How many forms did the “dragon” have in ancient China?
In the process of forming its image, the saying that the dragon gave birth to nine sons was formed
One: Baxia (turtle clam), shaped like a turtle, likes to bear weight. The dragon turtle carrying the stone tablet is its image.
2: Chiki (Chiki, Chaofeng, Haowang, Aoyu, Ouwei), likes to look around in dangerous places, and also likes to swallow fire. The animals or animal heads on the ridge, corners and roof of the palace are its image.
Three: Pulao, shaped like a dragon but smaller in size, likes to sing. Living by the sea, the animal buttons on ancestral halls, temples and iron bells are their images.
Four: Bi Fan (Charter), shaped like a tiger, powerful and prone to litigation. The tiger head carved on the prison door or standing on the prison door is its image.
Five: Taotie, which looks like a wolf and is an excellent food. The animal head carved on the lid of the tripod is its image.
Six: Suan Ni (Golden Ni), shaped like a lion, likes fireworks, and also likes to sit. The animal heads carved on the Buddha's seat and incense burner in the temple are his image.
Seven: Prisoner Ox, like a small yellow dragon with scales and horns, likes music. The animal head carved on the Huqin is its image.
Eight: Yaizhen, which looks like a jackal and likes to kill. Its image can often be seen on the handle and scabbard of swords.
Nine: Pepper picture, which is shaped like a snail and a clam and tends to keep its mouth shut, so its image is often carved on the head of the door.
One of the most influential sayings about "nine sons born from a dragon" is:
The eldest son imprisons the cow, likes music, and stands on the head of the piano. Some valuable huqins still have the image of a dragon head engraved on their head, which is called "leading huqin".
The second son, Yaizhen, 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 third son mocked the wind and looked like a dog. He was always in danger. The horned beast in the palace is his 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, fish, Xie Zhi, Bullfighting, and entertainment. 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, 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 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 fifth 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.
Liuzi Bixi bìxì, also known as Baxia, looks like a turtle and likes to bear heavy loads. The turtle under the monument is also like this. 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 Seven Sons (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 eight sons bear a crotch (xì), their bodies are like dragons, they are elegant and graceful, and they are coiled around the top or both sides of the stone tablet.
Mo Zi Chi (chī) kiss, also known as owl tail or owl (chī) kiss, is a fish-shaped dragon that likes to look around, so it 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.
It can be found that in this statement, the eldest son Qi Niu and the fourth son Pulao both like music, the third son Chaofeng and Mozi Chiqi are both located on the roof, and the sixth son Bixi and the eighth son Fuxi are all surrounding the stone monument. , there is a suspicion of duplication. It would be better if we take one of the two and add some other common sayings:
Taotiè (tāotiè), looks like a wolf and is gluttonous in nature. It is located on bronze vessels and is now called the Taotie pattern. Because it can drink water, it was also engraved in the middle of the outside of the bridge in ancient times to prevent the bridge from being submerged by floods.
The earthworm, also known as the earthworm, looks like a fish but not a fish. It is good at water and has a graceful body. It is decorated on the top of the stone bridge railing.
Jiao Tu, shaped like a snail and a clam, likes to keep silent, has a docile temperament, is a bit autistic, and resents others entering its lair, so people often carve its image on the pavement of the door or depict it on the door panel. .
Pixiu is known as the ninth son of the dragon in the South and Southeast Asia. It has a big mouth without an anus and can only go in but cannot come out. It is very popular among gamblers. A jade brave is placed in the Macau casino, which means that you can eat everything you want, and you can only make money without losing money.
“Tiger fathers have no dog sons.” The dragon is so powerful that it can swallow clouds and mist. In the eyes of Chinese people, the dragon is a symbol of authority and dignity. We say that we are “descendants of Yan and Huang”, and we also say that we are He is the "descendant of the dragon".
The most influential dragon son - Pixiu
There is a record in the Han Dynasty "Biography of the Western Regions": "There are peach trees, lions and pissing cows in Wugo Mountain." Meng Kang noted: "The peach pulls out, and the talisman pulls out every day, like a deer's tail. The one with one horn is called the sky deer, and the one with two horns is called to ward off evil spirits." To ward off evil spirits is Pixiu.
However, after the change of dynasties, the shape of Pixiu is relatively uniform, such as short wings, double horns, curly tail, mane and whiskers often connected to the chest or back, protruding eyes, and long fangs. The most commonly seen Pixiu nowadays have one horn and a long tail. Generally, there are three types of materials used to make Pixiu statues:
1. Metal - usually made of copper, because this type of metal is relatively cheap, and its polished color is close to gold.
2. Wood - Some ancient houses will use strong wood to carve Pixiu, and then place it on the beams to ward off evil spirits.
3. Porcelain - made of different types of jade.
Pixiu statues made of different materials can be placed in auspicious positions in Feng Shui. Many geologists believe that they have the effect of promoting wealth. In eight different directions, copper statues are generally placed. The created Pixiu will have a strong power to attract wealth. In fact, Pixiu is beneficial to both positive and partial wealth, so the Pixiu image has shown signs of becoming popular in recent years; however, using Pixiu to promote wealth always has a religious overtone, so when the main god of the Xuankong hexagram is Riguishen, Or when the bird, rabbit, and sun are auspicious, the consecrated Pixiu has the strongest power to promote wealth, regardless of whether the work is in the right direction or in the wrong direction. But one thing to note is that for those who commit crimes, Pixiu may not have the power to attract wealth. This is the characteristic of spiritual animals, and Pixiu made of jade has the strongest power to attract wealth.
The origin of Pixiu
It is said that Pixiu is the ninth prince of the Dragon King. Its staple food is gold, silver and jewelry. Naturally, it is full of treasures. Compared with other three-legged toads, which are also auspicious animals, it is called He has many heads, so he is favored by the Jade Emperor and the Dragon King. However, eating too much will always cause diarrhea, so one day he may defecate in public because he can't help it, which makes the Jade Emperor angry, so he slaps him, and he hits his butt. The butthole was sealed. From then on, gold, silver and jewelry could only go in but not out. After this allusion spread, Pixiu was regarded as an auspicious beast that attracts wealth.
There are also male and female Pixiu. According to folklore, the male Pixiu represents wealth, while the female Pixiu represents the treasury. If you have wealth, you must have a treasury to keep it. Therefore, most Pixiu collectors collect one pair at a time. , can truly attract wealth. But if you want to wear it on your body, just use one to avoid fights. The above are all legends, so please refer to them!
Pixiu’s habit is to lazily like to sleep, so it’s best to pick him up every day Touch it and play with it, as if you want to wake it up, and wealth will follow.
Another wonderful use of Pi Xiu is that if you place Pi Xiu ornaments on your desk, it can help you drive away bad men and avoid unnecessary harassment.
According to ancient books, Pixiu is a ferocious beast, one of the five auspicious beasts in ancient times (dragon, phoenix, turtle, unicorn), and is known as the beast that attracts wealth. Pixiu was once the totem of two clans in ancient times. Legend has it that he helped the Emperors Yan and Huang in battle and was awarded the title of "Tianlu Beast", which means blessings from heaven. It was designed to protect treasures for emperors and was also a symbol of the royal family, called "Emperor Treasure". Because Pixiu specializes in eating ferocious beasts and evil spirits, it is also called "warming against evil spirits." Ancient Chinese Feng Shui scholars believe that Pixiu is an auspicious beast that can turn disaster into good fortune.
Pixiu has twenty-six shapes and seventy-nine incarnations. It has a big mouth, a big belly, and no anus. It only eats but does not poop. It symbolizes the wealth from all directions. It can only go in but not out. At the same time, It can be used to control the house and ward off evil spirits, and it can be used to gather wealth and power for the owner.
The ancient sages believe that fate is destined, but fortune can be changed. Therefore, there is a good wish among the people that "if you touch Pixiu once, you will have good luck, if you touch Pixiu again, your fortune will be rolling, and if you touch Pixiu three times, you will be prosperous."