The dragon gave birth to nine sons, which means that the dragon gave birth to nine sons. None of the nine sons became dragons, and each of them was different. The so-called "dragon begets nine sons" does not mean that the dragon happens to have nine sons. In traditional Chinese culture, nine represents many things and has the supreme status. Nine is an imaginary number and also a noble number, so it is used to describe the dragon son. The idea that the dragon has nine sons has been around for a long time, but there is no explanation about which nine animals they are. It was not until the Ming Dynasty that various theories emerged. Some scholars' notes in the Ming Dynasty, such as Lu Rong's "Shuan Yuan Miscellaneous Notes", Li Dongyang's "Huailutang Collection", Yang Shen's "Sheng'an Collection", Li Xu's "Jie'an Old Man's Essays", Xu Yingqiu's "Yuzhitang Tan" "Yun" and so on, there are many versions with different sayings, which are summarized as follows: Qiuniu, Jiazui, Chaofeng, Pulao, Suanni, Bixi, Bifan, Chiki, Taotie, Qilin, Jiaotu, Earthworm, etc.
The boss prisons the cow (qiú'niú), the second boss 睚禦 (yá'zì), the third boss laughs at the wind (cháo'fēng), the fourth boss Pulao (pú'láo), the fifth boss Suān'ní Lao Liu Bi Xi (bì'xì) Lao Qi Bi Pi (bì'àn) Lao Ba negative Xi (fù'xì) Lao Jiu Chi Kiss/鸱tail (chī'wěn/chī'wěi) comes from Li Dongyang's "Huailu" in the Ming Dynasty "Tangji"
Another saying is:
The ranking name is the boss (bì'xì), the second child, Chiki/鸱伟 (chī'wěn/chī'wěi), the third child Pulao (pú'láo) Laosi 狴犴 (bì'àn) Laowu Taotie (tāo'tiè) Laoliu earthworm (gōng'fù) Laoqi 睚禦 (yá'zì) Laoba Suānni (suān'ní) Some versions of Lao Jiujiao Tu (jiāo'tú) also include Chi, Qilin, Chaotianhou (犼), and Pixiu as among the dragons. One of the introductions of the nine sons of Longsheng
Qiu Niu, one of the nine sons of Longsheng, is willing to be the head of the piano to listen to the music
The boss
Qiu Niu is Longsheng The eldest among the nine dragons, he has loved music all his life and is the most docile among the many dragons. He is neither bloodthirsty nor ruthless, and specializes in music. Legend has it that the imprisoned cow with a dragon head and a snake body has a very good ear and can distinguish the sounds of all things. It often squats on the head of the piano to enjoy the music of plucked strings, so its portrait is engraved on the head of the piano. This decoration is still in use today, and some valuable Huqin heads are still engraved with the image of a dragon head, which is called "Dragon Head Huqin". This musically gifted dragon son not only appears on the Huqin of the Han people, but also on the dragon-headed Yueqin of the Yi people, the three-stringed qin of the Bai people, and some Tibetan and Mongolian qins. .
Yaizu, the god of war, is the second of the nine sons of the dragon, and all grudges must be repaid
The second child
Yaizu is the second child. Legend has it that he was born with the head of a jackal and the body of a dragon, and his personality throughout his life. Fierce, aggressive and fond of killing, he is Longzi's god of war. The ferocious eyes of Yaizhen when angry were also used by the ancients to describe "glaring with anger". Sima Qian's evaluation of the paragraph "Fan Ju's Revenge" in "Historical Records" is that "the virtue of a meal must be repaid, and the hatred of Yaizhen must be repaid." So, , the idiom "Yiju must be repaid" was born. Jizhen likes to kill, so the ancients often carved it into the mouth where the blade and handle of the sword meet, which adds to the frightening power. It is not only decorated on the weapons of famous generals on the battlefield, but also widely used on the weapons of ceremonial guards and palace guards, making it even more majestic and solemn. Because the emperors believed that the emperor could defeat all evil.
The third of the nine sons of the dragon, Chaofeng, the vanguard of the corner of the palace
The third child
Chaofeng, who looks like a beast, is the third child. He is prone to danger and hope in his life. , the beast on the corner of the hall is its portrait. These animals lined up in a single line, standing upright at the front of the vertical ridge. The leader of the animals was an "immortal" riding a bird, followed in order by: dragon, phoenix, lion, Pegasus, seahorse, Suan Ni, Xiu fish, Haechi, Bullfighting, and entertainment. Chaofeng is the second one. There is a strict hierarchical system for their placement. Only the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City in Beijing can have all ten of them. These 10 mythical beasts mean "perfection", and the number of secondary halls must be reduced accordingly. Chaofeng not only symbolizes good luck, beauty and majesty, but also has the meaning of deterring demons and eliminating disasters.
The placement of the mocking wind makes the shape of the entire palace both strict and varied, achieving the harmony of solemnity and vividness, the unity of grandeur and exquisiteness. It adds a mysterious atmosphere to the towering palace.
Pulao, the fourth of the nine sons of the dragon, startled everyone with his roar
The fourth son
Pulao, shaped like a coiled dragon, ranks fourth and has a good reputation throughout his life. Roar, the dragon-shaped animal button on the Hong Bell is its portrait. It turns out that Pulao lives by the sea. Although he is a dragon, he has always been afraid of the huge whale. When a whale attacks, it roars loudly in fear to drive the whale away. According to the characteristics of "good nature" and "every bell wants to make a loud sound", people cast Pulao as a bell button and made the wooden pestle for ringing the bell into the shape of a whale. When ringing the bell, let the whale hit Pulao again and again, making it "ring into the sky" and "sound alone and far away". Today, almost every ancient bell across the country has Pulao on it.
The fifth of the nine sons of the Dragon, Suan Ni Incense Burner Leo
The fifth child
Suanni, also known as Jin Ni and Ling Ni, looks like a lion and ranks fifth. , although he looks fierce, he likes to be quiet and does not like to move in his life. He likes to sit and likes fireworks. Therefore, the foot decorations on the Buddha's seat and the incense burner are his portraits. According to legend, this kind of suan Ni decorated on the Buddha's seat was introduced to China by Indians in the Han Dynasty. By the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it had been widely used in Buddhist art in my country. This shape was created by Chinese folk artists and gave it a unique The traditional Chinese style, which later became Longzi's Lao Wu, was mostly placed in front of statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas sitting cross-legged or cross-legged. The dragon-shaped decoration in the middle of the collar of the stone lion or bronze lion during the Ming and Qing Dynasties is also the image of Suanni, which makes the traditional Chinese door lion guarding the door more open and majestic. Suanni is also used as the mount of Manjushri Bodhisattva. Today, in Wutai Mountain, the dojo of Manjushri Bodhisattva, there is still a temple where the ancients worshiped Suan Ni. Because Suan Ni ranked fifth, this temple is also called the "Wuye Temple".
Baxia, the sixth of the nine sons born in the dragon, pulls up the mountain to carry merits
Baxia, also known as Bixi, looks like a turtle, and the sixth is the old one.
Sixth, he was fond of carrying heavy loads throughout his life and had great strength. The tortoise under the stele base is his portrait. The first legend is that in ancient times, Baxia often carried three mountains and five mountains on his back, making waves in rivers, lakes and seas. Later, Dayu conquered it when he was controlling floods. It obeyed Yu's command, pushed mountains and dug ditches, and dredged rivers, making contributions to flood control. After the flood was controlled, Dayu was worried that Ba Xia would go wild again, so he moved a very large stone tablet standing high in the sky, on which was engraved the traces of Ba Xia's flood control, and asked Ba Xia to carry it on his back. The heavy stone tablet made it unable to walk casually. Basia and tortoises are very similar, but there are differences upon closer inspection. Basia has a row of teeth, while tortoises do not. There are also differences in the number and shape of the carapace between Basia and tortoises. Baxia, also known as stone turtle, is a symbol of longevity and good luck. It always held its head forward with difficulty, holding on to its four feet desperately, struggling to move forward, but it could never move away. The bases of some prominent stone monuments in our country are carried by Ba Xia, which can be seen in the Forest of Steles and some historical sites. The second legend is that the dragon sons once descended to earth to help Zhu Yuanzhang conquer the Ming Dynasty. But when they were about to return to heaven to revive, Zhu Yuanzhang’s fourth son Zhu Di, who later became the founder of the Ming Dynasty, did not want to let them go, so he said to Ba Xia: "You If you can carry the merit monument of Emperor Taizu, I will let you go back." Ba Xia agreed without knowing it was a plan, but he knew that after carrying it, he could no longer move - because the merits are immeasurable, Ba Xia was suppressed by his merits. Under the monument.
The Seventh of the Nine Sons of the Dragon: Bi'an, the Nemesis of Criminals
Bi'an, also known as Charter, looks like a tiger and is the seventh son. He was prone to litigation, but he was also powerful. The tiger-head-shaped decoration on the upper part of the prison door is his portrait, Lao Ba
. Legend has it that the Piran is not only eager for justice and speaks out for justice, but also can distinguish right from wrong and make impartial decisions. In addition, its majestic image is not only decorated on the prison door, but also crouched on both sides of the lobby of the government office, making comments. Those who commit crimes are extremely intimidating. Whenever the yamen chief sits in the court, his image appears on the top of the chief executive's title plate and the silence card. He looks around and looks around to maintain the solemnity and uprightness of the court. In ancient times, the doors of prisons were engraved with the head of a tiger, so the prison was also commonly known as "Tiger Head Prison" among the people.
The eighth of the nine sons of the Dragon, Fu Xi, loves calligraphy and inscriptions
Fu Xi, with a body like a dragon and a head like a lion, is the eighth oldest son. A very elegant person - specializing in calligraphy.
The Wenlong figures on both sides of the stele are his portraits. Our country's stone tablets have a long history and are rich in content. Some of them are simple in shape, smooth and bright, and the light is discernible; some are exquisitely carved, with graceful words and vivid writing; some are famous poems and stone carvings, which are popular among people. , praised throughout the ages. Fuyi liked this kind of inscriptions that shone with artistic brilliance very much. He was willing to turn them into patterned dragons to set off these handed down literary treasures, making the base of the stele more elegant and beautiful. They are coiled around each other and seem to be slowly squirming. Together with the base of the base, it looks even more spectacular.
Nine Chiki, the god of fire avoidance in the palace, is born from the dragon
Laojiu
Chiki, also known as the owl tail, is said to have the head of a dragon. The shape of the fish body first appeared in the "Bai Liang Hall" built by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. At that time, some ministers suggested that there is a fish in the sea with a tail like an owl, that is, an owl. It can spray waves and rain. You might as well put its image on the palace to protect the palace from fire. Emperor Wu agreed. When the main hall was completed, officials rushed to ask what was on the ridge of the palace. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty didn't know how to answer, so he named it "鸱tail" after its tail that looked like an owl. Later, it gradually evolved into the homophonic "Chi Kiss". ". It is also said that around the time of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the "Moji Fish" from India was introduced with Buddhism. It is the object under the seat of the rain god in Buddhist scriptures and can extinguish fire. Therefore, the chi kiss was transformed from this, so it is often placed at both ends of the roof ridge to eliminate disasters and extinguish fires. The dragon-shaped spine-swallowing beast is Lao Jiu. He had a loud mouth and was fond of swallowing all his life. The curly-tailed dragon heads at both ends of the temple ridge are his portrait. "Taiping Yulan" has the following account: "In the Tang Hui Dynasty, after the disaster in the Liang Palace of the Han Dynasty, Yue Wu said, 'There are fish and turtles in the sea, with tails like owls, and strong waves will cause rainfall.' So he made his image on the tail to show the auspiciousness of the fire." "The "Witch" mentioned in the article refers to alchemists, and "Yuqiu" is the predecessor of Chiki. Chiki is water-based, so use it as a soothing agent to ward off fire. Edit this paragraph: Memory Song for the Nine Sons of the Dragon. Because the names and duties of the Nine Sons of the Dragon are difficult to remember, Qingyi Happy Bird composed a song to facilitate readers’ memory. The motto of the song is "Prison and mock the five sons of Pu, and the nine sons of Chi are burdened by the beasts. There is smoke in the corner of the bell and stove in the Qin and Sword Hall, and the ridge of the stele of the Yamen is safe from the fire." Edit this section of the explanation of the nine sons of Longsheng and the two sons of Chi
It is said that a dragon mother gave birth to nine sons. Each of these nine sons had different looks, temperaments and hobbies. Notes by some scholars in the Ming Dynasty, such as Lu Rong's "Shu Yuan Miscellaneous Notes", Li Dongyang's "Huailutang Collection", Yang Shen's "Sheng'an Collection", Li Xu's "Jie'an Old Man's Essays", Xu Yingqiu's "Yuzhitang Tan Hui" , "Dragon gave birth to nine sons", "Huailu Tang Ji" quoted from Dongyang: "The dragon gave birth to nine sons, but they did not become dragons, each had his own interests. Prisoner Niu, he was good at music throughout his life. Today, the head of the Huqin is engraved with his portrait. Yaizi, his life was good. Kill. The dragon swallowing the mouth of the golden knife is his portrait. The beast on the corner of the palace is his portrait. The beast on the temple corner is his portrait. The animal button on the bell is his portrait. , the lion on the Buddha's seat is his legacy. The beast on the pedestal is the beast, which is a burden bearer. The lion on the prison gate is his legacy. His portrait: Chi Kiss, he was fond of swallowing throughout his life, and the current spine beast is his portrait. "Tianlu Shiyu·Dragon Species": "It is said that there are nine kinds of dragons, each with its own characteristics. One is called Bixi, which looks like a turtle. , good at carrying heavy loads, this is the turtle squatting under the stone stele today; the second is Chiqi, which looks like Zeng, and has a good nature, and is now the animal head on the house; the third is Pulao, which looks like a dragon but is small, and has a good roaring nature, which is the superior star of this bell. Also; the fourth is called the glutton, which is like a tiger and powerful, so it stands on the prison gate; the fifth is called glutton, which is good at eating, so it is placed on the lid of the cauldron; the sixth is called the earthworm, which is good at water, so it is placed on the bridge pillar; the seventh is called 睚禦, whose nature is It is good at killing, so it stands on the sword ring; the eighth one is the golden yak, which is shaped like a lion and likes fireworks, so it is stood on the incense burner; the ninth one is called the pepper picture, which is shaped like a snail and clam and has a closed nature, so it is stood on the door." etc. The situation of Longzi has been recorded, but not uniformly. To sum up, a brief analysis is as follows: The eldest son Bixi (bìxì), also known as Baxia, looks like a turtle and likes to bear heavy loads, so he is the turtle under the monument. According to legend, in ancient times, it often carried three mountains and five mountains on its back to create trouble. Later, he was subdued by Xia Yu and made many great contributions to Xia Yu.
After the flood control was successful, Xia Yu let it carry up its achievements, so it carried many stone monuments in China. Basia and tortoises are very similar, but there are differences upon closer inspection. Basia has a row of teeth, while tortoises do not. The number and shape of the carapace of Baxia and tortoises are also different. Baxia, also known as stone turtle, is a symbol of longevity and good luck. It always held its head forward with difficulty, holding on to its four feet desperately, struggling to move forward, but it could never move away. The second son, Chiki (chī wěn), also known as Owl or Chi (chī)kiss, is a fish-shaped dragon (some say it looks like a lizard with its tail cut off). He likes to look around, so he is located at both ends of the ridge of the palace. In Buddhist scriptures, Chi Kiss is the object under the seat of the Rain God, which can extinguish fire. Therefore, placing it at both ends of the roof ridge also has the effect of extinguishing disasters and extinguishing fires. The third son, 狴狴 (bì’àn), also known as the Charter, looks like a tiger, is powerful, and is prone to prison litigation, so people carved it on the prison door, so there is a folk saying of Tiger Head Prison. It is also said that it upholds justice and can distinguish right from wrong, so it is also placed on both sides of the yamen lobby and on the top of the cards for officials to go out and avoid, to maintain the solemn atmosphere of the court. The fourth son Pulao, shaped like a dragon but smaller than the dragon, likes music and singing, and is engraved on the button of the bell. It is said that Pulao lives by the sea and is most afraid of whales. Whenever he encounters a whale attack, Pulao screams incessantly. So, people put his image on the bell and carved the long piece of wood that struck the bell into the shape of a whale, using it to strike the bell in order to make the sound louder and louder. The Five Sons Taotiè (tāotiè), which looks like a wolf and is greedy in nature, is located on the bronze vessel and is now called the Taotie pattern. According to folklore, this kind of monster is so greedy that after eating everything it can eat, it finally ate its own body. In the end, only one head was left, so it was left with a head but no body. reputation. The Sixth Son, Yazu (yá zì), looks like a jackal with dragon horns, glaring angrily, with his horns drawn back close to his back. They are fond of killing and fighting. They are engraved on sword rings, sword hilts and other weapons or ceremonial guards to serve as a deterrent. The seventh son Suān Ni (suān ní) is also known as Jin Ni and Ling Ni. Suanni is originally an alias for lion, so it is shaped like a lion. It likes smoking and sitting on the foot of the incense burner. It was introduced to China with Buddhism. Since the Buddha Sakyamuni has the metaphor of "the fearless lion", people naturally arrange him as a Buddha's seat, or carve it on the incense burner so that he can enjoy the incense. In addition, Suanni is also the mount of Manjushri Bodhisattva, and there is a temple dedicated to Suanni on Mount Wutai, the monastery of Manjushri Bodhisattva. Because Suanni is the fifth son of the dragon, the temple is named Wuye Temple, which has great influence in the local area. The dragon-shaped decoration in the middle of the collar of the stone lion or bronze lion during the Ming and Qing Dynasties is also the image of Suanni, which makes the traditional Chinese door lion guarding the door more open and majestic. Jiāo tú is shaped like a snail and a clam. It is easy to keep silent, has a docile temperament, and is a bit autistic. It dislikes others entering its lair, so people often carve its image on the pavement of the door or depict it on the door panel. They tend to be quiet by nature and guard the door to take care of the peace of the family. They often become the ring-bearing beast on the door or the stone drum blocking the door. The last son, Pixiu (pí xiū), has the shape of one horn or two horns, short wings, curly tail, and mane. It is the most powerful feng shui tool to promote wealth, especially for special industries, such as foreign exchange, stocks, finance, and horse racing. , futures, casinos, etc. Since ancient times, Pixiu has been used as a sacred object to protect wealth and spit out treasures. Pixiu has the nature of fire in the five elements of Feng Shui, so it can attract a lot of money and open up the source of wealth in the world.