Tell me about the legends of the four dragon kings?

Dragon is one of the four gods in ancient China mythology. There are "Dragon King Products" in Taishang Cave's Divine Mantra Classic, which lists "Five Emperors Dragon King" by orientation, "Four Seas Dragon King" by ocean, 54 dragon king names and 62 dragon king names by everything in the world. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the Dragon Pool in the temple was called and an altar official was set up to worship the Dragon King. Song Taizu followed the Five Dragon Sacrifice System in Tang Dynasty. In the second year of Song Huizong Daguan (1 108), all the five dragons in the world were awarded titles. Seal Qinglong God as King of Ren Guang, Red Dragon God as King Jiaze, Huanglong God as King Fu Ying, White Dragon God as King Yiji, and Black Dragon God as King Lingze. In the second year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1863), the dragon god of the canal was named "the god of the dragon king who should divide the water", so that the river chief could pay homage at the right time. The Dragon Kings in Journey to the West are Ao Guang in the East China Sea, Aoqin in the West Sea, Aorun in the South China Sea and Aoshun in the North Sea, which are collectively called the Four Seas Dragon Kings.

Therefore, the duty of the dragon king is to spread clouds and rain to relieve people's summer heat and troubles, and the dragon king's water control has become a common belief among the people. The "dragon king's product" in the Taoist "Taishang East Shen Yuan Mantra Sutra" is called "the land is dry, the grain is not harvested, and the time is not known in twos and threes." At the beginning, the Buddha came to the earth by colorful clouds, and preached dharma with the dragon kings of the heavens to save all beings and moisten them in time.

Regarding the birthday of the Dragon King, there are differences between various literature records and local folklore. In the past, temples dedicated to the dragon king were almost as common as temples in the city god. Whenever the wind and rain are unbalanced, it doesn't rain for a long time, or it rains for a long time, the people will go to the Longwang Temple to burn incense and pray for the Dragon King to control the water and the good weather.

Dragons have played a very important role in the history, tradition and culture of China. The origin of the dragon comes from the fu. According to myths and legends, Fuxi and Nu Wa are both heads, and snakes are the prototype of dragons. But in fact, the dragon is just a totem, which does not exist in the real world. It is a creature invented by human beings, and it combines the characteristics of many creatures: snake body, animal legs, eagle claws, horse head, snake tail, antlers and fish scales. According to textual research, the origin of dragon totem is related to the constant fighting of primitive tribes. In the long history, tribes fought, annexed and united with each other, and added some totems of victorious tribes to their own totems. Over time, through continuous absorption and enrichment, the dragon has more and more characteristics, and its image has become more and more complex and majestic. Finally, a complete dragon totem was formed, which became a symbol of the worship of the Chinese nation.

In ancient mythology, the dragon is the head of scale insects and the head of the four spirits (dragon, phoenix, unicorn and turtle). There are many different images in ancient books. Speaking of slender, it has four feet, anticlimactic. Speaking of piercing scales, there are whiskers on the head and five claws. Compendium of Materia Medica says that "dragons have nine similarities", which is a heterogeneous animal with the advantages of all kinds of animals. It has many names. Those with scales are called dragons, those with wings are called dragons, those with horns are called "multi-tower" dragons, and those without horns are called autumn. The little one is called Jiao, and the big one is called Dragon. In Buddhism, dragon is one of the "Eight Dragons". See "Eight Dragons" for details.

It is precisely because the dragon is a winner and exists like a god that people are proud of concentrating all kinds of superb skills, excellent qualities and virtues they can imagine on the dragon. Dragons are brave and good at fighting, but they are wise and dignified. He can show and hide, be detailed and big, be short and be long. The autumnal equinox lurks in the deep water, and the vernal equinox soars into the sky, puffing clouds, calling for rain, lightning and thunder, which are changeable and omnipotent. It can foresee the future and symbolizes status, wealth and auspiciousness. The divinity of the dragon can be summarized by being fond of water, good at flying, flying, fickle, showing spirits, seeking wealth, omening disasters and demonstrating. Among them, "flying well" and "flying into the sky" are the decisive factors for the formation of "dragon" We know that as a collection object of dragons, lightning, clouds, rainbows, etc. Originally, it was a "celestial phenomenon" flying in the air; Fish, crocodiles and snakes dive into the water, and horses, cows and deer run on land at the same speed as "flying" dates. Due to the fuzziness of thinking, the ancients often regarded fish, crocodiles and snakes diving in water, horses, cows and deer running on land, and lightning, clouds and rainbows soaring in the air as different manifestations of a sacred object. In the era of the Yellow Emperor, there was a legend that Lapras ascended to heaven and Ying Long helped the Yellow Emperor defeat Chiyou. In Yu Xia, there is a legend that a dragon draws a river with its tail to divert the flood. Liu Bang, the emperor gaozu of Han Dynasty, is said to have been born after his mother dreamed of mating with the red dragon. Legend has it that the tradition of frying corn on the second day of February every year is to commemorate Yi Long's breaking the dogma to solve the human drought. Legend has it that Yulong was imprisoned by the Jade Emperor because he couldn't bear the people to suffer from drought, and made a rule that only golden beans would be released when they were in bloom. People get together to fry corn because they appreciate Yulong's kindness. Because it looks like golden beans in full bloom, the responsible Taibai Venus made a mistake and released Yulong. The tradition of frying corn on the second day of February every year has also been preserved. In ancient times, the dragon was the embodiment of the emperor's rule, and kings claimed to be the sons of the dragon, thus inheriting the noble status and character of the dragon, the noble majesty that did not become secular, and the foundation of becoming a leader among mankind. On the dragon, the good wishes of all people are concentrated. The outstanding figures in the world are called dragons and phoenixes among people, and Zhuge Liang's claim to be Mr. Wolong is a very typical example.

Moreover, dragons are graded, and the three-claw dragon is the lowest. The more claws, the rarer and more precious it is. And the noblest are the four dragon kings of the Lord of the four seas. Among the "Eight Dragons" in ancient India, the Dragon King was the richest man in the sea, with a lot of wealth and jewels to protect the world. Dragon is the "God of Water", and there are "Dragon King Products" in The Divine Mantra Sutra of Taishang East Hospital, which lists the "Five Emperors Dragon King" by orientation, the "Four Seas Dragon King" by ocean, and 54 dragon king names and 62 dragon king names by everything in the world. In Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, an altar official was set up to offer sacrifices to the Dragon King. Song Taizu followed the Five Dragon Sacrifice System in Tang Dynasty. In the second year of Song Huizong Daguan (1 108), all the five dragons in the world were crowned kings. Seal Qinglong God as King of Ren Guang, Red Dragon God as King Jiaze, Huanglong God as King Fu Ying, White Dragon God as King Yiji, and Black Dragon God as King Lingze. In the second year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1863), the dragon god of the canal was named "the dragon god who should divide the water", which made the river chief sacrifice in time. The dragon kings in The Journey to the West are Ao Guang in the East China Sea, Aoqin in the South China Sea, Aorun in the West Sea and Aoshun in the North Sea, which are collectively called the Four Seas Dragon Kings. Blushing must be east, white hair must be west, orange hair must be south, and black hair must be north. Therefore, the Four Seas Dragon King is also known as the Dragon King of the East China Sea, the Red Dragon King of the South China Sea, the Bai Longwang of the West Sea, and the Black Dragon King of the North China Sea, and each has different attributes (see the Five Elements Table for details), and each has its own functions and abilities. Then the Yellow Emperor (that is, the Dragon Emperor) is included in the middle, which is just the embodiment of the "five elements" theory in Taiji Bagua.

There are two sources of the Dragon King: one is the introduction of Indian Buddhism, and the other is the blending and infiltration of China people's psychology of worshipping dragons and respecting kings.

According to legend, when Sakyamuni was born, there were two Dragon King brothers named Garo and Yugaro. One sprinkled warm water on the left, and the other sprinkled cold spring on the right to bathe the Buddha. In the karma sutra of the past and present, the dragon king of the bath Buddha became a difficult tuo, and it was excellent and difficult to tuo. They "spit clean water in the void, warm and cool, and pour it into the prince's body." Tianzhong, Longzhong, Haga, Gandapo, Asura, Goluda, Kinnara, Mohologa and other "Tianlong Babu" also played music in the air, singing hymns, burning incense and scattering flowers, throwing clothes and offering wreaths, which were "colorful and countless".

In the Lotus Sutra translated by Kumarajiva, there are eight dragon kings. They are: Nantuo Dragon King, Postan Dragon King, Bogalo Dragon King, Xiuji Dragon King, Wude Dragon King, Anabodado Dragon King, Monas Dragon King and Ubelo Dragon King. John Zhang, a painter in the Song Dynasty, painted six of them (Monas Dragon King and Youboluo Dragon King). These six dragon kings are all the kings of the earth, wearing robes and riding boots, with attendants and families, lined with clouds and sea water.

In the Hua Yan Jing translated in the Tang Dynasty, the number of dragon kings increased to ten, and the names were different from the above eight. They are: Pilubocha Dragon King, Tommy Tam Dragon King, Sanyunmiao Yinlou Dragon King, Siyankou Guanghai Dragon King, Wugaopu Yun Qi Dragon King, liu de Dragon King, Qiwuliangbu Dragon King, Eight Pure Colors Dragon King, Jiupuyunxiao Dragon King and Ten Fever Dragon King. There are also five dragon kings, seven dragon kings and eighty-one dragon kings. On the dragon king.

What are the functions of these dragon kings? The first is to protect Buddhism and guide all beings. For example, Wang Long at the end of the earth, ranked 19 in the 20 "days" of Buddhism, is the legendary sea king in charge of water snakes, but it is also a "magic weapon" as a protector to worship and protect Buddha relics, Buddhist scriptures and other buddhas. In the Sutra of the Sea Dragon King translated by Zhu Fahu in the Western Jin Dynasty, there is also a story that the Dragon King invited the Buddha to the Dragon Palace in the sea to support him, and invited "Buddha and others" to be his "countless family members". The second is to spread sex and rain to eliminate disasters. The Hua Yan Jing says that you big dragon kings "make sex and rain frequently, which makes all living beings angry." This is consistent with China's native Longxing Yunbu dialect.