it is not a totem.

2. The dragon was used to refer to the emperor only after the Qin Dynasty, but the emperor did not have a monopoly on the reference to the dragon. There are also deeds such as killing dragons among the people.

3. Many countries in the world that are influenced by Chinese culture use dragons, but the degree of use is different. Joseon, as a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, could not replace the king of Korea with a dragon.

4, only some people believe that the Chinese are the descendants of the dragon. I think people like me who like the cartoon "Nezha in the Sea" especially like to watch the plot where Nezha kills the Dragon King at the end. Hey.

5. There are many unreasonable titles like "descendants of the dragon", "four great inventions", "four ancient civilizations"...These are all words made up by people who only know the surface of Chinese culture and shout and scream.