China.com, February 4 (Reporter Qin Jinyue) There is such a saying in traditional Chinese culture: "The dragon gives birth to nine sons, each of them is different", this proverb is often used to refer to even siblings, whose personalities and hobbies will be completely different.
So, who are the nine sons of the dragon? What are their characteristics and hobbies? Who gave birth to these nine sons?
Prisoner Niu, the son of the dragon and the ox, is also the eldest of the nine sons.
Legend has it that the Prison Ox is the most docile of the many dragons, it is not thirsty for killing, it is ruthless, and it specializes in music. The dragon head snake body of its ear sound is very good, can distinguish the sound of all things, it often squats on the headstock to enjoy the plucked strings pull **, so the headstock is engraved with its statue.
老二睚眦 (yá zì), the son of a dragon and a jackal, has a dragon head.
Ancient history books record that Jairus has a strong personality, is brave and good at fighting, bloodthirsty and killing, and always holds a sword in his mouth, glaring angrily, and often carving the image of Jairus with a knife ring, knife handle, and dragon swallowing mouth, in order to increase the powerful power of these ** itself. The original intention of Jairus is to look angrily, the so-called "the virtue of a meal must be repaid, and the grievances of Jairus must be repaid", and the retribution will inevitably kill bloody, and Jairus has thus become the embodiment of "killing everything". Jairus is also widely used in honor guards and palace guards, making it even more majestic and solemn.
The third is the mocking wind, the son of the dragon and the bird, for the long of the scale insect, the life is dangerous and hopeful, often with its shape as the decoration of the temple corner.
In Chinese folklore, the dragon three sons mock the wind to symbolize auspiciousness, beauty and majesty, and also have the effect of deterring demons, removing disasters, and warding off evil spirits. Placing the mocking wind in the palace will also make the shape of the whole palace both strict and full of changes, to achieve the unity of solemnity and vividness, grandeur and exquisiteness, it makes the towering palace add a layer of mysterious atmosphere, can play the role of dispelling evil spirits and avoiding disasters.
The dragon's fourth son, Pu Lao, was born to **.
Legend has it that Pu Lao has a good sound and roar in his life, and the dragon-shaped beast button on the Hong Zhong is its image. It turned out that Pu Lao lived by the sea, and although he was a dragon, he had always been afraid of the giant whale. As soon as the whale attacked, it roared loudly in fear.
According to the characteristics of its "good singing", people "all bells want to make loud sounds", that is, they cast the bell button and the wooden pestle that rings the bell into the shape of a whale. When the bell is ringed, let the whale hit Pu Lao again and again, so that it "rings into the sky" and "sounds far away".
The fifth-ranked dragon, Suān Ní, was born of a dragon and a lion, and is also shaped like a lion.
They like to sit quietly and like fireworks, so the feet on the Buddha's seat and the incense burner are mostly decorated with them. According to legend, this kind of Buddha seat decoration is with Buddhism in the Han Dynasty from India to China, to the Northern and Southern Dynasties, China's Buddhist art has been widely used. This kind of shape has been created by Chinese folk artists, making it more traditional in China.
The sixth dragon, 赑屃 (bì xì), also known as Baxia, Ao, turtle (fū), Tianxia, Dragon Turtle, etc., was born of a dragon and a tortoise. The shape is like a turtle, good at carrying heavy objects, and is mostly used to carry the base of the monument.
Legend has it that in ancient times, the three mountains and five mountains were often carried, and the rivers and lakes and seas made waves. Later, Dayu subdued it when he controlled the water, and it obeyed the command of Dayu, pushed the mountain and dug the ditch, dredged the river, and made a contribution to the water control. The flood was subdued, and Dayu was worried that the swag would be wild everywhere, so he moved the extra-large stone tablet that stood up to the sky, which was engraved with the deeds of the swag to control the water, and called the stump to carry it, and the heavy stele pressed it so that it could not walk casually. They are very similar to turtles, but there are differences when you look closely, they have a row of teeth while turtles do not, and there are differences in the number and shape of the carapace on the dorsal carapace. It is a symbol of longevity and good fortune. It always struggled to move forward with its head held high, and its four legs were desperately supported, struggling to move forward, but it could not move its steps. The pedestal of some of the illustrious stone monuments in our country is carried by the stele, which can be seen in the stele forest and some historical sites.
In order to set up a stele for the emperor and sage tree after death, the ancients often used a huge stone stele to stand on the back of the sage, intending to rely on his divine power, which can endure for a long time and last forever.
On the one hand, it is a practical thing, used to make a stele base, commonly known as "the turtle camel stele";On the other hand, it is of great cultural significance. Its symbol is based on "longevity and auspiciousness", and carries connotations of status, totem worship, witchcraft worship, etc.
龙七子狴犴 (bì àn), the son of a dragon and a tiger, is also known as the charter. The shape of the fox is like a tiger, and it is litigious in life, but it is powerful, and the decoration of the tiger's head on the upper part of the prison door is its image.
Legend has it that the fox is not only anxious for justice and righteousness, but also able to distinguish between right and wrong, and judge impartially, coupled with its majestic image, so in addition to decorating the prison door, it also crouches on both sides of the lobby of the official office. Whenever the chief of the yamen sits in the court, the upper end of the chief executive's title plate and the solemn avoidance card has its image, which is eyeing the tiger, inspecting the environment, and maintaining the solemn and righteous atmosphere of the public court.
The eighth dragon, the negative 屃 (fù xì), is said to be the son of a dragon and a dragon, so he looks the most like a dragon. Negative Yahao Sven, coiled over the head of the stele.
The history of the stele in our country is long, the content is rich, some of them have the shape of the simple, the stele body is smooth, bright, and the light can be recognized; Some are exquisitely carved, the words are postured, and the pen is vivid; There are also famous poems and stone carvings, which are popular and praised through the ages. According to legend, the inscription is very fond of this kind of inscription that shines with artistic brilliance, and it is willing to turn into a pattern Wenlong to set off these literary treasures that have been handed down from generation to generation, and decorate the stele base to be more elegant and beautiful. They coil around each other, and they seem to be slowly wriggling, and they are even more spectacular when they match the skull of the base.
The ninth dragon, chī wěn, also known as 鸱 (chī) tail, or owl kiss, has a moist mouth and a rough throat and is easy to swallow, which is born by dragons and fish, and is commonly found in ancient Chinese imperial palace buildings.
The shape of the mantle kiss is like a four-legged snake with a cut off its tail, the head of the dragon and the body of the fish, like to look around in the dangerous place, also like to swallow fire, can spray waves and rain, can be used to fight fire, so it will shape its image in the temple corner, the temple ridge, the roof. The mantle is water-based, and it is used as a thing to ward off evil spirits to avoid fire. It is said that its prototype may be a deep-sea whale.
In fact, there are far more dragons in folklore than these nine. In ancient Chinese traditional culture, nine is often used to represent a lot, and it has a supreme position. The so-called dragon gave birth to nine sons, not that the dragon happened to give birth to nine sons, but generally refers to an imaginary number, which also means the nobility of the dragon's son. The nine dragons listed above are the most representative versions. In other versions, there are also sayings such as pepper map, gluttony, beetle, cocktail head, and roar towards the sky.