Among the zodiac signs, the dragon is the most distinctive because it only exists in people's legends, yet it is so vivid and magical. The legends and stories about dragons are abundant, and they are deeply rooted in Chinese myths and folktales.
Who are the nine sons of the dragon?
Xu Yingqiu of the Ming Dynasty "Yuzhitang Talks about Hui and Nine Sons of Dragon": "Nine sons of dragons do not become dragons, and each has its own advantages. There is a folk saying that "dragons give birth to nine sons". The dragon gave birth to nine sons, each with their own unique abilities. They are the Prison Ox, the Jair, the Mocking Wind, the Pu Prison, the Fox, the Bashang, the Fierce Dog, the Cunning Dog, and the Kiss. The nine sons represent nine different animals and also symbolize nine different personalities and abilities.
Prison cow, good life**, squatting on the piano head; Jianxi, easy to kill in life, engraved in the knife ring, sword hilt swallowing; Mocking the wind, life is dangerous, and now he is a beast with a corner of the palace; Pu Lao, a good song in his life, is used as a beast button for Hong Zhong to lift the beam; Foxy, good to sit in life, shaped like a lion, appears on the incense burner today; Overlord, he has a good weight in his life, like a turtle with teeth, and now he is a beast under the stele; Fierce, litigious in life, resembling a tiger, standing at the prison gate or in the official office; Cun, a good essay in his life, coiled on the top of the stele; The kiss is easy to swallow in life, and then it becomes a swallow at both ends of the temple ridge.
"Nine dragons" was originally a symbol of the royal family, the court of the Zhou Dynasty was decorated with nine dragons, "there are three bronze pillars on the door, and the pillars have three dragons entwined with each other, so it is called nine dragons." Since the Ming Dynasty, the popularity of the legend of "the dragon gave birth to nine sons" reflects the gradual secularization of the legend of the dragon. From the unattainable mystery of seeing the beginning and the end, it has become into the homes of ordinary people, serving as roof members, bridge pillars, and monument pedestals, ......The legend and the real thing complement each other, providing the soil for the widespread spread of the nine sons of the dragon.
Why are there dragon king temples everywhere?
As the saying goes, "A tiger can give birth to the wind, and a dragon can call the rain." "In ancient China, dragons were believed to be gods in charge of water and rainfall. During times of drought, rain prayer rituals are performed to pray for rain from the dragon god to moisten the fields and ensure a good harvest of crops. According to the "Huainanzi Topographical Training" contains "the earth dragon causes rain", the "Classic of Mountains and Seas: The Great Wilderness East Classic" explains that Yinglong was originally the god of clouds and rain in the sky, and later it promised to help the Yellow Emperor attack Chiyou and Kuafu. It used water as the ** and defeated Chiyou and Kuafu, but because of this, it exhausted its divine power and could no longer ascend to the sky, so there was a great drought in the world. Later, people came up with a way to pray for rain by making the shape of a dragon out of earth.
Later, the method of drawing dragons and praying for rain appeared. In the Song Dynasty, after the dragon was officially canonized as the king by Emperor Huizong, the dragon became the righteous god of "Xingyun Buyu" in people's minds, and people worshiped the dragon even more. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, a large number of dragon king temples were built in various places, and people went to burn incense and worship the dragon and pray for rain.
Does the carp really exist when it leaps over the dragon gate?
In Chinese folklore, it is believed that the carp is a spiritual fish. As early as the Han Dynasty's "Xin's Sanqin Chronicles", there is a record of "carp jumping over the dragon gate": "Hejin is a dragon gate, Yu chisel the mountain to open the door, more than a mile wide, the Yellow River flows down from the middle, and the bank is not open to cars and horses." Every spring, there is a yellow carp going upstream, and those who have passed will turn into dragons. According to legend, every year in the spring of the lunar calendar, the carp swimming in the Yellow River in Yujin (now Mengjin, Henan) swims up along the water of Luo and Yizhi, and when it swims to the Yique Dragon Gate, the waves are monstrous, jumping one after another, intending to turn over. The one who jumps is a dragon, and the one who can't jump will leave a black scar on his forehead, and until today, there is a "black scar" on the forehead of the Yellow River carp.
In the Tang Dynasty, where the imperial examination was prosperous, "carp jumping over the dragon gate" was associated with scholars all over the world, and was used as a metaphor for the huge contrast between the identities of Jinshi and the first before and after. Jinshi Dengke, like "a fish will turn into a dragon", to make a difference, is just around the corner. Gradually, "Leaping Dragon Gate" has become a beautiful expectation.
Who sealed the Dragon King?
In ancient times, wherever there was water, whether it was rivers, lakes and seas, or ponds, pools, pools, pools, and abysses, there were their own dragon kings. In "Journey to the West", it is recorded that the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas: the East China Sea, Ao Guang, the king of Cangningde; South China Sea, Chi'an Hong Shengji King Ao Yan; Xihai, Suqingrun Wang Aoqin; Beihai, Huanxunze Wang Ao Shun. During the Song Huizong period, Zhao Ji even gave the throne to the five dragon gods in the world. In October of the second year of Song Daguan (1108), Song Huizong issued an edict: "The green dragon god is the king of Guangren, the red dragon god is the king of Jiaze, the yellow dragon god is the king of Fuying, the white dragon god is the king of Yiji, and the black dragon god is the king of Lingze." "The dragon king's position in people's hearts is more secure.
Producer丨Yin Hongjun Duty Editor-in-Chief丨Wang Lan Review丨Yan Yanjun Editor丨Yu Zhe** hi Weihai News Client