The dragon raising its head is a celestial phenomenon. Do you know its relationship with the Chinese totem?

Dragon Raising its Head refers to the phenomenon that the Dragon Horn Star, one of the seven Eastern Azure Dragons in the Twenty-Eight Mansions, rises slowly from the eastern horizon at the beginning of the Mao month in the middle of spring every year (the Big Dipper points to the east). The Twenty-Eight Mansions originated from the Four Symbols, which originated from the totem beliefs of the Chinese nation. Let's learn more about them!

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Hello everyone, I am Xu Yi, a young volunteer in the "Light of China" exhibition hall of the China Science and Technology Museum. Today I will introduce to you "Four Symbols: Totems of China".

Xu Yi, a 2021 volunteer at the "Light of China" exhibition hall of the China Science and Technology Museum

Among the twenty-eight mansions, every seven mansions form an "elephant", and there are four elephants in total, all named after mythical animals, namely Canglong, Baihu, Zhuque, and Xuanwu. The four elephants have served as time-indicating constellations in history, indicating four important time nodes in a year: the spring equinox, the summer solstice, the autumnal equinox, and the winter solstice.

The naming of the Four Symbols also corresponds to the distribution of the ancient four tribes on the land of China, namely Dongyi, Xiqiang, Nanman, and Beidi. The totem of Dongyi is the dragon, the totem of Xiqiang is the tiger, the totem of Nanman is the bird, and the totem of Beidi is the turtle and snake. The Four Symbols are based on totem worship. If the constellations in the Three Enclosures represent the princes, ministers, and the people of the capital, then the Four Symbols symbolize the subjects of the four directions.

In traditional Chinese zodiac, south is the top, which is different from the modern north. Therefore, the four directions are described as Azure Dragon (east) on the left, White Tiger (west) on the right, Vermilion Bird (south) in front, and Black Tortoise (north) behind. Zhang Heng of the Eastern Han Dynasty wrote in Ling Xian: "The Azure Dragon curls up on the left, the White Tiger stands fiercely on the right, the Vermilion Bird spreads its wings in front, and the Spirit Tortoise circles its head behind." This describes the celestial phenomenon after dusk in early spring in the Central Plains.

The Blue Dragon and the Seven Stars are important constellations used by the ancients to determine the solar terms. Around the second month of the lunar calendar every year, as soon as the sun sets, the Jiao constellation appears on the eastern horizon. At this time, people know that it is time to sow seeds. In northern my country, there is a folk proverb that "On the second day of the second month, the dragon raises its head; the big warehouse is full and the small warehouse is flowing." "The dragon raises its head" means that the head of the blue dragon (Jiao constellation, representing the dragon's horn) has risen from the eastern horizon. According to legend, the dragon is in charge of clouds and rain in the sky. When the dragon raises its head, it will rain more. This is the most anticipated thing for people preparing for spring ploughing. Later, the second day of the second month of the lunar calendar was designated as the "Spring Dragon Festival."

Xuanwu is a combination of a tortoise and a snake. Legend has it that Xuanwu was the father of Dayu, the founding emperor of the Xia Dynasty. His name was Gun, and his courtesy name was Xuanming (also pronounced "Xuanwu" in ancient times). Xuanming was an official in charge of water conservancy during the reign of Emperor Yao. He controlled floods for nine years, but was defeated when he competed with Shun for the throne. To this day, there are Zhenwu Temples dedicated to Xuanwu in many areas. Legend has it that Gun was the incarnation of a spirit tortoise. Tushan, a branch of the Xia clan, used snakes as totems, and the Yue people believed that they were descendants of snakes. This may be the source of the image of Xuanwu, a combination of a tortoise and a snake.

The White Tiger was originally the god of the West in ancient mythology. It is the general name of the seven Western constellations. The shape of these constellations when connected together resembles a tiger. In the Five Elements Theory, the West belongs to gold, and gold is white, so it is called "White Tiger". The White Tiger is the god of war, so in folk legends, fierce generals are often said to be reincarnated from the White Tiger star, such as Luo Cheng, Xue Rengui and Guo Ziyi. In addition, the image of the White Tiger was absorbed by Taoism, deified, and became the door god of various temples.

The Vermillion Bird represents the bird-worshipping people of ancient times. They believed that their ancestors were birds, so even the names of officials were named after birds. From the perspective of the division of the stars, the Well Star is on the wings of this large bird, corresponding to the State of Jing, which is in today's Baoji, Shaanxi. The Ghost Star is located on the head of the large bird, corresponding to the habitat of the Guifang minority in the northwest during the Yin and Zhou dynasties, which is now the Fufeng area of ​​Shaanxi. Both areas are the core areas of the Qin State. The Willow Star is the beak of the bird, corresponding to the six countries established by the descendants of Shaohao. The Star Star is the neck of the large bird, and the Zhang Star is the abdomen and trunk of the bird. It corresponds to the Hengshan State, which is now the Huanggang area of ​​Hubei. The Wing Star and the Zhen Star are the wings and tail of the bird, corresponding to the Jingzhou area.

(Four Elephants relief, picture from "Chinese Ancient Astronomy Series")

Well, this is the content of this issue of “Interesting Reading of Chinese Science and Technology Stories”. Let’s enjoy science in the cloud. Please continue to pay attention to the “Enjoy Science in the Cloud” event of the China Science and Technology Museum.