"Overseas Nanjing" says: "Zhurong in the south has a beast body and a human face, riding two dragons" (1). "Overseas Western Classic" says: "The field of great happiness, Xia Houqi, danced here for nine generations; riding two dragons, cloud cover three layers. The left hand holds the shade, the right hand holds the ring, wearing a jade huang." In the north of Dayun Mountain, a Said: "The wilderness of great legacy" (2). "Overseas Western Classic" says: "In the west, there is a snake in the left ear, riding on two dragons" (3). "Haiwai Dong Jing" says: "The Eastern Jumang has a bird body and a human face, riding on two dragons" (4). "Hai Nei Bei Jing" says: "In the abyss of the extreme,... there is a frozen human face, riding on two dragons" (5). "The Great Wilderness Western Classic" says: "Beyond the Southwest Sea, to the south of Chishui, to the west of the quicksand, there is a man with Er and two green snakes riding on two dragons. His name is: "Xia Houkai" (6). "Overseas Southern Classic" says: "Yu Qiang from the north has a human face and a bird's body, and he tramples two green snakes. (Guo Pu's Note) It says: "In Yujiang in the north, people with black bodies and limbs ride on two dragons." The words "Zhurong", "Qi", "Liaoshou", "Jumang", "Bingyi" and "Kai (Qi)" here are )" and "Yujiang" are not included in the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and most of them are not well-known in Chinese history; but they were all emperors or princes in ancient China. The biggest difference between them and ordinary people is that they go out to "ride the dragon". Because "dragon" is a special mount and symbol given to the ancient emperor by ancient history. Therefore, many documents have records about ancient emperors "riding dragons".
In addition to "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", there are also records of the same meaning in "Dadaili·Five Emperors' Virtues". The literature says: "The Yellow Emperor rode a dragon and violent clouds, obeying the virtues of heaven and earth; Zhuanxu rode a dragon to the four seas, reaching Youling in the north, Jiaozhi in the south, quicksand in the west, and Panmu in the east. The emperor rode a dragon in spring and summer, and a horse in autumn and winter. . Hold on and gain the world” (7). This historical material also introduces the story of "Yellow Emperor", "Zhuan Xu" and "Emperor Ku" traveling around the world on dragons. Secondly, historical materials about ancient emperors "riding dragons" are also recorded in ancient books such as "Han Feizi", "Historical Records", and "Biography of Immortals".
Especially "The Legend of Immortals" tells us all the methods of raising and riding dragons in ancient times. The literature says: "A rider on a dragon sought out a dragon son in a pond, which looked like a palace guard. It had more than ten dragon heads. He built a hut and guarded and raised it. The dragon went away a little. Over the next fifty years, the water destroyed the hut. Once, Riding on a dragon, Ziming is good at fishing. In the third year, the white dragon comes to greet him. The Yellow Emperor has a horse doctor. Acupuncture his lips and drinking licorice soup to heal him. Afterwards, Tao An was the master of casting and metallurgy in Liu'an. One day... Zhuque Zhiye said: "An Gongye and Tiantong, on July 7th." I will greet you with a red dragon. 'At the end of the day, the red dragon comes, and An Gong rides on it. It is raining heavily in the southeast, and it goes up. When the women get it, they all ride on it. Riding on it is like a dragon, and they go up to Huayin Mountain" (8). "Historical Records·Fengchan Book" also says: "The Yellow Emperor collected copper from Shou Mountain and cast the tripod at the foot of Jingshan Mountain. When the tripod was completed, there was a dragon hanging from its beard to welcome the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor rode up, and more than seventy people from the harem followed him. The dragon went up. The remaining ministers were not allowed to go up, but they all held the dragon's beard. The dragon's beard was pulled out, and it fell down to the Yellow Emperor's bow. The people looked up to the Yellow Emperor and held his bow and beard, so later generations named the place Ding. Lake, its bow is called Wuhao..." (9).
For thousands of years, the secret of the ancient emperors and ancient people "riding the dragon" that has been hovering in the minds of the Chinese people was discovered by archaeologists after a 6,500-year-old discovery. The cultural relics of ancient people riding dragons prove the historical facts of ancient emperors and ancient people riding dragons recorded in historical documents such as "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", "Dadaili", "Biography of Immortals", and "Historical Records". From the fact that the documents and cultural relics are consistent, it can be thought that in fact, many records about dragons in ancient documents may not be lies of the ancients! Because the stories of ancient emperors "carrying dragons" and "riding dragons" recorded in the "Book of Changes", "Shan Hai Jing", "Da Dai Li", "Biographies of Immortals", and "Historical Records" in these Chinese historical classics are too crude. , too quaint, and too far away from us. Notes: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Pages 185, 191, 193, 212, 233, and 273 of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" translated by Yuan Ke, Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 1985 edition. (7) Page 249 of "Eight Thousand Years of Chinese Dragon Culture" edited by Pang Jin, People's Daily Press, 1993 edition.
(8) "Taiping Yulan" edited by Sun Yongchang and Xiong Yulan, Volume 8, page 438, Hebei Education Press, 1994 edition. (9) (Western Han Dynasty) "Historical Records·Fengchan Shu" by Sima Qian, page 422, Zhongzhou Ancient Books Publishing House, 1997 edition.
"Cheng" has the meaning of "relying on" and "controlling" in ancient times. "Dragon" is "Chuan". "Riding two dragons" means governing two major rivers. "The emperor rode dragons in spring and summer, and horses in autumn and winter." What does this record mean? In fact, it tells us that Emperor Ku traveled by boat in spring and summer, but rode horses in autumn and winter due to the freezing weather. Some subsequent accounts are obviously based on false rumors and cannot be trusted! The Dragon Emperor (? Where does this title come from?), also known as the Heavenly Emperor, is also called the Jade Emperor. Legend has it that he is the incarnation of the Yellow Emperor, the ancestor of the Chinese nation. It is recorded in "Historical Records: Book of Fengchan" that the Yellow Emperor and the people mined copper mines in Shoushan Mountain, cast the mined copper into a large copper tripod, and placed it at the foot of Jingshan Mountain. When the bronze tripod was cast, a dragon hung down from its beard to welcome the Yellow Emperor as he ascended to heaven. Huangdi rode on the dragon's back, and his ministers, wives and children all climbed up one after another, and more than seventy people climbed up at once. At this time, the dragon ascended to the sky, and the remaining ministers couldn't squeeze in, and all of them were holding on to the dragon's beard. The dragon's beard couldn't bear the weight and broke. The bow Huang Di was carrying was also pulled down. The officials could only hold the dragon's beard and bow and cry. After the Yellow Emperor ascended to heaven, he became the Emperor of Heaven.
In "Historical Records·Tianguan Shu", it is said that the Yellow Emperor is the incarnation of the Yellow Dragon. Huanglong is the Dragon Emperor. The five elements belong to earth and are located in the center. He is the head of the dragon clan and the ruler of heaven in Taoist religious views. It is also mentioned in the classics of the Han Dynasty: "The Yellow Dragon is the length of the four directions, the correct color of the four directions, and the essence of the gods. It can be huge, it can be thin, it can be dark, it can be bright, it can be short, it can be long, it can exist and it can die. . The king fishes without filtering the pond, and when he reaches the abyss, he swims in the pond in harmony." This illustrates the image of the Yellow Dragon. Ao Guang in the East China Sea, Ao Qin in the South China Sea, Ao Run in the West China Sea, and Aoshun in the North Sea. Those with blue faces and red beards are called the east, those with white hair and beards are called the west, those with orange hair and beards are called the south, and those with black hair and beards are called the north
The dragons are divided into sky dragons, earth dragons, and sea dragons; the so-called dragon kings of the four seas are actually four The Sea Dragon King is not the real Dragon King, but just the lord of the sea area where he is located.
On the birthday of the Dragon King God, there are differences in various literature records and Han folklore in various places. In the old days, temples dedicated to the Dragon King were almost as common as temples to the City God and the Earth God. Whenever the wind and rain are out of balance, there is no rain for a long time, or there is no rain for a long time, people will go to the Dragon King Temple to burn incense and pray, hoping that the Dragon King will control the water and bring good weather.
The dragon is a miraculous animal in Chinese legends that is good at change, can make clouds and rain, and benefit all things. It is the leader of all scale insects and the leader of the four spirits (dragon, phoenix, unicorn, and turtle). Ancient books describe its image in many different ways. One theory is that it is slender and has four legs, with the head of a horse and the tail of a snake. One theory is that it is covered in scales, has beards, horns, and five claws on its head. "Compendium of Materia Medica" states that "dragons have nine similarities", which are heterogeneous animals that have the strengths of various animals. It has many names. The one with scales is called Jiaolong, the one with wings is called Yinglong, the one with horns is called Duota, and the one without horns is called Qiu. The small one is called Jiao, and the big one is called Dragon. Most of the legends say that it can appear or hide, can be thin or large, can be short or long. The spring equinox ascends to the sky, the autumnal equinox dives into the abyss, it can call the wind and rain, and it is omnipotent. In mythology, it is the ruler of the underwater world (Dragon King), in the Han folk it is a symbol of auspiciousness, and in ancient times it was the incarnation of imperial rule.