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The Myth and Folklore of the Dragon Zodiac

The Myth and Folklore of the Dragon Zodiac

Dragon ranks fifth in the Chinese zodiac, and it is also called “Dragon Time” from 7:00 am to 9:00 am.

7–9 in the morning (“Chen Shi”). Legend has it that this is the time when the dragons are raining, and the dragon is a mythical animal, so the time of the hour belongs to the dragon.

It is said that dragons in ancient times had no horns, when they lived on the ground. With its strong body, strong ability to fly, good swimming, it wants to be the zodiac sign, and also wants to be the king of beasts to replace the tiger’s status. As a result, there is a battle between dragons and tigers in the world, and the result is indistinguishable. In the end, the Jade Emperor felt that their fight was too outrageous, and ordered them to come to the Heavenly Palace to judge. When he left, Long thought that although he was tall, he was not as powerful as a tiger. sign of the Zodiac.

At this time, the dragon’s younger brother, the centipede, came up with an idea: “The rooster has a pair of beautiful horns, which you can borrow and wear, which will definitely add a bit of prestige to the elder brother.” When the rooster heard that the dragon wanted to borrow its horn, he refused to live or die. As soon as the dragon saw it, he swore to the sky: “If I don’t return your horn, I will die when I return to the land.” The centipede also served as the guardian of the emperor. “If Big Brother Long doesn’t return your horn, you will eat me in one bite.” The rooster lent the horn to the dragon when he saw the centipede as his protection.

When the dragon and the tiger arrived in the Heavenly Palace, the Jade Emperor saw that both the dragon and the tiger were very powerful, so he ordered both the dragon and the tiger to be the king of beasts, the tiger to be the king of the land animals, and the dragon to be the king of the water races.

Since the tiger can be the zodiac sign, the dragon can also be the zodiac sign, but it has to be at the back. So, the dragon and the tiger were very happy, and they said goodbye to the Jade Emperor and returned to the mortal world. After returning, the dragon thought to himself, if the horns are returned to the rooster, will the aquariums see that I am so ugly and can obey me? So he decided not to return the cock’s horns, plunged his head into the water, and is now no longer on land.

When the rooster saw that the dragon would not return his horn, his face flushed with anger, and he also took out his anger at the centipede, which was so frightened that the centipede burrowed into the crevice of the stone. Today we can still see that the rooster’s face is always red, and the centipede rarely climbs out of the ground. The rooster always eats the centipede one by one when he sees it, and always shouts: “Brother Long, give me back my horn!” And the dragon never came to land again.

Although the dragon is the only fictional animal in the Chinese zodiac, Chinese people respect and fear it, and have a special feeling for it. The status of the dragon cannot be compared with any animal. A fetish that can call the wind and call the rain and ride the clouds and the fog. The emperor claimed to be the real dragon and the people themselves were the descendants of the dragon.

People have exerted their infinite imagination, described the dragon as magical and great, gathered the images of various animals into the dragon, the wildness of beasts, the understanding of people, and the spirituality of gods, and created many legends about dragons. After folk processing and literati polish, it is even more fascinating. People’s psychology of respecting and loving dragons has been sublimated into a kind of worship. Perhaps, this is also the cultural factor that makes the dragon a zodiac sign.

Dragon dance, also known as Dragon Lantern Festival, includes bamboo dragon, cloth dragon, paper dragon, iron dragon and other varieties. Cheng Zimu’s “Dream Lianglu” contains, “On the night of Lantern Festival…the grass is bound to become a dragon, the grass is covered with a green curtain, and thousands of lamps and candles are secretly made, and the view is like a double dragon.” Tongliang, Chongqing, dragon dance team Greet the host before going to the house, the host will set off firecrackers to welcome and thank you with candy. Foshan Cailong uses bamboo strips and iron wire as the skeleton, the head and tail are made of paper paste, the dragon body is covered with silk, and it is decorated with paper-cuts and pom-poms.

On the second day of the second month of the second lunar month, “the dragon raises its head”. Folklore believes that the dormant dragon raises its head and the rain gradually increases. The “Wanshu Miscellaneous Notes” written by Shen Bang of the Ming Dynasty stated, “The villagers use ashes from the outside of the door to put the cloth into the kitchen, and circle the water tank, calling it ‘to lead the dragon back.’

People get a haircut on this day, hoping to be like a dragon; northerners use colored paper and straw to wear strings and hang them on the beams, which is called “wearing the dragon’s tail”; on this day, they eat noodles, pancakes or dumplings, which symbolize the dragon respectively. Whiskers, dragon scales and dragon ears.

The dragon boat race is said to commemorate Qu Yuan, but the spring and autumn bronze locks unearthed in Yin County are engraved with dragon boat patterns. Dragon boat races are held in the fifth month of the lunar calendar, with the Dragon Boat Festival being the most prosperous. The poet Liu Yuxi of the Tang Dynasty described in the “Competition Song”: “The turbulent stream rushes in with a bang, and the dragon catches the rain and the mane moves”.

All ethnic groups in China have dragon festivals every month, such as the Yunnan Yao Dragon Festival in the first month, the Dragon King Festival in Shandong in March, the Datong Leiyin Temple Meeting in April, the Wuyue Branch Dragon Day in May, and the dragon robes in June. Wuxi Longniang Temple Fair in July…