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The works of the school program on Russian literature for the 6th grade in a brief summary
MYTHS OF THE PEOPLES OF THE WORLD
CHINESE MYTHS
Myths and legends about dragons
Of all the mythical creatures, dragons were the most popular (even reverent) among the Chinese people.
The hieroglyph "lun" (dragon), which is a pictogram depicting an animal with a long body and a head crowned with horns (or a crest), has already been found in inscriptions on fortune telling bones of the Yin era (from the XIV century BC).
There are suggestions that the prototype of these pictograms was a lizard, as well as the connection of the image of the moon (dragon) with a crocodile.
The dragon was depicted in the most bizarre forms.
But in all cases, the appearance of the monster was majestic, stern and warlike.
Here is one of the descriptions.
"The eyes of the dragon are like those of a rabbit, and the ears are like those of a cow; long whiskers grow over its mouth; the body is like the body of a snake covered with scales; the four tiger paws have eagle claws."
Sometimes the dragon was also depicted as a large snake or an animal that resembled both a tiger and a horse.
The dragon was depicted in clouds and fog or in raging waves to create an idea of the extraordinary power and ability to cause wind and waves.
The dragon soared into the sky and soared in the clouds, baring its fangs and releasing its claws.
The dragon had the ability to reincarnate, he could run, swim, fly.
The dragon served as a heraldic emblem on the banners of noble families.
In medieval China, the dragon was a symbol of the emperor, it was depicted on the throne, on the emperor's robe.
The highest dignitaries and courtiers wore robes with the image of a dragon with four claws, and only for special merits did one of the dignitaries complain about the right to wear a robe with a five headed dragon as on the emperor's robe.
The cult of dragons was associated primarily with water.
Dragons, who represented rain clouds that brought the rains necessary for sowing, were represented to the Chinese as benevolent gods who bestowed "sweet", "bread" rain.
They also acted as benevolent gods as the personification of rivers, lakes and reservoirs, the waters of which were used for irrigation (artificial and natural).
The dragons of the rain deity could at the same time be the culprits of heavy rains that are harmful to crops.
In such cases, they turned to people with their "dark", "evil" side.
But the dragons of the river deity were especially terrible.
They, according to the ideas of the ancient Chinese, were the culprits of the terrible floods, for which the Chinese rivers are so "famous", floods that sweep away hundreds of villages on their way, bringing death to crops and thousands of people.
This is where people's ideas about the viciousness and bloodthirstiness of dragons come from.
The fear of the river deities explains the sacrifices to the masters of this terrible element and, in particular, the long term preservation of the custom of bringing them human sacrifices.
The incredible and inexplicable power of dragons contributed to the extraordinary popularity of these creatures in mythical legends.
At a later time, the motives of curbing the dragons of the gods of rivers, the single combat of heroes of fighters against floods and floods appear in folklore.
There are many legends about the dragon king — lunvan.
According to one of the legends, once the dragon king fell ill at sea.
There was no doctor among the inhabitants of the water kingdom who could cure him, and Longwan had no choice but to take the form of an old man and go to people.
The lord of the sea visited many doctors, but none could determine what kind of illness he had.
Finally, he got to the famous healer, who, after feeling the patient's pulse, was very surprised to find that the heart beats quite differently from ordinary people.
The doctor told the old man about it.
And he was forced to reveal that he was the king of dragons.
The doctor said that he would be able to determine and cure the disease only if the old man turned into a dragon again.
Although dragons are usually not shown to people, this time the lord of the waters, in order to heal from the disease, agreed to fulfill the healer's request.
On the appointed day, the doctor came to the seashore, and the dragon appeared above the waves.
The doctor examined him and found that a scolopendra had crawled behind the scales of the dragon on the lower back, which caused him severe pain.
After removing the scolopendra, the doctor smeared the damaged scales with ointment, and the pain passed.
As a sign of gratitude for the healing, the dragon king promised the healer to send down good weather, blessed rains and complete well being to people at their request.
Since then, every year on the Day of Healing, a dragon dance was performed throughout China.
According to traditional ideas, the dragon symbolizes happiness.
Drought and flooding brought ruin, poverty, and hunger to the Chinese people.
Who could help in the fight against natural disasters?
Of course, the dragon king.
If any area was exposed to drought or flooding, the locals performed a ritual dragon dance, begging the lord of the sea to send down rain.
A prolonged drought was seen as the dragon's refusal to send rain.
Then prayers were held in front of the image of the dragon.
If the fields remained dry after that, then the rite of "flagellation of the dragon" was performed: a dragon image made of clay or other material was struck with a whip or a bamboo stick, demanding that rain be sent down.
The cult of longwan was extremely widespread in old China.
Temples dedicated to him were built in cities, villages, near rivers, lakes, crossings and wells.
His intercession was requested by sailors, fishermen, farmers, as well as water carriers, who believed that the underground springs in the wells were controlled by longwan and connected underground with the sea.
During a drought, the statue of longwan was taken out of the temple and placed in the sun, and during a flood it was carried around the neighborhood to show Longwan the extent of the disaster and to reprove him.
If this did not help, then the statue was drowned in water.
And finally, speaking of dragons, one can not help but recall the spirit of Zhulong a Dragon with a candle from Mount Zhongshan, who, according to one of the variants of the creation myth, was the creator of the universe.
The story about him is recorded in the ancient "Book of Mountains and Seas".
This spirit with the face of a man, the body of a snake and the skin of a red color was a thousand li tall.
He had eyes that resembled two olive trees.
When he closed them, they turned into two straight vertical slits.
As soon as he opened them, day came in the world, and when he closed them, night descended on the earth.
As soon as he blew, a veil of clouds appeared, heavy snow fell in flakes and winter came.
It was worth breathing the heat — and immediately summer came, and the sun began to scorch so that metals and stones melted.
The dragon lay curled up like a snake.
He had no need to eat, drink, sleep, or breathe.
But as soon as he took a breath, the wind rose for a good ten thousand li in the area.
With the light of the candle that Zhulong held in his mouth, he could illuminate the highest spheres of the sky and the deepest bowels of the earth, where eternal darkness reigned.
And since he always held a candle in his mouth and illuminated the darkness in the heavenly gate in the north, he was also called Zhu yin, i.e. "Illuminating darkness".
(The text is based on the book "Myths of Ancient China", author V. V. Yezhov, preface and notes I. O. Rodin, M. "Astrel" 2003).
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