Qiu Niu is the eldest of the nine dragon sons. He loves music all his life and is the most docile among the dragon sons. He is neither bloodthirsty nor ruthless and specializes in music. Legend has it that the imprisoned cow with a dragon head and a snake body has a very good ear and can distinguish the sounds of all things. It often squats on the head of the piano to enjoy the music of plucked strings, so its portrait is engraved on the head of the piano. This decoration is still in use today, and some valuable Huqin heads are still engraved with the image of a dragon head, which is called "Dragon Head Huqin". This musically gifted dragon son not only appears on the Huqin of the Han people, but also on the dragon-headed Yueqin of the Yi people, the three-stringed qin of the Bai people, and some Tibetan and Mongolian qins. .
Yaizu is the second child. Legend has it that he was born with the head of a jackal and the body of a dragon. He has a strong personality, is aggressive and likes to kill, and is the god of war of Longzi. The ferocious eyes of Yaizhen when angry were also used by the ancients to describe "glaring with anger". Sima Qian's evaluation of the paragraph "Fan Ju's Revenge" in "Historical Records" is that "the virtue of a meal must be repaid, and the hatred of Yaizhen must be repaid." So, , the idiom "Yiju must be repaid" was born. Jizhen likes to kill, so the ancients often carved it into the mouth where the blade and handle of the sword meet, which adds to the frightening power. It is not only decorated on the weapons of famous generals on the battlefield, but also widely used on the weapons of ceremonial guards and palace guards, making it even more majestic and solemn. Because the emperors believed that the emperor could defeat all evil.
Chaofeng, shaped like a beast, is the third child. He has been both adventurous and hopeful in his life. The beast on the corner of the hall 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, Xiu fish, Haechi, Bullfighting, and entertainment. Chaofeng is the second one. 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. These 10 mythical beasts mean "perfection", 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 placement of the mocking wind makes the shape of the entire palace both strict and varied, achieving the harmony of solemnity and vividness, the unity of grandeur and exquisiteness. It adds a mysterious atmosphere to the towering palace.
Pulao, shaped like a coiled dragon, ranks fourth. He sang and roared all his life. The dragon-shaped animal button on the bell is his portrait. It turns out that Pulao lives by the sea. Although he is a dragon, he has always been afraid of the huge whale. When a whale attacks, it roars loudly in fear to drive the whale away. According to the characteristics of "good nature" and "every bell wants to make a loud sound", people cast Pulao as a bell button and made the wooden pestle for ringing the bell into the shape of a whale. When ringing the bell, let the whale hit Pulao again and again, making it "ring into the sky" and "sound alone and far away". Today, almost every ancient bell across the country has Pulao on it.
Suanni, also known as Golden Ni and Ling Ni, looks like a lion and ranks fifth. Although it looks fierce, it likes silence and does not like to move. It likes to sit and likes fireworks. Therefore, the Buddha's seat and incense burner are The foot decoration on it is its portrait. It is said that this kind of suan Ni decorated on the Buddha's seat was introduced to China by Indians in the Han Dynasty. By the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it had been widely used in Buddhist art in my country. This style was created by Chinese folk artists and gave it a unique style. The traditional Chinese style, which later became Longzi's Lao Wu, was mostly placed in front of statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas sitting in lotus position or crossing their legs. 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. Suanni is also used as the mount of Manjushri Bodhisattva. Today, in Wutai Mountain, the dojo of Manjushri Bodhisattva, there is still a temple where the ancients worshiped Suan Ni. Because Suan Ni ranked fifth, this temple is also called the "Wuye Temple".
Baxia, also known as Bixi, looks like a turtle, Laoliu
He is Laoliu. He was fond of carrying heavy loads and had great strength. The turtle crotch under the stele is his portrait. The first legend is that in ancient times, Baxia often carried three mountains and five mountains on his back, making waves in rivers, lakes and seas. Later, Dayu conquered it when he was controlling floods. It obeyed Yu's command, pushed mountains and dug ditches, and dredged rivers, making contributions to flood control.
After the flood was controlled, Dayu was worried that Ba Xia would go wild again, so he moved a very large stone tablet standing high in the sky, on which was engraved the traces of Ba Xia's flood control, and asked Ba Xia to carry it on his back. The heavy stone tablet made it unable to walk casually. Basia and tortoises are very similar, but there are differences upon closer inspection. Basia has a row of teeth, while tortoises do not. There are also differences in the number and shape of the carapace between Basia and tortoises. 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 bases of some prominent stone monuments in our country are carried by Ba Xia, which can be seen in the Forest of Steles and some historical sites.
Biuan, also known as Charter, looks like a tiger and is the seventh child. He was prone to litigation, but he was also powerful. The tiger-head-shaped decoration on the upper part of the prison door is his portrait, Lao Ba
. Legend has it that the Piran is not only eager for justice and speaks out for justice, but also can distinguish right from wrong and make impartial decisions. In addition, its majestic image is not only decorated on the prison door, but also crouched on both sides of the lobby of the government office, making comments. Those who commit crimes are extremely intimidating. Whenever the yamen chief sits in the court, his image appears on the top of the chief executive's title plate and the silence card. He looks around and looks around to maintain the solemnity and uprightness of the court. In ancient times, the doors of prisons were engraved with the head of a tiger, so the prison was also commonly known as "Tiger Head Prison" among the people.
Ning Xi, with a body like a dragon and a head like a lion, is the eighth eldest son. He is good at writing all his life. He is another elegant one among the dragons - he loves calligraphy.
The Wenlong figures on both sides of the stele are his portraits. Our country's stone tablets have a long history and are rich in content. Some of them are simple in shape, smooth and bright, and the light is discernible; some are exquisitely carved, with graceful words and vivid writing; some are famous poems and stone carvings, which are popular among people. , praised throughout the ages. Fuyi liked this kind of inscriptions that shone with artistic brilliance very much. He was willing to turn them into patterned dragons to set off these handed down literary treasures, making the base of the stele more elegant and beautiful. They are coiled around each other and seem to be slowly squirming, which makes it even more spectacular when matched with the base of the base.
Chiki, also known as Chiwei, is said to have the head of a dragon and the body of a fish. Its shape first appeared in the "Bai Liang Hall" built by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. At that time, some ministers suggested that there is a fish in the sea with a tail like an owl, that is, an owl. It can spray waves and rain. You might as well put its image on the palace to protect the palace from fire. Emperor Wu agreed. When the main hall was completed, officials rushed to ask what was on the ridge of the palace. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty didn't know how to answer, so he named it "鸱tail" after its tail that looked like an owl. Later, it gradually evolved into the homophonic "Chi Kiss". ". It is also said that around the time of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the "Moji Fish" from India was introduced with Buddhism. It is the object under the seat of the rain god in Buddhist scriptures and can extinguish fire. Therefore, the chi kiss was transformed from this, so it is often placed at both ends of the roof ridge to eliminate disasters and extinguish fires. The dragon-shaped spine-swallowing beast is Lao Jiu, with a loud mouth and a habit of swallowing all his life. The curly-tailed dragon heads at both ends of the temple ridge are his portrait. "Taiping Yulan" has the following account: "In the Tang Hui Dynasty, after the disaster in the Liang Palace of the Han Dynasty, Yue Wu said, 'There are fish and turtles in the sea, with tails like owls, and strong waves will cause rainfall.' So he made his image at the tail to show the auspiciousness of the fire." "The "Witch" mentioned in the article refers to alchemists, and "Yuqiu" is the predecessor of Chiki. Chiki is water-based, so use it as a soothing agent to ward off fire.