The date of China dates back to Xia Dynasty from heavenly stems and earthly branches, and it matched with twelve attributes such as rat, ox, tiger, rabbit and dragon by the time of Qin and Han Dynasties. Among them, the dragon is the most special, it is the only animal in the biological world that does not exist.
In the ancient culture of China, the dragon is one of the four legendary auspicious beasts. "Book of Rites": "Returning to the dragon in the face of the wind is called the Four Spirits." According to legend, forest is the king of beasts, phoenix is the king of birds, turtle is the king of China, and dragon is the king of scales. Their appearance is a harbinger of Gary. For example, the eightieth chapter of Romance of the Three Kingdoms: "Kirin was born, Phoenix came to the instrument, and Huanglong appeared" is used to explain the omen of prosperity. Here, dragon, phoenix and qi are legendary animals with great spirituality, which is also the topic to be discussed in this paper. Coincidentally, there are legends in other civilizations in the world, so we might as well compare them.
First of all, dragons
Dragon worship in China has a history of more than 5,000 years. In feudal times, the dragon became a symbol of imperial power, and the emperor called himself "the real dragon emperor". Han Feizi believes that dragons, like emperors, have "scales" and can't be touched, otherwise dragons will be furious and destroy nine families. Therefore, Li Bai said in his poem: "I dare not commit Longlin if I have a plan, and I will flee to the south to avoid Chen Hu." Today, the dragon has stepped down from the altar, and everyone in China, no matter where the world is, calls himself "the descendant of the dragon".
Dragon, why was it born? It looks like an animal. Some people say it is the "big name" of crocodiles and lizards, some say it evolved from snakes, and others say it is the legacy of dinosaurs. The dragon is also a symbol. Some people think it is the result of totem merger, while others think it is a collection of clouds, water, lightning and rainbows. These are people's guesses about our ancestors.
Relatively speaking, "snake theory" has the upper hand. After textual research, it is related to the snake totem clan. After he laid the foundation of the Xia Dynasty, later generations sublimated the snake into a dragon, which not only embodied multiculturalism and won the recognition of all ethnic groups, but also became an inseparable symbol of the Chinese nation (Qian's Introduction to the Study of Mythology in the Hundred Years, Journal of Railway Teachers College, No.6, 1997).
Dragons in China are a huge family, including Huanglong, Qinglong, Chilong, Bailong, Oolong and Jinlong. A dragon with a thousand years is called Ying Long, a dragon without feet is called Candle dragon, a dragon with horns is called dragon, a dragon without horns is called dragon, and so on. They are good and bad, good and evil. In Guan Chan, Volume 28 of Historical Records, it is said that Lapras, the Yellow Emperor, went to heaven, and ministers could not follow him, so they had to cry and tear off the dragon beard. Huanglong symbolizes the Yellow Emperor, and the ancients in China revere dragons. But in the legend, there are also many records of killing dragons, such as Nu Wa killing the black dragon, Dayu killing the stupid dragon, Li Bing and his son killing the evil dragon, destroying the dragons around them, and so on.
The legend of dragons is not unique to China. Almost all the ancient civilizations in the world have their stories, such as the ancient dragon in Babylon, the dragon in northern Europe, the Satan of the Jews and the Naga of India. In North America, the Maya also had the art of dragons, but some people think it was handed down from Asia.
Naga in India is a dragon-like animal. It has no feet and dominates the waters, which is the deification of python by ancient Indians. Translated into Chinese, it becomes a dragon.
When introducing the dragon in Northern Europe in the first chapter of Northern European Myths and Legends, A Hai said: There was a fierce dragon named Nithog, who was entrenched by the black wiegel Maquan in the ice and snow, and kept gnawing at the huge roots extending into the spring day and night. He also said: "Dragons are born demons, trying to finally bite off the giant roots of the cosmic tree and destroy the world." The dragon in northern Europe loves water, which is different from the dragon in the Middle East, but similar to the legend of the dragon in China. In the history of European wars, dragons are often used as badges for soldiers.
What this article is interested in is that the legend of the dragon has existed in the west for a long time, but why didn't it evolve into the worship of Jackie Chan? Or the dragon culture like China? This is a huge dividing line between the evolution of Chinese and western cultures.
In the west, dragons are also legendary giants with wings. Greek Drakon, English Dragon, Latin Draco. Although West Renye Fang has never solved the mystery of the origin of the dragon, most people think that it is the echo of snake worship, because snake worship has been popular in almost all civilizations in the world. Draco comes from lizards, which also means Draco in Greece.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, snakes or dragons in the Middle East are huge and fierce, and are considered as the general representative of evil. Api, the god of darkness in Egypt, is a huge snake. Greece and Rome accepted their view that the dragon was evil and regarded it as a charitable force. Apollo in Greece is an admirer of snakes, but on the whole, they have not changed the evil image of dragons. The rise of Christian civilization has basically destroyed westerners' charitable imagination of dragons.
In the Bible, dragons are snakes. In Genesis, a famous snake lured Eve to steal the fruit of wisdom from the Garden of Eden. In the book of Revelation, it is mentioned twice that dragons are ancient snakes named devil and Satan. Snakes and dragons come down in one continuous line, confusing people all over the world. It can be seen that Christianity is not conducive to the formation of western dragon culture at all.
On the contrary, a large number of legends of dragons and dragon kings are recorded in the Buddhist and Taoist classics in the East, which are generally accepted by people and have contributed to the development of dragon culture in the East. The Encyclopedia Britannica also clearly distinguishes the positive and negative images of dragons in eastern and western cultures. 1999 10 9 There is an article "Rain Machine" written by an Englishman in The Times, which says: The dragon in China is not only rich in connotation, but also unique. Although it has the same name as dragons in other parts of the world, its characteristics are different.
The good and evil of dragons are just the precipitation of culture. Today, the dragon still maintains a positive image in eastern culture, but it has also faded its mysterious veil. The dragon's spirit has become the spirit of struggle, and the dragon has become a nation that strives for self-improvement. If the ancient dragon dance may be to pray for rain and exorcise evil spirits, then today's dragon dance is mostly for entertainment or celebration. In the world, dragon dancing and dragon racing in China has become a journey for eastern culture to penetrate into western culture, and it is a cultural and recreational activity that both East and West like.
Secondly, Kan Feng.
The legend of China Phoenix originated from birds. In Shan Hai Jing, "A bird is like a chicken, and it is called the Phoenix Emperor." Shuowen: "Phoenix, the god bird." "Ruiying Picture": "Phoenix, benevolent bird." Poetry: "Phoenix Lingbird." "Zhuangzi Xiaoyao Tour": "Turning Kun into Peng and Peng into Phoenix." Phoenix also has a name called Luan. In Shan Hai Jing, there are five birds: one phoenix, one phoenix, one phoenix. Guangya: "The phoenix bird belongs to the phoenix emperor."
There is a legend that "a hundred birds fly at the phoenix". It is said that the Yellow Emperor ascended the throne and felt that the world was peaceful and wanted to see the legendary phoenix with his own eyes. To this end, he asked Tian Lao. Tian Lao replied: The appearance of Phoenix is a sign of good luck, and it will only appear in times of peace and prosperity. It's not easy to see it pass by. If you can see it flying among the birds, it will be a golden omen.
The yellow emperor was very unhappy after hearing this. He said: since I acceded to the throne, the world has been at peace. Why haven't I seen the shadow of the phoenix? God said: With Chiyou in the east, Shao Hao in the west, Emperor Yan in the south and Zhuan Xu in the north, how can there be peace on all sides? After hearing this, the Yellow Emperor led the troops to crusade, and the world was unified. He saw a big bird with colorful feathers soaring in the sky and countless exotic birds dancing around it. The Yellow Emperor knew that this big bird was a phoenix, and it was also an auspicious image he wanted to see (Biography of Korean Poetry).
Phoenix, Phoenix, Phoenix is a male and Phoenix is a female. So there was the Guqin music "Phoenix Begging for Phoenix" by Sima Xiangru in the Western Han Dynasty. But the combination of dragon and phoenix makes the whole phoenix "female". There are not only snakes in ancient totems, but also birds, such as Shao Hao's phoenix bird and Dan bird. The dragon is the length of the scale worm, the phoenix is the king of birds, and the beast is the spirit bird. Although dragons give birth to dragons and phoenixes give birth to phoenixes, there are pairs of dragons and phoenixes on painted pottery bottles with dragon and phoenix patterns unearthed from Yangshao cultural site in Shaanxi Province.
In the traditional auspicious patterns of China, the combination of dragon and phoenix symbolizes peace. Shun Di once ordered the composer to compose music, presented "nine tricks" and led ministers to play. When the third bell rings, all the birds sing together; The fourth measure, all animals dance; The last trick, the ninth trick, I saw both Jinlong and Cai Feng appear in the clouds. Shun asked Cang Shu, an old minister around him, and Cang Shu replied: This is a dragon and a phoenix. When the dragon comes, it means that the weather is good, and when the phoenix comes, it means that the country and the people are safe. He added: It is only the first time since Pangu opened the sky that I occasionally saw a dragon dance or a phoenix flying.
Confucius once compared Laozi to a dragon, "the dragon sees the head but doesn't see the tail", which is unpredictable; Laozi once compared Confucius to a phoenix and called it: "The text of a phoenix bird wears the benevolence of a saint and is wise and wise." Historically, their theory was only "Yin and Yang complement each other". Here, Confucius advocated that "promising" should be promoted; Laozi advocates that "inaction" is yin, which is the original combination of "Fengyang". Because Fengqinglong is cloudy near the water. But then the dragon and phoenix put on men and women, and it was upside down, and the yin and yang were misplaced. For example, flying over Phoenix and Lapras means a couple staying together. The dragon and phoenix here refer to men and women. Interestingly, the ancient emperors and their concubines were called "dragons in the sky and phoenixes on the ground" and staged a series of dragon and phoenix live dramas.
In the idiom dictionary, it is not difficult to find idioms with dragons and phoenixes. For example, Longxing Fengju refers to the revitalization of Wang Ye and Feng Ming in Yue Long, refers to the transcendence of human talents, and Longju Feng Ling or our son Feng Chu refers to juvenile intelligence; The name of the delicacy is Fengshui Gan Long, and the name of the best product is Zhanglong Fengzi.
Phoenix is called Phoenix in English, Benu in Egypt, Goluda in India, Anka in Arabia and Seymour in Persia. It is a legendary bird with colorful colors. In Arabic legend, the phoenix was born from the fire. Phoenix's life has a cycle, and it burns itself every once in a while. Before self-immolation, it will sing a beautiful elegy, fan the flames with its wings and turn itself into ashes, and then be reborn in the ashes. It will never die.
It is generally believed that the cycle of phoenix self-immolation is once every 500 years, but some people say it is 300 years. It is said that in the history of Egypt, the Phoenix once appeared five times, namely 866 BC, 566 BC, 266 BC, 34 AD and 334 AD. In other words, the Egyptian phoenix burns itself every 300 years. Coincidentally, according to Tacitus, a monk historian, the time of Jesus' death and resurrection happened to be 34 AD (online dictionary of idioms and myths "Prase and Fables").
In Egyptian legend, the phoenix is related to the worship of the sun. At any time, there is only one phoenix, all male. Its true prototype may be an eagle or a peacock. According to Greek legend, the phoenix lives by a well in the Arabian desert. It bathes in the water every morning and sings beautiful songs. At this time, the Egyptian sun god will stop and listen. After the phoenix self-immolated, the regenerated phoenix will put the ashes of the self-immolated phoenix in the eggshell and fly to the altar of the sun god in Heliopolis. So Phoenix is a symbol of immortality and rebirth. Phoenix was later cast as a symbol of the eternal city of the Roman Empire, which was also very attractive to Christian culture.
The legend of Egyptian Phoenix seems to be different from that of China. It is feminized without matching the dragon, and it is an independent aesthetic symbol, which periodically regenerates itself. Guo Moruo's "Phoenix Nirvana" is also influenced by this culture. At the beginning of the "Cultural Revolution", he couldn't protect himself, and suddenly announced that he would "burn books", meaning to set himself on fire once every 500 years.
Finally, talk about Lin
China's worship of Kirin and Phoenix began in the Spring and Autumn Period. Kirin, as a legendary rare beast, looks like a deer, but it is bigger than a deer, with a horseshoe-shaped oxtail and a unicorn on its head. The male is the forest and the female is the qi, which is collectively called Kirin. Unicorns are ferocious in appearance, but kind in heart. Because of its gentle temperament, it is harmless to people and animals, and its hoofs are not covered with weeds, so Fu Ruizhi in the Song Dynasty said: "Kirin is also a benevolent beast." . "Ruiying Map" also said: "Lin is a benevolent beast, the animal name is Qi, the dog name is Lin, and the sheep head is a deer." Because Kirin's body is bigger than a deer and similar to a horse, there is a folk saying that it is a horse to stare at Kirin.
We have heard the story of "Confucius mourning for the forest", which was in fourteen years. Uncle Sun Shi caught a monster while hunting. Everyone didn't know it was Kirin, but they mistakenly thought it was ominous. Kirin was abandoned and died. Ran Qiu, a disciple of Confucius, told Confucius about it, calling it "like a roe deer with horns". Confucius went to see it himself. He said to the coachman, if Ranqiu said it, wouldn't it be Kirin? When I saw it, it really happened. Confucius said: "The world is peaceful, and the appearance of phoenix, turtle and dragon is a good omen. Now that Zhou is going out, why does it appear? " So I thought of myself and said with tears, "I am to people what the forest is to animals." Lin died as soon as he came out, and my way was over. " In fact, although Confucius' Tao has been robbed many times, it has not come to an end until today.
What is the relationship between Confucius and Kirin? "Notes on Shuowen Jiezi Collection" said: "Before Confucius was born, Lin spit jade books in Queli people." That is to say, when Confucius was about to be born, Kirin appeared, and a silk script was spit out from his mouth, which read: "Although the descendants of water are declining, they are kings and seek wisdom." The next day, the sage Confucius was born.
If the dragon and phoenix are symbols of emperors, then Kirin is often associated with them. For example, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty once built Qilin Pavilion to commend heroes. There is a saying in the Song Dynasty that "a thousand people serve Confucian generals, and all animals serve Kirin." Poetry; The unicorn emblem of the military attache in Qing dynasty is second only to the royal family with dragon pattern; There is also the spread of "Kirin to send children" among the people, which makes the family prosperous. It is said that it was also evolved from Confucius, a scholar who spoke out.
In ancient auspicious patterns, besides dragons and phoenixes, there are also dragons and phoenixes. "Wu Yue Chun Qiu" said: "Jade raises the people, the phoenix lives in the tree, and the unicorn walks in the court." You can see the peace at that time. There is an idiom called prestige Xianglin, which refers to the prestige of the phoenix and the auspiciousness of Kirin. The ancients believed that the phoenix and Kirin were auspicious animals, and the appearance of the phoenix also symbolized world peace. Rare means very rare.
What are Kirin's overseas counterparts? I searched the Encyclopedia Britannica and directly replaced it with Pinyin. Maybe I didn't find the corresponding animal. But in the online mythology encyclopedia, it is directly said that unicorns are called Kirin in China. Unicorns are also auspicious animals in western mythology. But when you look through English-Chinese dictionaries, some of them are translated into "Kirin" and some into "Dragon Horse", but the word Kirin is not used directly. In fact, unicorns, dragons and horses are two kinds of animals in ancient legends of China. The former is literal translation. The latter takes its auspicious meaning: "the emperor Yao and the government, the dragon and the horse hold the title of armor." Dragon horse also means bringing social peace. However, there is another word in English called Unicorn, and the note next to it is Unicorn, so we compare unicorn with unicorn. Although it is called Dragon Horse, it is actually a unicorn in the west, and its cultural function is similar to that of China.
According to the ancient Greek prophecy, the dragon horse is a fierce animal. Only when the virgin appears in the place where it haunts, the dragon and horse will lose their wildness, and when they see the virgin, they will squat at her feet. So it is also called "pure auspicious beast". This story became a prophetic story of the early church. Some people compare Jesus to a dragon horse and his mother to a virgin. The dragon horse is called Reem in Hebrew, and it is written as Monokeros in the Old Testament, which means "one-horned", because the dragon horse has a spiral horn in the middle of its forehead, and it is a beast with a horse-like posture, a goatee and a lion's tail. The dragon horse has a white body, a red head and blue eyes.
In 398 BC, the Greek historian Ctesias first described the dragon horse in detail. According to the tourists' experience in India, he recorded the dragon horse as a "wild donkey". According to this record, it is speculated that the prototype of the dragon horse may be a hybrid of Indian rhinoceros, Himalayan antelope and donkey.
In medieval Europe, it was generally believed that the horns of dragons and horses could prevent poisoning and treat diseases in any liquid, so containers marked with dragons and horses were used as mascots. There is a legend that a large group of animals can't drink water because the pond is poisonous. The dragon horse came after defeating the struggling elephant, soaked its horn in the water, and soon the water was clean. The animals cheered. Because of its legendary strength and noble temperament, the dragon horse is not only preserved in European and Arab art, but also selected as the patron saint by the British royal family and the Scottish royal family.
Although Chinese and foreign dragon and phoenix legends have different sources and contents, they all bear their own cultural imprint. China's dragon and phoenix culture can be said to be more intense, which is the interweaving of myth and history. Phoenix and Kirin in the East and West can be regarded as auspicious beasts in the world, but dragon culture is unique to China and has deeply influenced other countries in the East.
Attachment: here is a website, which can also be exchanged.