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Tianlong

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This article is about the Chinese heavenly dragon. For other uses, seeTian-Long (disambiguation).
Xianriding dragons[1]

Tianlong(simplified Chinese:Thiên long;traditional Chinese:Thiên long;pinyin:tiānlóng;Wade–Giles:t'ien lung;lit. "heavenly dragon" ) is a flyingdragoninChinese mythology,a star inChinese astrology,and aproper name.

Word[edit]

The termtianlongcombinestianThiên"heaven" andlongLong"dragon". Sincetianliterally means "heaven; the heavens; sky" or figuratively "Heaven; God; gods",tianlongcan denote "heavenly dragon; celestial dragon" or "holy dragon; divine dragon".

TianlongThiên longishomophonouswith another name inChinese folklore.TianlongThiên lung"Heavenly Deaf" (with the characterlongLung"deaf" combining the "earradical"Nhĩand alongLongphoneticelement) andDiyaĐịa ách"Earthly Dumb" are legendary attendants toWenchang WangVăn xương vương,the patron deity of literature.

Meanings[edit]

From originally denoting "heavenly dragon",TianlongThiên longsemantically developed meanings asBuddhist"heavenly Nāgas" or "Devas and Nāgas", "centipede", and "proper names" of stars, people, and places.

Dragons[edit]

AmongChinese classic texts,tian"heaven" andlong"dragon" were first used together inZhou dynasty(1122 BCE – 256 BCE) writings, but the wordtianlongwas not recorded until theHan dynasty(207 BCE – 220 CE).

The ancientYijing"Book of Changes" exemplifies usingtian"heaven" andlong"dragon" together.QianCàn"The Creative", the firsthexagram,says:

Nine (it stands for a solid horizontal line that symbolizes the yang. Why nine is used is unclear.) in the fifth place means: Flying dragons in the heavens. It furthers one to see the great man.
Cửu ngũ, phi long tại thiên, lợi kiến đại nhân

—QianCàn"The Creative", Yijing[2]

Commentaries on these explain:

Because the holy man is clear as to the end and the beginning, as to the way in which each of the six stages completes itself in its own time, he mounts on them toward heaven as though on six dragons.
Đại minh chung thủy, lục vị thời thành. Thời thừa lục long dĩ ngự thiên

— Commentary on the Decision (Thoán truyện)[3]

'Flying dragon in the heavens.' This shows the great man at work.
Phi long tại thiên, đại nhân tạo dã.

—Commentary on the Images (Tượng truyện)[4]

The earliest usage oftianlongThiên long"heavenly dragon", according to theHanyu Da Cidian,is in theXinxuTân tự"New Prefaces" byLiu Xiang(79–8 BCE). It records a story about Zigao, theDuke of Ye,who professed to love dragons.[5]After he carved and painted dragon images throughout his house, a [Thiên long] heavenly dragon [orfulongPhu longin some editions] came to visit, but Ye was scared and ran away.

TheFangyanPhương ngôndictionary byYang Xiong(53 BCE – 18 CE) has another early usage oftianandlong.It definespanlongBàn long"coiled dragon" asVị thăng thiên long,[6]syntactically meaning either "Dragons which do not yet ascend to heaven"[7]or "Heavenly Dragons which do not yet ascend".[8]

Asterisms[edit]

TianlongHeavenly Dragon names both the WesternconstellationDracoand a star in theChinese constellationAzure Dragon.

TianlongzaThiên long tọa"Heavenly Dragon Seat/Constellation" is the Chinese translation of Draco (from Latin "Dragon" ), a constellation near thenorth celestial pole.The (1578 CE)Bencao Gangmupharmacopeia's entry forlong"dragon" describes "a pearl under its chin",[9]and Read notes,

The constellation Draco has the appearance of guarding and encircling the northern pole which is the centre of the movement of the fixed stars. The Chinese paintings of the Dragon straining after a mystical "Pearl" undoubtedly relate to this relationship to the North Pole Star, though other explanations are given for this.[10]

TianlongThiên long"Heavenly Dragon" is the 3rd star inFangxiuPhòng túc"Room (Chinese constellation)"and corresponds to the Western constellationScorpius."Room" is the 4th of theTwenty-eight mansionsin the Azure Dragon, which is one of the celestialFour Symbols.Wolfram Eberhardnotes, "When the dragon star appeared in the sky it was customary to make a sacrifice supplicating for rain," and this springtime dragon festival occurs on the 2nd day of the 2nd month.[11]

Centipede[edit]

TheBencao Gangmuentry forwugongNgô công"centipede"liststianlongThiên long"heavenly dragon" as an alternate name.Li Shizhen's commentary reviews earlier Chinese commentators and texts. TheZhuangzisays, "People eat meat, deer eat grass, [Tức thả] giant centipedes savor snakes, hawks and crows relish mice. "[12]TheHuainanzisays, "The [Đằng xà]ascending snakecan drift in the mist, yet it is endangered by the [Tức thư] centipede. "[13]TheEryadictionary definesjiliTật lê"thorns; puncture vine; bramble" asjiejuTức thư"centipede; cricket";[14]whichGuo Pu's commentary says resembles ahuangHoàng"locust" with a large abdomen, long horns, and which eats snake brains. Althoughjiejucan also meanxishuaiTất xuất"cricket", Li concludes it means the snake-controllingwugong"centipede" that theFangyandictionary also callsmaxianMã huyền"horse/giant millipede" orjuquThư 蟝.[15]According to Eberhard, centipedes were snake predators, and "the enmity between snake and centipede occurs in many folktales and customs."[16]

Buddhist usages[edit]

InChinese Buddhistterminology,tianlongmeans either "heavenlyNāgas(dragon gods) "or"Devas(heavenly gods) and Nāgas ".

First,tianlongThiên longmeans "heavenly dragon/nāga" as the first of four nāga classes inMahayanatradition.[17]

  1. Heavenly Nāgas(Thiên long), who guard the Heavenly Palace and carry it so that it does not fall.
  2. Divine Nāgas(Thần long), who benefit mankind by causing the clouds to rise and the rain to fall.
  3. Earthly Nāgas(Địa long) who drain off rivers (remove the obstructions) and open sluices (outlets).
  4. Nāgas who are lying hidden(Phục tàng long) who guard the treasures of the "Cakravartin"(Chuyển luân vương) and blesses mankind.

Hangzhou TianlongHàng châu thiên long"Heavenly Dragon fromHangzhou"was a 9th-centuryChanBuddhist master who enlightenedJuzhi Yizhiby holding up one finger. TheBlue Cliff Record(tr. Cleary 1977:123-8) calls this "Chu Ti's One-Finger Ch'an"kōan.

Second,tianlongThiên longtranslatesSanskritdeva-nāga"Devas and Nāgas", the 2 highest categories of theTianlong BabuThiên long bát bộ"8 kinds of beings that protect theDharma".The lower 6 categories areyechaDạ xoa"Yaksha;cannibalistic devils; nature spirits ",gantapoCàn thát bà"Gandharva;half-ghost music masters ",axiuluoA tu la"Asura;evil and violent demigods ",jialouluoGià lâu la"Garuda;golden bird-like demons that eat dragons ",jinnaluoKhẩn na la"Kinnara;half-human half-bird celestial music masters ", andmaholuluojiaMa hầu la già"Mahoraga; earthly snake spirits".

Tianlong BabuThiên long bát bộis also the title of a 1963wuxianovel byJin Yong,translated as EnglishDemi-Gods and Semi-Devils.This Chinese title is further used by movies, television series, and aMassively multiplayer online role-playing game.

Proper names[edit]

Tianlong is a common name inStandard Chinese.TianlongshanThiên long sơn"Heavenly Dragon Mountain", which is located nearTaiyuaninShanxi,is famous for theTianlongshan Shiku Grottoes(Thiên long sơn thạch quật). The commercial name Tianlong "Heavenly Dragon" is used by companies,hotels,andgungfuschools.

Tenryū-jigarden

JapaneseTenryūThiên longorThiên long,aloanwordfrom ChineseTianlong,is a comparable proper name. A famous example isTenryū-jiThiên long tự"Heavenly Dragon Temple" inKyoto,which is headquarters of the Tenryū-ji Branch of theRinzaisect. Tenryū place names include a waterway (Tenryū RiverThiên long xuyên), a city (Tenryū, ShizuokaThiên long thị), and a village (Tenryū, NaganoThiên long thôn). Further examples includeImperial Japanese Navynames (Japanese cruiser TenryūThiên long), and personal names (Genichiro TenryuThiên long nguyên nhất lang,a wrestler).

References[edit]

  1. ^Werner, E. T. C.(1922).Myths & Legends of China.New York: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd.Retrieved2007-03-14.(Project GutenbergeText 15250)
  2. ^(tr. Wilhelm 1967:9)
  3. ^tr. Wilhelm 1967: 371
  4. ^tr. Wilhelm 1967: 371
  5. ^(Yuan 2006:213)
  6. ^Fangyan ch. 12
  7. ^Visser 1913:73
  8. ^(Carr 1990:113)
  9. ^(Read 1934:301)
  10. ^(Read 1934:306-7)
  11. ^(Eberhard 1968:243)
  12. ^(2, tr. Mair 1994:20–21)
  13. ^(17, tr. Carr 1990:111)
  14. ^Erya dictionary, ch. 15
  15. ^Fangyan, ch. 11
  16. ^(Eberhard 1968:159)
  17. ^(tr. Visser 1913:21-2)
  • Carr, Michael. 1990."Chinese Dragon Names",Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area13.2:87–189.
  • Cleary, Thomas and J. C. Cleary. 1977.The Blue Cliff Record.Shambhala.
  • Eberhard, Wolfram. 1968.The Local Cultures of South and East China.E. J. Brill.
  • Mair, Victor H. 1990.Tao Te Ching: The Classic Book of Integrity and the Way, by Lao Tzu; an entirely new translation based on the recently discovered Ma-wang-tui manuscripts.Bantam Books.
  • Read, Bernard E. 1934. "Chinese Materia Medica VII; Dragons and Snakes,"Peking Natural History Bulletin8.4:279–362.
  • Visser, Marinus Willern de. 1913.The Dragon in China and JapanArchived2016-12-25 at theWayback Machine.J. Müller.
  • Wilhelm, RichardandCary F. Baynes.1967.The I Ching or Book of Changes.Bollingen Series XIX, Princeton University Press.
  • Yuan, Haiwang. 2006.The Magic Lotus Lantern and Other Tales from the Han Chinese.Libraries Unlimited.
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