Is it the son of a dragon?
Thus, the duty of the Dragon King is to promote clouds and distribute rain, to eliminate heat and troubles for people, and the Dragon King's water control has become a common belief among the people. The "Dragon King's Product" in Taoism's "Tai Shang Dong Yuan Shen Mantra Classic" says that "the land is dry, and the five crops are not harvested, so you don't know when to time them in twos and threes". The Buddha came to the land in five-color clouds at the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, and preached the Dharma with the Dragon Kings and other heavenly kings to save all beings, and it was timely and moist.
On the birthday of the Dragon King, there are differences in various literature records and local folklore. In the old days, temples dedicated to the Dragon King were almost as common as temples in the city god and the land. Whenever the wind and rain are out of balance, there is no rain for a long time, or it rains for a long time, the people will go to the Longwang Temple to burn incense and pray for the Dragon King to control the water and the good weather.
Archaeologists believe that the early dragon was a snake with horns on its head and a pure reptile. Some people think that the dragon was originally formed, and the faucet is very similar to a pig, and the dragon body is the same as the snake body; Others pointed out that dragons were transformed from crocodiles; Mr. Wen Yiduo, a famous scholar, has a unique view on dragons. Mr. Wen believes that dragons are formed by snakes and many other animals. Based on snakes, they are integrated with horse manes, cattle tails, deer horns, dog paws, fish scales and whiskers ...
Since entering modern society, many experts and scholars have made in-depth explorations on the origin of dragons. From the analysis of many unearthed cultural relics with figures about dragons, the formation of dragons has experienced a long history. Among them, the mussel dragon unearthed in Puyang, Henan Province, has a history of 6 thousand years. On the one hand, it embodies the vein of Yangshao culture, on the other hand, it proves the initial formation of the dragon.
With regard to the origin of the dragon, after long-term research and textual research, people have finally reached a relatively consistent understanding that the dragon is a synthesis of various animals and a symbol of totem worship formed in primitive society.
The dragon is great because it is respected by all Chinese people. The dragon is nothing, because it is only a spirit, not a substance.
In the myths and legends of China, it is a miraculous animal, with the image of snake body, sauropods, talons, snake tail, antlers, fish scales, whiskers at the mouth and beads under the forehead. According to Shan Hai Jing, Xia Houqi, Ru Shou and Ju Mang all "rode the rain dragon". There are other secretaries, "Zhuan Xu, Lapras and the Four Seas" and "Di Ku, Spring and Summer, Lapras". The predecessors divided dragons into four types: those with scales called dragons, those with wings called Ying Long, those with horns called dragons, and those without horns called dragons. Some people think that this is the image formed by the totem of various clans after the ancient Yanhuang unified the tribes in the Central Plains. Legend has it that you can hide and show, climb to the sky in the spring breeze and dive into the deep in the autumn wind. It can also bring clouds and rain, and later become a symbol of imperial power. Emperors of all dynasties pretend to be dragons, and their utensils are also decorated with dragons. Dragon was worshipped by the ancestors of China as the ancestor god, and was generally respected as "dragon". People in China often call themselves "descendants of dragon".
Dragon ranks fifth among the traditional Chinese zodiac animals in China. Dragon, phoenix, unicorn and tortoise are also called "four auspicious beasts". (There are also many ancient books and historical books that mention the "four auspicious beasts" as: caring, living, caring and caring. ) Qinglong and Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu are the four astronomical phenomena in China.
The dragon in Buddhism is one of the eight tribes between heaven and man, that is, the Dragon Department, which is the second among the eight sects of Tianlong. In Buddhism, Tianlong Babu is the protector of Buddhism, especially all beings in the Dragon Department take it as their duty to swear to defend the Dharma King Kong to ensure that the Dharma will not be plagued in the three realms. When someone really practices Buddhism, there are also people from the Dragon Department who are sent down to protect those who practice Buddhism, in order to protect the law.
although "dragon" is generally translated as "dragon" in English, the "dragon" in western culture is quite different from the traditional dragon in China in terms of background and symbolic significance. The "dragon" in the west is generally evil, which is completely different from the Swiss beast in the east.
Nine sons born in a dragon means nine sons born in a dragon. None of the nine sons will become a dragon, so they are different. The so-called "dragon gives birth to nine children" does not mean that the dragon happens to give birth to nine children. In the traditional culture of China, nine represents a lot and has a supreme position. Nine is an imaginary number and an expensive number, so it is used to describe the dragon son. There is a long-standing saying that a dragon has nine sons, but there has been no saying about which nine animals are, and it was not until the Ming Dynasty that various opinions appeared.
2. Legends about dragons
① The dragon girl worships Guanyin
Beside Guanyin Bodhisattva, there are a pair of boys and girls, the male is called Shancai and the female is called Dragon Girl.
The Dragon Lady was originally the youngest daughter of the Dragon King of the East China Sea. She was born with fine features and was clever and won the favor of the Dragon King. One day, she heard that fish lanterns were playing in the world, which was very lively, and she clamored to watch them. The dragon king stroked his beard and shook his head and said, "It's deserted and crowded, but it's not where your dragon princess goes!" The dragon lady is coquetry and pretends to cry, but the dragon king always refuses. Dragon girl pouted: I thought to myself, if you don't let me go, I will go! Very easy to get into the dead of night, then quietly slipped out of the Crystal Palace and turned into a very beautiful fisherman girl, stepping on the moonlight in Menglong, and came to the place where the fish lights were noisy.
This is a small fishing town, and there are many fish lanterns on the street! There are yellow croaker lamp, horn lamp, octopus lamp, cuttlefish lamp, shark lamp, lobster lamp, sea crab lamp, scallop lamp, conch lamp, coral lamp ... The dragon lady looks east and west, and the more she looks, the happier she is, and sometimes she pushes herself into the crowd. Soon came to the crossroads, here is more interesting! Fish lights are stacked with fish lights, and the lamp mountain is connected with the lamp mountain, which is colorful and bright. The dragon lady stood in front of a lamp mountain like a fool, and could see God. Who knows that at this time, half a cup of Leng Cha was poured from the attic, and it was poured on the dragon lady's head impartially.
the dragon lady was startled and complained bitterly. The dragon lady who turned into a girl can't touch half a drop of water. When she touches water, she can't keep her girl's appearance anymore. Anxious, the dragon lady was afraid that the dragon shape would appear in the street, causing the lantern festival to collapse, so she desperately squeezed out the crowd and ran to the seaside. Just ran to the beach, suddenly "suddenly la la", the dragon girl turned into a very big fish, lying on the beach, unable to move. As it happens, two fishing boys, one thin and one fat, came to the beach. When they saw this big shiny fish, they suddenly froze.
"What kind of fish is this? How can it be put on the beach? " The fat boy was timid and stood far away and said, "I've never seen this kind of fish. I'm afraid it's unlucky. Let's go!" The thin boy was so bold that he refused to leave. While fiddling with the fish, he said, "No matter what kind of fish it is, if you carry it to the street to sell it, you will definitely make extra money for use?" The two muttered for a while, then carried the fish and went to the streets to sell it. That night, Guanyin Bodhisattva was sitting in the Zizhu forest. She had seen clearly what had just happened, and she was moved by compassion. She said to the boy who stood behind her, "Go to the fishing town quickly and buy a big fish and set it free in the sea."
Shancai bowed his head and said, "Bodhisattva? How can a disciple buy fish with silver? " Guanyin Bodhisattva smiled and said, "Just grab one from the incense burner." Shancai nodded and said yes. He hurried to the Guanyin Temple, grabbed a handful of incense ashes, stepped on a lotus flower and flew straight to the fishing town. At this time, the two boys had carried the fish to the street and were surrounded by people watching the fish lanterns at once. Amazing and admiring people ask for the price, and they are chattering about the village, but no one dares to buy such a big fish rashly. An old man with a white beard said, "Boy, this fish is too big. Why don't you chop it up and sell it at retail?" The fat boy thought that the old man was right, so he borrowed a meat axe and lifted it to cut fish. Suddenly, a child cried out, "Look? The big fish shed tears. " When the fat boy stopped the axe, he saw that the big fish really shed two strings of crystal tears, so he was scared to throw away the meat axe and drill outside the crowd. The thin boy was afraid that the extra money would be ruined, so he quickly picked up the meat axe to cut it, but was stopped by a little novice monk who was panting: "Don't cut it! Don't cut! I bought this fish. "When everyone saw it, they were very surprised:" Why did little novice monk buy fish? " The old man paused, cocked his goatee and said, "I'm afraid the monk is going to end a meatless diet when he buys fish." Little novice monk blushed when he saw all the people sneering, and quickly said, "I bought this fish to set it free!" " With that, he took out a pinch of broken silver and handed it to the thin boy, asking them to carry the fish to the seaside.
The thin boy was secretly happy: "I earned extra money! Carry it to the seaside, maybe when the little novice monk leaves, he can still carry this big fish back! " He called the fat boy to carry the big fish and followed the little novice monk to the seaside. The three men came to the seaside, and the little novice monk told them to put the big fish into the sea. When the fish touched the sea, it immediately made a splash, swam far away, then turned around, nodded with the little novice monk and suddenly disappeared. The thin boy saw the fish swim away, and then he broke the idea of making extra money, and found out the broken silver to give to the fat boy. Unexpectedly, when I opened my palm, the broken silver turned into a handful of incense ashes and was blown away by a gust of wind. Looking for little novice monk in a blink of an eye, he also disappeared.
Besides, in the Dragon Palace in the East China Sea, since the little princess disappeared, there has been a swarm of bees outside the palace. The dragon king was so angry that the dragon beard was straight up, the turtle prime minister was so anxious that his head and neck stretched out, the gatekeeper general crab was so scared that he foamed at random, and the jade shrimp maid-in-waiting knelt on the ground and trembled with fear ... It was not until dawn that the dragon lady returned to the Crystal Palace that everyone was relieved. The Dragon King glared at him angrily and shouted, "Little evil beast, how dare you break the palace rules and go out without permission! Say! Where have you been? " Seeing that the dragon king was angry, the dragon lady knew that it was useless to play coquetry, so she told the truth: "Father, my daughter went to watch the fish lanterns. If Guanyin Bodhisattva hadn't sent a good boy to save me, my daughter would have almost died!" Then I told my story again. When the Dragon King heard this, his face turned pale. He was afraid that Guanyin would tell the story and let the Jade Emperor know about it, and he would have to be charged with "being lax in teaching his daughter". The more he thought about it, the more angry he became. In a rage, he expelled her from the Crystal Palace.
Dragon Lady is very sad. Where can she settle down in the vast East China Sea? The next day, she came to Lianhuayang in tears. When the cry reached Zizhulin, Guanyin Bodhisattva knew that it was the dragon girl, and she ordered Shancai to fetch the dragon girl. Shancai skipped to the dragon girl and asked with a smile, "Sister Dragon, do you still remember me as a little novice monk?" The dragon lady quickly wiped away her tears and blushed and said, "Are you a good brother? You are my savior! " When you say it, you must bow down. Shancai grabbed her: "Go, Guanyin Bodhisattva asked me to pick you up!" Shancai and Dragon Girl walked hand in hand into Zizhulin. As soon as the dragon lady saw Guanyin Bodhisattva sitting on the lotus platform, she bent down and worshipped. Guanyin Bodhisattva liked the Dragon Maiden very much, and let her and Shancai live in a cave near Chaoyin Cave like brother and sister, which was later called Shancai Dragon Maiden Cave.
From then on, the dragon lady followed Guanyin Bodhisattva. However, the Dragon King went back on his word and often told the Dragon Lady to go back. Dragon Lady is attached to the scenery of Mount Putuo, and never wants to go back to the crystal palace where bronze is forbidden.
② Bailaolong, cengang
There is a bay called cengang on the west coast of Zhoushan Island. There is a high mountain in cengang, and the landscape pours down like a hundred feet of white cloth hanging on the cliff, which is spectacular. Year after year, a deep stone pool named "Longtan" was rushed out at the foot of the ridge. According to legend, a long time ago, there was a white dragon in the pond. Whenever there is a drought, the White Dragon Angel sucks the water from the East China Sea and turns it into showers, which makes dozens of villages in Fiona Fang have good weather and abundant crops every year. People remember the White Dragon and call him "cengang White Dragon".
One year, when there was another drought, Bailong was about to absorb rain. Unexpectedly, the Jade Emperor listened to the greedy words of the Dragon King of the East China Sea, and decreed that he would not be allowed to absorb water in the East China Sea again. Bailonglong had to submit to humiliation and return to Longtan. Along the way, I saw the grass withered and scorched, and marriage was born everywhere, and my heart was very sad. When I was walking, I suddenly heard a cry in my ear. When I got closer, I saw a young woman covered in hemp, kneeling on the hot beach and crying in the face of the sea. Hearing this, Bai Laolong felt sad, so he stepped forward and asked, "Why is Sister-in-law crying?" When the woman wiped her tears, she saw an old man with white beard and white hair and a kind face, looking at herself with concern. As soon as her heart warmed up, she began to cry. It turned out that the woman's name was violet. Her parents died when she was a child, and her brother and sister-in-law decided to marry a lonely boy. The husband and wife were very loving. Who knows, the good times didn't last long. They got married less than half a year, and they met this drought season. There was no hope in the field, so the husband invited the villagers to go fishing in the sea. Unexpectedly, the first time I went out to sea, I was in a disaster. The boat was overturned by the wind and waves, and my husband fell into the water and died, leaving her a young widow, helpless and miserable.
Bai Laolong was very sympathetic and said with a sigh, "Sister-in-law, don't be too sad, since ancient times, people can't come back from the dead. If you don't dislike it, I will help you catch fish for three years. " Violet zheng, hurriedly closed tears way: "this ... this how to make! As the saying goes,' there is no wind and three feet of waves at sea', how can you stand it at your age! " Bai Laolong stroked his white beard and said, "Sister-in-law can rest assured that the old man has his own reasons." Violet saw that he was sincere, and secretly muttered, "Look at his appearance, he is probably also a loser. Why don't I accumulate some virtue and take him in? " So he said, "I have no father or mother since I was a child, so let me recognize you as a father!" " If you say
, you should kowtow. Bai Laolong didn't like it, so he reached out and lifted her up. He said with a smile, "Qing Er doesn't have to be polite, the old man is ashamed!"
That night, Bai Laolong started to repair the boat with the help of the starlight. Violet went home, took out a bucket of glutinous rice, and made a basket full of glutinous rice blocks according to Bai Laolong's instructions. At dawn the next day, violet came to the seaside with a basket. She looked left and right, but she couldn't find the broken boat. She was in a hurry. Suddenly she heard someone calling her. When she looked intently, she saw Bai Laolong crawling out of a brand-new boat sweating profusely, only to know that her broken boat had been repaired. She was so happy and grateful that she rushed to meet her and said, "Dad, it's hard work! Eat quickly! "
Bai Laolong ate glutinous rice, took several fishermen, and went fishing that day. The fishing boat sailed away from the harbor like an arrow and arrived in the East China Sea Ocean in a moment. Bai Laolong told the fisherman to cast his net, but he dozed off with his pillow on the deck. I saw him snoring and sweating, and huge sweat poured out from his forehead and wet the deck. The fisherman was surprised, but he was afraid to wake him up. After a while, the snoring stopped, and he shouted dreamily: "Get up the net! Get up the net! " The fisherman heard the sound and hurried to the edge of the boat to pull up the net.
it's strange to say that several people are pulling a huge fishing net, but they are as light as a silk thread. Pull, pull, pull out of the sea, but it is full of large yellow croaker, all golden and shiny, and the tail is alive and kicking. The fisherman was so surprised that he poured the yellow croaker into the cabin. Who knows, all three cabins are full, and the fish in the net has not been emptied yet. Fishermen, look at me, I look at you, all stunned.
in the evening, the fishing boat returned home. Violet was very happy to see that so many large yellow croaker were caught! Everyone heard that the old man with white beard and white hair was so good at fishing that they all came here, begging him to be the leader of everyone. Bai Laolong smoothed her.