Written by Zhang Guangxi.
The dragon is one of the twelve Chinese zodiac signs, in addition to the dragon, the other zodiac signs are animals that exist in reality, the dragon as a mysterious and legendary creature, not only has magical powers, but also symbolizes authority, wealth, strength, courage and auspiciousness.
The Explanation of Illusory Sentences says: "The head is like a camel, the horns are like a deer, the eyes are like a rabbit, the ears are like a cow, the neck is like a snake, the belly is like a mirage, the scales are like a carp, the claws are like an eagle, and the palm is like a tiger. As a result, the image of the dragon's body has the characteristics of a variety of objects.
Tatsu comes from the stars; And the time of the dawn is the time when the East wants to know, and the country of ancient civilization in the East naturally becomes the country of dragons. "There was a dragon in the ancient East, and its name was China", which is sung in a song. The dragon has become the symbol of the Chinese nation, and people call the Chinese nation "dragon species" and proudly call themselves "descendants of the dragon".
In the minds of ancient Chinese people, the dragon was regarded as having magical powers. The dragon can call the wind and rain, carry the thunder and electricity, can control the rain and the climate, protect the people from disasters, and is the auspicious thing of the country of China.
Also mentioned along with the dragon are: White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Xuanwu, all of which guard the Quartet and keep the peace and tranquility forever.
In China's primitive myths and legends, Emperor Yan and Emperor Yao were both born of their mothers "feeling the dragon", and thus extended to the later "Son of Heaven and Dragon", and the dragon directly evolved into the symbol of the emperor.
In traditional Chinese culture, the dragon is often used to symbolize the power of the monarch and is regarded as a symbol of imperial power. Since the dragon became the representative of the emperor's identity, a strict system of regulations was formulated in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, and the use of the dragon's authoritative logo should be implemented in accordance with these regulations. It is based on this that the royal palace of each generation has become the most and most concentrated level with dragons as symbols. In the emperor's court buildings and various utensils, the word "dragon" must be added in advance. For example, the clothes worn by the emperor are called "dragon robes"; The car that the emperor rode in was called "Longchaun"; The bed where the emperor slept was called the "dragon bed"; The emperor's body is called "dragon body"; The emperor's face is called "Dragon Face".
In the life and customs of the Chinese people, the dragon is inseparable from it, and it is inseparable. For example, in the Dragon Boat Festival, a grand "dragon boat race" activity will be held to commemorate Qu Yuan and introduce folk competitive sports into it. In a long-lasting folk event, the sports and fitness activities are carried out vividly, and the inherent activities of human beings to be hydrophilic, playing in the water, and loving water have been pushed to the extreme. The dragon is used as a symbol to give these activities more cultural connotations and commemorative significance.
With the evolution of the times, the space for his performances has been constantly expanded, and the means of performance have become more and more abundant. During New Year's Day 2024, Harbin's Ice and Snow Festival** features dragon boat skating on ice, turning water sports for thousands of years into ice sports. There's something you can't think of, and there's nothing I can't do. In Shenyang's ice and snow world, there is a long line of ice cars that connect children's ice cars together, and people interpret the feelings of loving snow, playing snow, loving snow and fascinating snow to a new extreme. You have to admire the imagination and creativity of modern people beyond the ancients, let us sincerely praise them!
In the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the people hold a colorful lantern festival, which is called "light show" in today's words. This is because many young people take the opportunity to choose to celebrate with their loved ones or partners. Using lights as a medium is an ideal opportunity to seek emotional communication in entertainment, and in the era of mobile phones, I don't know how many people have become offline friends.
Among the contents of the folk lantern festival, the indispensable lantern of "fish and dragon change" often means "abundant grains, more than one year after another".
The dragon lantern dance is a traditional program that is very popular with the audience. Legend has it that it began in the Tang Dynasty, in the Song Dynasty "Qingyu Case ยท There is such a description in "Yuan Xi": "The east wind blooms thousands of trees at night, and it blows down and the stars are like rain." BMW carved cars are full of incense, the sound of the phoenix flute moves, the jade pot turns brightly, and the fish and dragon dance all night. It truly records the grand occasion of the lantern festival at that time and the enthusiastic scene of the moving dragon dance lantern. The dragon lantern is a unique traditional craft, to be made by professional craftsmen, the skill is very exquisite, the dragon body is 13 to 17 knots, made of bamboo and wood, and there are four thick ropes connected to each other, forming a front and back connected whole. The dragon's body is covered with light veil, and the scales are made of red and yellow silk; Red and green silk groups, the workmanship is very fine, and it is a very exquisite handicraft. The dragon lantern dance performance, accompanied by traditional gong and drum music, has a strong sense of rhythm and is very penetrating in the large performance venue. The golden dragon balls swayed in the night sky, and the dragon head chased after it, and the dragon body rolled and jumped, attracting the attention of thousands of tourists and pushing the performance to a climax. The Chinese dragon dance lantern has won the gold medal in the World Youth Festival and is well-known all over the world.
In folk myths and stories, there is a saying that "carp jumps over the dragon gate". It means: after the carp rushes to leap over the dragon gate, it becomes one dragon after another. There is also a "gate" that cannot be forgotten, called "Dragon Gate", so that our Chinese sons and grandchildren will remember the story of Dayu's water control: it was his great achievements in subduing the dragon and subduing the Yellow River. I have been fortunate to be here, the water of the Yellow River here is crystal clear, the mountains and waters are colorful, and there is not a grain of sediment, which is amazing. I have also been to the monuments of Longmen Grottoes, which is also a place to check in for art sculptures, and understand the creative talent and wisdom of my ancestors.
In the Han Dynasty, there were records of dragon dances praying for rain. In "Yi Jianzhi", it is said that the dragon king will sacrifice himself to rain to save the people of the world from the suffering of the great drought. The "Dragon Dance for Rain" activity is not only a custom and tradition, but also a symbol of people's reverence for nature and the importance of water resources. In classical Chinese literature, the appearance of the dragon will lead to many earth-shattering stories that are fascinating. Such as: "Journey to the West", "Nezha in the Sea", "Liu Yi's Biography", "Zhang Yu Boiled Sea" and so on, dragons play an important role in them.
Paper-cut work "Dragon Dance".
Looking at the year of agricultural production with dragons, and the folk activities centered on dragons, people have discovered the spiritual outlook and spiritual strength of human beings, such as: describing a person as "alive and vigorous" means that he is vigorous, energetic and full of vitality; "Dragon and Tiger Leap" means that he is forging ahead, aggressive, showing strong energy and fighting spirit, and their characteristics: strength, courage and auspiciousness are endowed with people.
In Chinese social life, it can be said that dragons are everywhere, and no one does not talk about dragons, such as: "dragon head boss", "dragon flying phoenix dance", "busy traffic", "pen walking dragon snake" and so on. On the football field, the player mistakenly enters the ball into the house, which is called an "own goal"; The tea leaves that are drunk are called "oolong tea"; The birth of a child is called "Jackie Chan"; Even the switch of tap water is called "faucet"; The twins are a boy and a girl, called "dragon and phoenix fetuses"; One of the noodles eaten is called "dragon beard noodles" and so on.
In classical Chinese architecture, the names of many building components are also widely used with dragons, such as: dragon pillars, dragon eaves, dragon steps, and dragon walls, which show the unique aesthetics of ancient Chinese architecture.
In modern large ports, there are also "gantry cranes", and the world's top gantry cranes are in China. China's gantry crane is a great brand, the introduction of large means of transport in Europe and the United States, none other than China, has become an indispensable standard for modern heavyweight ports.
The only dinosaur fossils, dinosaur eggs and other rare silicon fossils have been unearthed in Chaoyang, western Liaoning, China. The fossils of reptiles, known as "hidden dragons", are rare and strange stones that cannot be bought and sold in the market and cannot be exported and transferred.
Dragons also have a close connection with other animals, which promotes the emergence of a magical power, such as a good horse called "Dragon Foal", a good dog called "Dragon Dog", and a snake that is also stained with dragons, called "Little Dragon", which represents excellent and noble qualities.
The form and image of the dragon in Chinese culture are not static, it has undergone a long process of evolution and transformation. In different historical periods, people have different understandings and depictions of dragon images, and the dragon patterns of each period have their own unique characteristics and styles. In different eras and cultures, the image of the dragon has gradually changed from simple to complex, from simple to luxurious, reflecting people's different understandings and aesthetic pursuits of dragons.
We can see from the dragon-shaped patterns on the "Hongshan Culture Pig Jade Dragon", "Topaz Dragon Shoujue", "Dragon Pattern Pottery Plate of Dragon Temple", "Shang Dynasty Dragon Pattern Bronze Plate", and other ancient things: the dragon pattern shape of the Warring States Period, the head is slightly flattened, the dragon horn dragon body is long, and it is handsome and chic; The dragon of the Shang Dynasty has a square dragon head, and the dragon horns are columnar, hairless and beardless, beautiful and straight, vivid and lovely; The dragon of the Tang Dynasty, with forked horns, slightly chubby body, a carefree, prosperous and wealthy appearance; In the Han Dynasty, the dragon's head was a flattened belly protruding, with majestic mountains and rivers, and the posture of pulling out thousands of jun; The dragon of the Song Dynasty has more forked horns, complex facial shapes, and a slender dragon body, which is a portrayal of the spirit; The dragons of the Ming Dynasty underwent a more obvious change, the folk dragons were different from the court dragons: the folk dragons were still four-clawed dragons, while the court dragons became five-clawed dragons; By the Qing Dynasty, the image of the dragon basically reached a stable shape, and it was not much different from the image of the dragon we see today, and this stable image continues to this day, becoming one of the most representative dragon images in Chinese culture.
Schiller said, "What is truly beautiful should be in harmony with nature and ideals at the same time." Observing Schiller's perception of beauty into the creation of the image of the Chinese dragon, it is not difficult for us to find that the image of the Chinese dragon has a side consistent with nature and an aspect consistent with ideals.
Therefore, we can get a proud and confident conclusion: the dragon, as a representative of aesthetic classics, adds luster to the excellent culture of the Chinese nation and shows the self-confidence and pride of the Chinese nation. In the new historical chapter, the Chinese people will continue to compose the glory of the new era of socialism with a new attitude and show the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation! Come on, China!