In ancient times, the dragon was a symbol of power. What are the stories and legends about dragons in ancient times?

Four Dragon Kings: Ao Guang, Aoqin, Aoshun and Aorun.

Ao Guang in the East China Sea, Australia and New Zealand in the South China Sea, Australia and Run in the West Sea and Australia and Shun in the North Sea.

Blushing must be east, white hair must be west, orange hair must be south, and black hair must be north.

The Dragon in China People's Life

Dragons are not unique to China, and many ethnic groups are related to the myths and legends of dragons. China, a country that is proud of, reveres and related to dragons, is unique. In China, there are thousands of places with dragon names, including figures, such as Erlong in Jilin, Sanlong in Jiangxi and Si Long in Liaoning. Some take dragons as subjects, such as the dragon head in Jiangxi, the dragon horn in Sichuan, the dragon forehead in Guizhou and the dragon claw in Heilongjiang; Some dragons can be composed of dragon king, dragon mother, dragon, little dragon, golden dragon, wooden dragon, water dragon and earth dragon. There are more than 40 rivers with the word "dragon" in China. The familiar yellow, blue, red, white and black dragons are distributed in Sichuan (Huanglong River), Hebei (qinglong river and Chilong River), Tianjin (Qinglongwan River and Heilonggang River), Gansu (Bailong River), Shanghai (Bailonggang River) and Heilongjiang (Heilongjiang). Almost every province has Longjiang, Longhu, Longshan, Longdong, Longquan, Longtan, and countless temples of Wang Long.

There are also traces of dragons in daily life. Clothes are robes and dragon crowns; Eat lobster, longan and Longxu Noodles; Buildings include Dragon Palace and Dragon Pavilion; There are dragon boats and carts. Furniture includes a dragon chair and a bed. On the fifteenth day of the first month, dragon lanterns will be danced and dragon boat races will be held on the Dragon Boat Festival in May. Animals include dragons and fleas; Plants include Solanum nigrum, agave, Gracilaria lemaneiformis, Gracilaria lemaneiformis, Sabina vulgaris and Sophora japonica. The treasure house of geomantic omen is called Dragon Cave, the waterwheel for pumping water is called keel waterwheel, and the big crane is called gantry crane. There is Long Xing in the sky and Long Mai in the ground. There are hundreds of nouns related to dragons in ancient books. There are 8 1 dragon fairy tales collected in Taiping Guangji edited thousands of years ago. In China, dragons are almost everywhere. Dragon culture has a long history.

The image and totem of dragons

Dragon is also a totem of primitive people, an illusory creature that exists only in totems but not in creatures. The image of the dragon known today combines the characteristics of various creatures: snake body, animal leg, eagle claw, horse head, snake tail, antlers and fish scales. Some studies have pointed out that the image of the dragon has undergone constant development and changes. In the long historical process, through war and alliance, the people who believe in the dragon totem have gradually become leaders, and the dragon totem has gradually become the banner of the whole Chinese nation's belief. The totem image originally believed by other nationalities is gradually absorbed and enriched into the image of dragon, so the characteristics of dragon are more and more, and the image is becoming more and more complex and powerful.

People also concentrated all kinds of virtues and excellent qualities on dragons. We see from many stories and legends that dragons are brave and good at fighting and are not afraid of any violence; Dragons are smart. It can even foresee the future. The dragon's ability is high, but it can be big or small and changeable. It can spread clouds and rain, thunder and lightning, talk and move mountains, and it is magical. The dragon is rich, and the Dragon Palace has become a concentrated place for treasures. Dragons are upright and considerate. In order to save the suffering of human drought, it even violated the dogma. People's good wishes are concentrated in dragons, and outstanding people in the world are often called dragons among people. Zhuge Liang's so-called Mr. Wolong is a familiar example.

The Dragon Emperor and the Heaven Emperor

The Dragon Emperor, also known as the Emperor of Heaven and the Jade Emperor, is said to be the embodiment of the Yellow Emperor, the ancestor of the Chinese nation. This is recorded in Historical Records. In "The Closed Sutra", the Yellow Emperor and ordinary people dug copper in Shoushan, cast the mined copper into a big bronze tripod and placed it at the foot of Jingshan Mountain. When casting a bronze tripod, a dragon lowered his beard to welcome the Yellow Emperor to heaven. The Yellow Emperor rode on the dragon's back, and his ministers, wife and children climbed up one after another, totaling more than 70 people. At this time, the dragon ascended to heaven, and the other ministers could not squeeze in, holding the dragon's beard one by one. The dragon beard meat was broken because of its heavy weight, and the bow carried by the Yellow Emperor was also pulled down, so the courtiers had to hold the dragon beard meat and bow and wail. After the Yellow Emperor ascended to heaven, he became the Emperor of Heaven.

According to historical records, official books also say: "Xuanyuan (Yellow Emperor's name is Xuanyuan), Huanglong style". To put it simply, the Yellow Emperor is the embodiment of Huanglong. Huanglong is the dragon emperor, and the five elements belong to the earth and are in the middle. It is the dragon head and heavenly teacher in Taoist religious view. It is also mentioned in the Han dynasty classics: "Huanglong is the length of the quartet, the positive color of the quartet, and the essence of the gods. It can be huge, it can be detailed, it can be quiet, it can be bright, it can be short, it can be long, it suddenly exists, and it suddenly dies. The king has no filter when fishing. If he goes to the abyss, he should swim in the pool in harmony. " , illustrates the image of Huanglong.

The legendary dragon

The ancients regarded the dragon as sacred, sacred and changeable. They can be thin and big, short and long. They can go deep into the water and soar in the sky. There are legends about dragons in almost every book in China's ancient classic works, and there are countless legends and myths about dragons. The Book of Changes and other classic works have made a complete and systematic exposition of the dragon and given it philosophical significance. In the eight diagrams, dragons are used to illustrate the dry divination, which is also the first divination in the Book of Changes.

In addition, legends and myths of dragons have appeared in all previous dynasties, and many places named after the word "dragon" also have legends of dragons. 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. Yu Xia water conservancy, legend has it 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. From many stories and legends, we can see that people tend to concentrate all kinds of virtues and excellent qualities on dragons. 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.

Of course, there are just dragons in the legend as good, and naturally there will be evil dragons as evil. With the opening of people's wisdom and the introduction of Buddhist beliefs, the image of the dragon king has changed among the people. As one of the Taoist traditions, the dragon king has also begun to play the role of villain. In many places named after the word "dragon" in China, there are also legends of dragons, among which there are many stories of dragons raging. Just like Heilongjiang, it is said that there was a white dragon disaster before. Later, in a village by the river, a family gave birth to a black dragon. It turned out that the black dragon came to help drive away the white dragon, and the villagers supported it according to its instructions. Finally, the white dragon was removed, and people named the river Heilongjiang to commemorate the black dragon. There is a Wolong Lake in Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan, and there is a milky yellow Liang Shi at the bottom of the lake, which is said to be the embodiment of the White Dragon. There are two big rivers near Jiuzhaigou. One is called Heishui River. It is said that there used to be a big black dragon here. A white dragon lives in the Bailong River. Legend has it that the Black Dragon sucked up the water in Jiuzhaigou because he was jealous of the scenery there. When Xiaobailong knew it, he sprayed the water from Bailong River to Jiuzhaigou and restored its beauty. When the black dragon knew about it, he fought fiercely with the white dragon. When defeated, the black dragon poisoned the plan and the little white dragon was forced to flee to a lake in Jiuzhaigou. The black dragon alarmed the whereabouts of the white dragon hidden by Wanshan God, and was finally imprisoned by Wanshan God, unable to do evil again. In recognition of it, Wanshan God gave Bailong a set of golden armor, which is the origin of the legend of Wolong Lake.

The Dragon King in Literary Works

The dragon is personified in folk literature and art, and the sea dragon king benefits the people and harms the people. In the mythical novel "List of Gods", Journey to the West, the drama "Liu Yi Biography of Shu" and "Zhang Zhuyuhai", there are dragon kings with different good and evil and human-like personalities.

In the Journey to the West, there are many descriptions and stories about dragons. With the opening of people's wisdom and the introduction of Buddhist beliefs, the image of the dragon king has changed among the people. Before that, the impression of the Dragon King was generally positive, but after Buddhism began to flourish, the status of the Dragon King began to decline, becoming a supporting role or even a clown in The Journey to the West. In the Journey to the West, the Monkey King made a scene in the Aoguanglong Palace, the dragon king of the East China Sea, which everyone is familiar with. In the face of the Monkey King, the Dragon King of the Four Seas was unable to resist, so he could only offer treasures such as King Kong Stick and Golden Armor with trepidation, and his playing time was rare. Because he set fire to the Dragon Palace, he was almost executed by the Jade Emperor. Fortunately, he was saved by Guanyin Bodhisattva and became the White Horse Dragon King of Tang Sanzang. This is another famous three princes, Aorun, Bai Longwang and Xihai.

The Dragon King in the Romance of the Gods

In addition to the Four Seas Dragon King mentioned in The Journey to the West, there is also a dragon king in another novel, Romance of Gods. The Romance of the Gods, also known as the List of Gods, was written in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, and there is also a saying that it was adapted by Yangzhou Taoist thinker Lv Xixing.

The Romance of the Gods is based on the story of Zhou Wuwang's crusade against Shang Zhouwang, describing the story of Jiang Ziya's deity. In The Legend of Creation Dragon, Yoshiki Tanaka repeatedly mentioned that the Dragon King of the Four Seas was ordered by the Heaven Emperor to help the Zhou Dynasty to crusade against the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and in The Romance of Gods, the Dragon King also appeared. However, in The Romance of the Gods, the Four Seas Dragon King did not play any important role in Wu Zhou War. In fact, as Longtangshi said in The Legend of Creation, there is no mention in any literary works or classics that the Dragon King of the Four Seas participated in the Wu Zhou Revolutionary War. The role of the Dragon King in The Romance of Gods is similar to that in The Journey to the West, and it becomes a supporting role and a clown.

In the list of gods, Nezha played the role of the Monkey King in The Journey to the West. Stubborn Nezha didn't know that the Chinese-style chest covering and wrist bracelet he was wearing were the treasures of the gods. When he took a bath in Jiuhewan, he put his Chinese-style chest covering in the water, which made the East China Sea shake, even the Crystal Palace shake. Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East China Sea (also known as Aoguang) sent people to investigate, but all the people sent were killed by stubborn Nezha. Ao Guang sent his third prince to investigate, but the third prince was also killed by Nezha and even skinned and cramped by Nezha. Finally, Ao Guang confessed to Nezha's father, Li Jingxing, and vowed to tell Heaven Emperor. Nezha was unconvinced and beat Ao Guang on the road. Finally, the Dragon King of the Four Seas told the Emperor of Heaven about it, and arrested Li Jing's family for trial in heaven. At this time, Nezha found fault with himself, cut out the intestines by laparotomy and returned the flesh and blood to his parents, which calmed the matter down. Finally, Nezha was resurrected with the help of Taiyi real person and became the pioneer of King Wu's offensive war. The Dragon King was not mentioned in the later Romance of the Gods. It can be seen that the statement that the Four Seas Dragon King helped the Zhou Dynasty to crusade against the Shang and Zhou Dynasties is purely a fabrication by Yoshiki Tanaka, and there is no exact myth and legend background to support it.

The Legend of Longquan Township

Longquan Township is mentioned in Chuanglong Biography as being somewhere in Qinghai Province. In fact, is there Longquan Township in Qinghai Province? As mentioned in the previous paragraph, almost every province has places named after dragons, and there are several places named after Longquan. Where is Longquan? It is generally believed that it is now Longquan County, Zhejiang Province. Before the Tang Dynasty, it was called Longquan Township, and the county was established here in the Tang Dynasty. Longquan is named after a "Longquan sword". According to Yue Jueshu, a history book of the State of Yue in the Spring and Autumn Period, the King of Chu heard that there was a general in the State of Wu and a Ou Yezi in the State of Yue, both of whom were famous swordsmen. So he sent someone to ask two famous artists to cast some iron swords for Chu with heavy money. After applying, they dug through the mountain, drained the streams in the mountain, found the essence of iron ore, and forged three swords, one called Long Yuan, one called Taiya and the other called Gongbu. Later, in order to avoid the taboo of Tang Gaozu and Tang Gaozu, Longyuanjian was renamed Longquan Sword. Longquan County, Zhejiang Province, just mentioned, has a Jianchi Lake in the south of the county seat. According to legend, it is the place where Ou Yezi made swords, also known as Long Yuan, so this place is called Longquan.

But there are also several places called Longquan. In addition to Longquan County just now, there is also Longquan in Yongjia County, Zhejiang Province. According to "Notes on Water Classics", the water pattern in the spring eye has become the shape of a dragon, so livestock dare not drink water here. There is also a Longquan in Xiping County, Henan Province. Ancient books say that you can sharpen your sword this spring to make the blade strong. There is a Longquan field in Jiangxi, and Longquan County was established in the Southern Tang Dynasty, which is now called Suizhou. There is a Longquan Ping in Guizhou, which was also called Longquan County in Ming and Qing Dynasties, and later changed to Quanfeng County and Fenggang County. So, is there Longquan Township in Qinghai Province? There is nothing in the available materials. There may be a small village or town named this, but it is not clear whether it can really lead to Kunlun.

Dragon King

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, and lists the names of 54 dragon kings and 62 dragon kings 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.

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 Taoism's "The Mantra Sutra of Taishang East Shen Yuan" says that "the land is dry, the grain is not harvested, and the time is unknown in twos and threes." At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, the Buddha came to the land by five-color clouds, and together with the Dragon King and other heavenly kings, he preached dharma to save all beings and get timely nourishment.

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.

Dragon is a miraculous animal in the legend of China. It is fickle, promotes sex and benefits all things. It is the first of many scales and the first of 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", and it is a heterogeneous animal with the advantages of various 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. Legend has it that it can be hidden, detailed and huge, short and long. The vernal equinox ascends to the sky, and the autumnal equinox dives into the deep, omnipotent. In mythology, it is the master of the underwater world (the Dragon King), a symbol of good fortune among the people, and the embodiment of ancient imperial power.