Puyang Dragon Township at the Chinese Dragon Culture Festival

The Chinese Dragon Township--Puyang, can be traced back to the Xishuipo ruins located in the southwest corner of the old city of Puyang. In May 1987, Puyang City discovered the majestic ancient city wall built in the Houliang period of the Five Dynasties on the west and south sides of the site during the excavation of the Yellow River water supply regulation project in order to solve the problem of water supply for industry and urban residents. After being submitted to the Ministry of Culture for approval in accordance with the law, scientific excavation began in June of the same year. The cultural layers of the site, from top to bottom, are the Song, Five Dynasties, Tang, Jin, Han and Yellow River sedimentary layers, the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Shang cultural layers, Longshan cultural layers and Yangshao cultural layers. The Yangshao cultural layer can be divided into three layers: upper, middle and lower. The Xishuipo site has been excavated and cleared up many relics, such as ash pits, cellars, house foundations, kiln sites, ditches, adult tombs, children's urn and coffin burials, burial pits for the fallen soldiers of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, as well as a large number of pottery, bones, stones, and clams. Utensils and other relics, as well as abundant animal remains. More importantly, through scientific excavations by national cultural relics and archaeologists, four groups of dragons, tigers and other animal patterns were discovered and unearthed under the fourth layer of the Yangshao Culture, with pictures of clams and batches of clam shells and conch shells piled up.

In 1987, the "First Dragon in China" was discovered at the Yangshao Cultural Site on the west water slope of Puyang County, Henan Province. On the left and right sides of a mature male skeleton in the middle of a tomb chamber, there are dragon and tiger patterns carefully carved with clam shells. The dragon pattern is 1.78 meters long and 0.67 meters high. It has a raised head, a bowed body, a long tail, front paws and rear paws. Take off. The tiger pattern is 1.39 meters long and 0.63 meters high. The tiger's head is slightly lowered, the round eyes are wide open, the mouth is open and the teeth are exposed, the tiger's tail is swinging down, and the limbs are alternating, as if walking, forming a manganese tiger descending the mountain. The dragon and tiger patterns carefully carved with clam shells on both sides of the tomb owner have been identified by archaeologists as "the first dragon in China".

In 1988, which was the Year of the Dragon in the Lunar Calendar, this major archaeological discovery immediately caused a sensation in the academic world and the press, and attracted widespread attention overseas. 1998 is the "Year of the Tiger" in the lunar calendar. The painter Li Yan wrote an article in the capital newspaper and pointed out that "China's dragon culture is quite rich. 'China's first dragon' comes from Puyang, the hometown of Zhuan Xu, the grandson of our ancestor Huangdi."

The "First Dragon in China" is a funerary object from the tombs of the Yangshao period (the era of Chinese legends, the representative figures of this period are the "Three Emperors and Five Emperors"). Also unearthed at the same time were dragons and tigers. It is made of clam shells, and the owner of the tomb is a 1.79-meter-long white skeleton lying between a dragon and a tiger. What is even more confusing is the oldest Chinese legend about the Yellow Emperor's "rising to heaven on a dragon." The legend is confirmed by the clam shell sculpture of "Ride a Dragon and Rise to Heaven" unearthed from the tomb - "Ride a Dragon and Rise to Heaven" is a legend, but it is a true reflection of history.

In 1987, in order to solve the problem of chemical industry. To provide water for industry and urban residents, Puyang City built a Yellow River water supply regulating pond on the west slope in the southwest corner of the old city. During the archaeological investigation in conjunction with the construction, a very rich Yangshao cultural settlement site was discovered in the southwest of the regulating pond. . After applying for approval from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, cultural relics and archaeologists in Puyang City conducted scientific excavations on the site in June of that year. The most important and meaningful achievement was the cleanup under the fourth layer of the Yangshao Culture. There are four groups of dragon and tiger patterns made of clam shells, referred to as clam pictures, represented by B1, B2, B3, and B4. B1 is the tomb, numbered M45. It was discovered in Expedition No. 137 on August 17 (exploration below). The owner of the tomb is an old man, with his head south and feet north, and his body is 1.84 meters long. On both sides are dragon and tiger patterns on the clam shell, with the dragon on the east side and the length of the tiger 1.78 meters. On the west side, it is 1.39 meters long, with the head to the north and the tail to the south. There is also a pile of clam shells to the north of the tomb owner and the middle foot; B2 is 20 meters south of B1. It was found in T176 on September 10. Its contents include dragon, tiger, deer, The tiger is in the west, the deer is in the east, and their heads are facing north, facing each other. The dragon is in the south of the tiger, with its mouth extended and its upper and lower teeth visible. There is a nearly round pile of clams in the south of the mouth. There is a spider-like pattern to the east of the dragon head, and a stone ax is placed to the east. B2 is 2.1 meters long from north to south and 1.33 meters wide from east to west; B3 is 25 meters south of B2. It was found in T215 on November 23. A tiger is running, with its head to the west and its tail to the east, its back to the south and its feet to the north. Back to back is a dragon, with its head to the east and tail to the west, its head raised as if it is flying. There is a person riding on the dragon's back; B4 is southwest of B3, because it is surrounded by two late-stage grays. The pit has been broken and the image cannot be discerned.

Three sets of clam paintings, with unique shapes, large scale and rich connotations, are discovered for the first time in the archaeological history of Yangyun Culture. Experts unanimously believe that the clam dragons are undoubtedly relics of the early Yangyun Culture in terms of archaeological dating. , morphologically the authentic ancestor of various dragons in the Forbidden City in Beijing. Subsequently, the laboratory of the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences conducted carbon 14 dating on the clam shell specimens from the ruins. The age was 6,600 years ago, with an error of no more than 135 years (corrected by tree rings). Experts praised the clam dragon as the "China's First Dragon". "China's First Dragon" caused a sensation at home and abroad. Experts and scholars in many disciplines at home and abroad have conducted comprehensive and in-depth research on it and achieved remarkable results. As the source of dragon culture, the profound connotation of the Xishuipo clam dragon is being revealed, and the practical significance of the clam dragon itself has exceeded the academic research itself.

From May 1987 to September 1988, the cultural relics department cooperated with the Yellow River Diversion Regulating Pond Engineering Team to unearth three groups of dragon and tiger patterns built with clams from the Yangshao Culture period on the west slope of the southwest corner of Puyang County. There is a male skeleton in the first group of tomb No. 45, 1.84 meters long, lying on his back, with his head south and feet north. On its right side is a dragon made of a clam shell, with its head facing north and east, its head raised and its back arched, its front paws raking, its hind legs kicking, and its tail swinging like it is swimming in the blue sea. On the left side is a tiger carved from a clam shell, with its head facing north and west, eyes wide open, mouth open and teeth bared, like a tiger descending from a mountain. This pattern is consistent with the four images of ancient astronomy: the Canglong in the East Palace and the White Tiger in the West Palace. A young boy was buried in each of the three small niches in the east, west and north of the tomb. In the west niche, the human skeleton is 1.15 meters long and looks like that of a woman. She is about 12 years old and has a blade wound on her head. She is very dead and looks like a victim.

In the second group of crypts, 20 meters south of Tomb No. 45, there are clam shells built into patterns of dragons, tigers, deer and spiders. The dragons and tigers are in a continuous concatenation of head and tail with north and south opposite, and the deer is lying on the tiger. On the back, the spider is located on the tiger's head, and between the deer and the spider there is a refined stone axe. The third group 25 meters further south is an ash pit, running from northeast to southwest, with images of people riding dragons and people riding tigers. This is consistent with the legends of "The Yellow Emperor ascended to heaven riding a dragon" and "Zhuan Xu rode a dragon to the four seas". In addition, birds, clam piles and scattered clam shells are scattered among them, like the sun, moon, Milky Way and stars. The figure is flying in the air on a dragon and a tiger, which is very vivid and has high aesthetic value. In addition, around the three groups of clam carving patterns, house foundations and a large number of tombs, utensils and round stone carvings of human figures from the Yangshao period were also unearthed, which is very rich in content.

China is the hometown of the dragon. The dragon embodies the history of the Chinese nation and represents the great unity, unity and enterprising spirit of the Chinese nation. The earliest dragon image in China is in Henan Province. Unearthed from archaeological excavations at the Xishuipo site in Puyang City. The dragon has a long legend. It is a totem composed of various animal characteristics worshiped by ancient people. For thousands of years, people have regarded it as a symbol of power and majesty. It has been carved on beams and columns, molded on walls, and embroidered into dragon robes. It is the unity of truth, goodness and beauty, so there are many titles such as "the true dragon emperor", "the son-in-law who rides the dragon quickly", and "the son who hopes to become a dragon", which embodies the ideals, wishes and pursuits of the Chinese people. In 1987, the dragon and tiger pattern unearthed from Xishuipo in Puyang County is currently the oldest dragon pattern discovered in archaeological discoveries in the country. It was scientifically determined to be 6460±135 years ago, so it is praised by experts as "China's first dragon". This major discovery caused a sensation in the national press and historians. In 1988, "People's Pictorial" was published in 120 countries in 19 languages. Major domestic newspapers such as "People's Daily", "Guangming Daily", "China Cultural Relics News", "Cultural Relics", "Chinese Archeology", etc. have successively reported on it.

In October 1995, the Chinese Yanhuang Culture Research Association, the Henan Yanhuang Culture Research Association, and the Puyang Municipal People's Government jointly held an academic symposium on "Dragon Culture and the Chinese Nation" in Puyang. Experts and scholars from all over the country Participated in the grand meeting and achieved a large number of research results. At the closing ceremony, the Chinese Yanhuang Culture Research Association officially named Puyang "Dragon Township", and Executive Vice President Feng Zheng awarded a bronze medal engraved with the word "Dragon Township" to Puyang City.

The discovery of the Xishuipo site in Puyang is of great significance to exploring the origin of Chinese civilization, the origin of dragons, and studying ancient Chinese history, aesthetic history, religious history, astronomical calendar, etc. Archaeologist Zou Heng wrote an inscription: "Chinese civilization has its own origins, both dragons and tigers exist, and there is a mountain of ironclad evidence." He spoke highly of this. In mid-October 1995, the academic seminar "Dragon Culture and the Chinese Nation" was held in Pu. At this meeting, Puyang City was named "Dragon Township", and the Chinese Yanhuang Culture Research Association was engraved with the word "Dragon Township" The bronze plaque was presented to Puyang City. From then on, "Longxiang" became the synonym for Puyang.