1. Introduction
Dragon is a magical animal in ancient legends of China. It is the leader of scale insects, the master of sex and rain, and the master of wind and rain. It is often used to symbolize good luck. Dragon is one of the most representative traditional cultures of the Han nationality, and its legend and other dragon cultures are very rich.
The most basic feature of the dragon image is "nine similarities", and these nine animals are still controversial. Legend has it that it can be hidden, detailed and huge, short and long. The vernal equinox ascends to the sky, the autumnal equinox dives into the deep, and it calls for rain, and these are the images of dragons developed in the later period, which are more complicated than the original dragons.
Zhang Guoxing said: "If there are auxiliary wings, this is a real dragon." He thinks that the winged party is a real dragon. For example, there were a large number of dragon boats with wings in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and even Qinglong in the pre-Qin ornamentation had wings, saying that Qinglong was the ancestor dragon.
In feudal times, the dragon was a symbol of imperial power, and the objects used in the palace were also decorated with dragons. However, unlike the widely circulated saying that the five-claw golden dragon is the symbol of the emperor, there are pterosaurs recorded as the image of the emperor in ancient books.
Dragon ranks fifth among the traditional Chinese zodiac animals in China, and is called "Four Spirits" with phoenix, tortoise and forest in the Book of Rites. The dragon in western mythology has also been translated into Jackie Chan, but the two are not the same.
2. Image evolution
From the cultural era with no belief in history thousands of years ago to the Shang Dynasty, the Western Zhou Dynasty, and then to the Warring States and the Pre-Qin Dynasty, vessels and decorations about the image of dragons have been emerging one after another, with wings, wings, horns and horns, and even the animal-shaped dragons with Liangzhu culture and the snake-shaped dragons in the ruins of Chahai have different images. Therefore, some scholars believe that there are many origins and sources of dragons.
The image of the dragon in the Western Han Dynasty (including Wang Mang's period) is as slender as a snake, with no tail and no fins at the tail. The head is like a crocodile, and the whole body is slender. There are two kinds: winged and wingless. Some corners are like horns, slender and slightly curved at the front end.
The upper and lower jaws are equal in length, and the upper and lower lips roll up and down respectively. There are two kinds of wings. The wings are bird-shaped. Legs are thin, short and thick. Feet are divided into animal feet and eagle feet, three toes.
In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the dragon was stout, tiger-shaped and its tail fin was distinct. Angle image angle. There is a prominent edge under the corner, and the front end of the top is similar to antlers. And all have wings. Hands and legs are longer. The tiger image is the main image, supplemented by other animal images.
From Jian 'an to Wei and Jin Dynasties (Sixteen Kingdoms period), the dragon was slender, tiger-shaped and with distinct tail. The head horn is slightly like antlers. There are two kinds of wings, pterosaur or bird wing. Legs are animals, long.
From the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Sui Dynasty, the dragon was slender, tiger-shaped, with a clear tail and a flame ring on the back of the neck. There are two kinds of dragon wings, ribbon wings and bird wings. It floats on its limbs and has long animal hair.
In the Tang and Song Dynasties, it was thick and plump, returning to the snake body, with scales from the back to the tail, and a circle of fins on the tail of the Song Dynasty. Absorbed the characteristics of the lion image, round and plump, with a back of the head.
Forked antlers appeared in the Tang Dynasty, and were slightly like antlers in the early days. The upper lip is very long, the tip is pointed, and the lower lip is very short, and it no longer curls down. The dragon wings are all banded. Four-legged feet appeared in the Song Dynasty, and hind limbs and tails often crossed and circled.