The Year of the Dragon has arrived, and all kinds of dragon legends have come out. How do you know that dragons and stars are inseparable, and Starlink CSVA advocates scientific stargazing, so it is natural to interpret dragon culture from a scientific point of view.
So,Where does the image of the dragon come from? Why is the word "dragon" written like this? What is "Dragon Star"? What does it have to do with farming? Why are dragons so important and related to kingship? Why are dragons associated with rain? Why are there often two dragons playing with pearls, what is that bead, and why is it fireball-shaped? What are the dragon cultures in the starry sky, and what folklore do they correspond to?
Let's listen to Starlink CSVA Xiaocao from the perspective of oriental astronomy.
(High-energy warning ahead: This article may subvert your perception of dragons, the knowledge is "profound", and the amount of information is huge, so it is recommended to read it after collection).
National treasure-level cultural relics - Erlitou cultural turquoise dragon-shaped ware. Starlink CSVA Jiang Chenmingpart1 Where do dragons come from?
Don't worry, before we talk about dragons, we must first understand"Three walls, four elephants, and twenty nights".Basic common sense. More of these concepts will be covered later.
This is actually a very complicated issue, and if you want to really explain it thoroughly, you must sort out the ancient Chinese star culture. Obviously, this is an unattainable task on the public account. Xiao Xiao tried to tell you in the simplest way of thick lines:
First, why is there a "three walls".——The starry sky is vast, and in order to make it easier to identify, the ancients divided the starry sky. The ancient idea of "the unity of heaven and man" believed that all things on earth and the stars in the sky were closely related, or even corresponding, and the so-called "stars are also born on the earth and refined into the sky". Therefore, according to the customs on the ground, it is divided into three "urban areas", namely: Ziweiyuan, Taiweiyuan, and Tianshiyuan.
Second, why are there "stars".——According to the law of the moon's movement, the ancients found that the moon walked in the background of the celestial sphere for about 28 days, which was still very hard, so they designed an "inn" for the area where the moon stays every night, and "stay" here means to stay and stay, so there are a total of "28 nights". Note that "su" is pronounced "xiu" here, not "su".
Third, why there are "four elephants".- The sky is so big, and the "Twenty-Eight Nights" are not easy to remember, what should I do? So the ancients divided them into small groups, a total of four groups in the east, west, north and south, each group has seven nights, that is, seven group members. These four groups are also what we usually call the "four elephants": the East Green Dragon, the West White Tiger, the South Vermilion Bird, and the North Xuanwu.
Dongqinglong is the "Oriental Canglong", and in this way, the "dragon" comes out. 
Schematic diagram: Three walls, four elephants, and twenty houses (from the Internet).
Schematic diagram: East Green Dragon, West White Tiger, South Vermilion Bird, North Xuanwu (from the Internet) To say a few more words about the "Four Elephants", many people are not unfamiliar with it, and cultural elements are even common in daily life. But many people think that this thing is more "Shinto" or even superstitious. In fact, from the above explanation, it can be seen that its origin is only the method of the ancients to identify the starry sky, which should belong to science. It's just that it has been passed down for thousands of years, and some people continue to "metaphysical" it. People today should pay attention to screening.
Back to the dragon. Dragons are not real animals, there are different opinions about the origin of dragons, mostly myths and legends, the "Oriental Dragon" in the sky is based on mythology? Or did there first have the dragons in the sky, and then there were various myths?
Mr. Feng Shi's book "Astroarchaeology in China" concludes: "Chinese worship of dragons can be traced back to at least the middle of the fourth millennium BC ......The facts tell usThe earliest dragons existed as astrological signsThis means that the reason why the dragon is a spiritual creature is deity, and the astronomical significance of exploring it is obviously more direct to the heart than to talk about the so-called totem worship in general."
This sentence is revealedThe origin of the dragon - the stars in the sky
part2 What is Dragon Star?
Understood**, let's look at the meaning - what exactly does the dragon star refer to?
As mentioned above, the "Four Elephants" have seven members and contain seven constellations. The seven houses of Canglong are: Jiaosu, Kangsu, Disu, Fangsu, Xinsu, Tail, and Keisu, which respectively represent the whirlwind formed by the dragon's horns, dragon's pharynx, dragon's forefeet, dragon's chest, dragon's heart, dragon's tail, and dragon's tail.
Schematic diagram: Oriental Canglong Seven Houses (from the Internet).
Schematic diagram: Oriental Canglong Seven Houses (from the Internet).
At the turn of spring and summer, the "Oriental Dragon" before dawn. Starlink CSVA photographer Tim Wong was photographed at 3am on May 3, 2022.
These constellations are all part of the body of the Eastern Canglong, so they are called"Dragon Star".(It is also believed that the "Dragon Star" refers only to the Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpio, which the ancient Chinese also called "Great Mars" because of its yellowish-red color and is very dazzling in the night sky.)
Part3 The origin of the word "dragon".
Now that we know the origin of the dragon, let's take a look at the shape and character of the dragon.
Mr. Feng Shi's conclusion in "Chinese Astroarchaeology" is:
We understand that the secular image of the dragon can also be said to be a synthesis of multiple images, and its original real image is the first astrological image. The character 'dragon' in the ancient Yin and Zhou scripts truly reflects this ......What is amazing is that when we compare the image of the dragon in the ancient Yin and Zhou scripts with the map of the Seven Nakshatras in the Eastern Palace, we find that if we use the distance star (a marker star used to measure the right ascension of a celestial body in each of the 28 Nakshatras) as the connection point and connect the seven Nakshatras in turn, then no matter what kind of concatenation method is chosen, the image presented by it is exactly the same as the image of the oracle bone inscription and the golden inscription 'dragon'."
Chinese Astronomical Archaeology" shows the form of the dragon character and the form of the dragon star, Feng Shi said: "The fact implied by this consistency is clear, not only the ancient Shang and Zhou characters of the 'dragon' character are taken from the East Palace Zhusu, but even the image of the dragon is derived from this.""The word 'dragon' in the oracle bone inscription and the golden inscription is itself a star map."
Schematic diagram: Evolution of the dragon character (from the Internet).part4 "Dragon" and the farming calendar
The ancients have long discovered that stars have certain rules, they appear in different directions in different seasons, and among them, the brightest stars will naturally become the core of people's observation. Therefore, according to the operation of several major bright stars, the changes of the seasons can be judged and used to guide agricultural production.
"Four middle stars".It is derived from such astronomical observations, which are a primitive method of determining the four solar terms by using four groups of stars that appear in the sky due south after dark. Among them, the great Mars of Canglong (that is, the "Antares" of Canglong's Seven Nakshatras, is by no means the planet called Mars that is usually said) is one of the most important references. "Shangshu Yaodian" contains: "The sun is eternal and the spark is in midsummer", which means that the great Mars rises to the south, which is midsummer.
Summer is not only the season of growth, but also the season of rain, the season of prosperity of the dragon star, the ancients believed that the dragon is in charge of the rainfall, and the rainfall determines the harvest of the year. The dragon star has thus become the most important "totem" of the agrarian society.
The Milky Way and Dragon Star are the protagonists of the summer night sky, which is also the season for farming. Starlink CSVA photographer Liu Chengshan, taken in Heilongjiang on June 5, 2021, which is somewhat similar to ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians believed that Sirius was the god of Sirius and built a temple dedicated to Sirius when they saw the Nile flooding seasons and bring fertile soil to both banks.
And China has a dragon totem, and it is also customary to build a dragon king temple. It can be seen that in the history of the development of human civilization, no matter which country, there are many similarities.
Mr. Feng Shi further explained this in "Chinese Astronomical Archaeology": for the early society based on the agricultural economy, due to the special significance of observing the time to guide production and sacrifice, the ancestors had already formed a tacit understanding that whoever could give the calendar to the people was qualified to become the leader of the people......And soThe dragon star rightfully has the symbolic meaning of the monarchy, and the dragon naturally became the image of the Son of Heaven and the suit.
part5 Why does the dragon love to play "Fire Beads".
Xiao Cao mentioned an important star many times above: the Great Mars of Canglong (i.e., Antares of the Seven Nights of Canglong). It is one of the focal points of the summer starry sky, and in the Western constellation, it is in the constellation Scorpio, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpio, similar to the "dragon's heart" in the East, and the "heart of the scorpion" in the West (which again reflects the similarity between the East and the West in the perception of the night sky).
Summer night Scorpio. Scorpio in the West is actually a part of the Eastern Dragon, including the house, the heart, and the tail. The "heart of the scorpion" in the west is the "heart of the dragon" in the east - "Great Mars" (the bright yellow star in the upper right of the picture). Photographed by Jiang Chenming in Gansu Province about why there are so many artistic patterns of dragon play beads or two dragon play beads, and they are often fire beads, Mr. Feng Shi believes that "the dragon ball is actually the brightest red giant star located in the heart of the dragon - the big Mars......The myth of the dragon playing with pearls that has been passed down for thousands of years is a kind of artistic imagination of people's dragon star timing activities."
Two dragons play with pearls. Starlink CSVA Jiang Chenming photographed in Beijing Guozijian Friends who often watch the stars will also be very familiar with this star, even if you look at it, the big Mars will be very eye-catching in the night sky. In fact, it is also the most advantageous tool for stargazers to find the Eastern Canglong, with the guidance of the Great Mars, the position of the entire Canglong in the night sky at this time will be clear.
The Great Mars" (the bright yellow area above the figure's right hand) rises. Starlink CSVA Liu Jiyin photographed in Shenzhenpart6 Dragon folklore
With this dragon, and the appearance of the dragon is also related to the season, and it also controls the affairs of the world, then it rises to the horizon and rises to the middle heaven has an important sacrificial value or celebratory significance, so there is "February two dragons raise their heads", and there is also the "Dragon Boat Festival".
Let's talk about "the second dragon raised its head in February" first
The sky is different in different seasons and at different times, and there is a relatively fixed operation law. After observing and summarizing the rules, the ancients found that around the second day of the second lunar month, when it was dark, the dragon's horns, the horns, rose from the eastern horizon, and then a series of stars also rose one after another, that is, the other parts of the dragon's body of the seven nights, so that a giant dragon rose from the east in the springTherefore, the name dragon raises its head, the dragon head festival, the spring dragon festival and so on(Of course, due to the precession difference, the time when people see the "dragon raising its head" star sign at night has been moved to around the Qingming Festival). This also means that the earth is beginning to thaw, and spring is about to bloom, and it is time to go to the fields to do farm work. This is the value of solar terms and timing given by the stars to human beings.
Spring night"The dragon raised its head", the entire dragon body has just risen from the horizon. Starlink CSVA photographer Liu BinLet's look at the "Dragon Boat Festival" -There are many origins of the "Dragon Boat Festival", and it is generally believed to be to commemorate Qu Yuan. Actually, not.
But in the fifth month of the lunar calendar, observing the stars at night, people will find that the oriental dragon that "raises its head" in the spring even lifts the entire dragon body after the summer, and rises to the most positive position in the southern sky of the year, becoming the protagonist of the night sky.
Therefore, the Dragon Boat Festival is also known as the "Tianzhong Festival". According to the calendar, May is the month of "noon", so "Duanwu" also becomes "Dragon Boat Festival".
Dragon Boat Festival "Flying Dragon in the Sky", the dragon body jumped to the middle of the southern sky. Starlink CSVA photographer Wu Zhengjie.
The dragon's rise to the south and its ascension to the southern sky are worth celebrating, and the season when the dragon's body sinks naturally does not have to match any festivals. But there are also corresponding seasonal descriptions, such as what we often call "July Flowing Fire".
The "fire" here is still the "big Mars" mentioned in many of the above-mentioned places. It means that in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, after dark, you can see the Great Mars (Dragon's Heart) slowly moving and setting to the west, indicating that the weather is about to turn cooler.
The "Great Mars" is about to fall. Starlink CSVA photographer Wang Tianwei In summary, these folk customs, proverbs, and idioms reflect the position changes of the dragon star throughout the year. Therefore, in order to read our traditional folk culture, we often need to go back to the "heavenly court" and go to the stars to find the answer.
Therefore, the final point is highlighted: the book "Chinese Astronomical Archaeology", which is a national social science academic library, concludes on the research on the Seven Houses of the Oriental Canglong: ".The Chinese nation's worship of the dragon is actually the worship of the stars in the eastand the origin of this worship lies in the timing significance of these stars to the ancient ancestors."
How, Year of the Dragon, Dragon Knowledge, have you got? Xiao Cao also wishes everyone the Dragon Year of the Dragon, the dragon travels, and the dragon star accompaniment!
But how long has it been since you looked up at the stars? If you have time, you always have to see the dragon star once in the Year of the Dragon, right?! Starlink CSVA is always with you, don't forget:Keep the love, there is always a sea of stars!
Planning: Starlink CSVA research and production team.
Written by: Xiao Cao.
Reference: Feng Shi, Chinese Astronomy and Archaeology, China Social Sciences Press, 3rd edition, May 2017.
end /