The dragon among the twelve Chinese zodiac animals is a mythical animal in legend. It can stir up clouds and rain, and can even turn rivers upside down. Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" records that "dragons have nine similarities": The head resembles a camel and the horns It looks like a deer, with eyes like a rabbit, ears like an ox, a neck like a snake, a belly like a mirage, scales like a carp, claws like an eagle, and palms like a tiger. It has eighty-one scales on its back, a beard next to its mouth, and a bright pearl under its chin. There are reverse scales under the throat. "Guangya" records that the one with scales is called Jiaolong, the one with wings is called Yinglong, the one with horns is called Qiulong, and the one without horns is called Chilong. The Chinese people worship dragons very much, so do dragons really exist?
The descendants of the Chinese nation regard themselves as descendants of the dragon. In addition, there are also dragons in the twelve zodiac signs. This gives people reason to believe that the dragon is real. However, looking through the thousands of years of history of our country, there is no doubt about the real existence of the dragon. There are very few descriptions of dragons. On the contrary, dragons are common in myths and legends.
The incident that most convinced the world that there was a dragon was the modern dragon falling incident in Yingkou, Liaoning. At around 10 a.m. on July 28, 1934, a dragon suddenly appeared over Yingkou. First, it suddenly fell, overturning three small boats, and then damaged a factory building of a Japanese-owned enterprise, killing nine people. Subsequently, it also damaged the surrounding railways and even rolled the freight cars on the railways off the tracks. This dragon falling incident was even published in the newspapers, and there are even memories of the surviving elders. At that time, he and his fellow villagers saw a live dragon with their own eyes. At that time, the dragon fell very close to the estuary of the sea and was already dying. Folks After seeing it, we built a shed and watered it. Later, the dragon disappeared during a thunderstorm. Finally, I heard that the dragon fell again, but it was no longer alive.
The origin of the Chinese dragon.
The most credible theory of the origin of the Chinese dragon should be totem culture. In ancient times, human beings were very dependent on nature and lived a life of fishing and hunting. Human beings did not yet have the ability to transform nature. Each tribe selected species they considered to be more sacred according to the place where they were located for totem worship. At that time, there were no written records, only Graphics change from generation to generation.
The Fuxi clan in the Yellow River basin has a totem of snakes. They are also described as having the head of a human and the body of a snake. Their rule was relatively long and the territory involved was relatively large. The later successors Huangdi gradually developed and expanded the Central Plains civilization. He first They united the Yan Emperor Shennong clan in the Yangtze River Basin to form the Chinese Alliance and defeated the indisputable Chi You. The emperor traveled around and unified the totems of various tribes together. Based on the snake, he gradually integrated the totems of all parties, and the dragon totem was formed.
There were no written records in ancient times, and the productivity at that time was very weak. The history at that time was passed down through graphics and oral transmission by humans, so Fuxi was the first dragon in China, called the Eastern Green Dragon, and Emperor Yan. It is called the Red Dragon, and the Yellow Emperor is called the Yellow Dragon. The Emperor Yao in Yao, Shun, and Yu was born with the feeling of the "red dragon". Our ancestors were all born of dragons. From then on, the Chinese nation has been known as the "dragon". "" calls itself the descendant.
The rulers of both slave society and feudal society wanted to consolidate their rule. They tried various methods, among which thought control was undoubtedly the most reliable and effective. They deliberately portrayed themselves as the true dragon emperor, and believed that all descendants of the Chinese dragon were We must obey the rule of the True Dragon Emperor and paralyze our minds with the idea of divine power of kings, so as to achieve the purpose of stable rule.
When Yang Jian, the founding emperor of the Sui Dynasty , was born, he was very ugly with a protruding forehead. His father was originally a high official in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, so he wanted to abandon Yang Jian. Unexpectedly, there was a very famous prime minister at that time. Master Mian saw that Yang Jian was born with a strange vision. The dragon horns on his forehead would definitely become the emperor in the future, so he advised the Yang family to cultivate Yang Jian well, and he would definitely become rich and powerful in the future. In the end, Yang Jian actually replaced the Northern Zhou Dynasty, ending the split of and the Northern and Southern Dynasties. , established the Sui Dynasty.
The dragon is a symbol of auspiciousness. Many people want to meet auspiciousness. When we encounter something we have never seen before, we will unconsciously lean on the good side, hoping that what we meet is auspiciousness, so the dragon is witnessed. Incidents happen from time to time.
In order to more effectively stabilize their rule, ancient emperors used the idea of divine right of kings to claim themselves as the True Dragon Emperor, hoping that the people would support his rule and not think of overthrowing him. This was a method used by the emperor to control People's hearts are manipulated, so emperors in the past dynasties like to wear dragon robes and claim to be real dragons. The purpose is to control everyone's thoughts and maintain the rule of feudal imperial power.
