What does dragon mean?
The reptile dragon is very old and can be traced back to Mesozoic, so people's imagination must be traced back to 70 million years ago to create the image of the dragon. In the Far East, dragons generally have a beautiful symbolic meaning, but in the West, dragons are the representatives of evil, so the symbolic meaning of dragons is more complicated. In myths and legends, dragons and snakes are generally synonymous, such as in China. The legendary serpent in Greece is called drakonates, which means sharp eyes. Dragons are often associated with vigilance (in works of art, dragons can act as watchmen). In many legends and stories, dragons are often used as guards and are closely related to the underworld and the spiritual world. Christianity played a great role in the process that the symbolic meaning of the dragon gradually declined to be the enemy and evil of human beings. The dragon in the Middle Ages combined the symbolic meanings of air, fire, water and earth. People generally think that dragons can breathe fire, with horns on their heads, wings on bats, claws on eagles, scales on their bodies, snake-shaped tails and inverted hooks. In addition, dragons also appear in the form of sea snakes, which are common in the oil paintings of St. George, the patron saint of Scotland. This image can be traced back to Sumerian and Sumerian legends about Tiamat, the goddess of chaos. Poerxiusi, a hero in Greek mythology, fought a life-and-death struggle with the water monster in order to save Princess Moda of Andrao. As a representative of the image of terror, dragons are symbols of warriors in many places, frequently appearing on the flags of Parthia and Rome and carved on the bows of Vikings. Among the Celts, the dragon is a symbol of kingship; In Anglo-Saxon England, dragons often appeared on flags. In Wales, until now, the red dragon is still the symbol of this nation.
In Asia, especially in China, the dragon is a symbol of the operation law of natural ingredients, especially the lightning that can travel through clouds and rain, which is often represented by a pearl in the dragon's mouth or throat. Therefore, on the second day of February after the Spring Festival in China, people usually tie some paper dragons and dance dragon lanterns with firecrackers, so as to have a good weather next year. Turquoise five-claw dragon was very popular in Han Dynasty, and it was a symbol of exuberant yang. At the same time, it can also represent the East, the rising sun, reproduction, happiness, spiritual wealth and immortality. Three-claw dragon is the symbol of the Japanese emperor and the main symbol of rain. Many countries in Southeast Asia hold this view. China's four-claw dragon is a symbol of secular power. In Indian tradition, dragons have a similar symbol of power.
St George written by Raphael, an Italian painter during the Renaissance and prosperity, is one of the few Christians who killed the dragon-the dragon symbolizes chaos, unbelief, evil or primitive animal nature. The Virgin Mary sometimes steps on a dragon to show that she has defeated the evil forces.
The oldest and most perfect artistic image in the East is the dragon, a flying dragon that haunts the rivers and seas for nine days to pray for future generations.
Dragon is a great totem with the largest number of admirers in human society, which contains the genetic concept of peace and innovation of the Chinese nation.
After unifying the Central Plains, Huangdi, the ancestor of the descendants of the Yellow Emperor, did not force other tribes to believe in their own totems by coercion or slaughter. Instead, for the purpose of peaceful reunification, he first put down the totems of his own tribe, and then merged the totems of various tribes to create a brand-new totem, including glans penis, snake body, antlers, shrimp eyes, horse teeth, fish scales, eagle claws, ram whiskers and so on.
Since then, China has only one flag, that is, the flag of the dragon, and all Chinese sons and daughters have become descendants of the dragon. So the original purpose of the dragon is the purpose of peaceful reunification, and the original spirit of the dragon is the spirit of reorganization and innovation.