Ancient Chinese dream

Author: Wu Kang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-06-01
Features: Since ancient times, the mystery of dreams has fascinated and amazed people, sparking their interest in uncovering hidden truths. It has also been a fertile ground for the ignorant yet imaginative to develop spiritualist ideas. Naturally, they associated the mysterious and perplexing nature of dreams with supernatural deities: dreams were seen as manifestations of divine spirits clinging to humans, words bestowed upon people by the gods, hints from heaven or the universe's ruler to the humans, omens revealed by the vast and mysterious universe to the mortal world. Dreams could foretell the future, predict auspiciousness or inauspiciousness, convey divine intentions, and govern the earthly realm. Therefore, since ancient times, interpreting omens in dreams, divining and interpreting them, and deciphering the prophecies and revelations carried by dreams—believed to come from the gods and concern major life issues—has been a solemn and significant conscious activity that ancient people engaged in to guide their real-life actions. However, dreams are fantastical, ever-changing, elusive, and bizarre. Since deities do not directly reveal prophecies to people and the secrets of the universe are inherently unspoken, dreams require arduous and circuitous interpretation. Divining and interpreting dreams cannot rely on objective evidence; dreams are illusory, and deities are even more elusive, making divination largely subjective. However, every nation has its own way of thinking and a specific cultural soil. Easterners differ from Westerners, and Indians are distinct from Chinese. Dream divination can only take place within a particular cultural atmosphere and is marked by distinct national characteristics. Therefore, we will see that the Chinese ancient depiction and interpretation of dreams carry a unique Chinese essence, something unreplaceable by other countries or ethnic groups. Dreams, with their harsh psychological reality and the unique imagination of our nation, have woven a vibrant and dazzling dream world that transcends the real world. Predictive dreams mark the beginning of this imagination, and our narrative will start from this beginning. Dreams are strange and mysterious psychological phenomena that occur in the pitch-black night after people fall asleep. People cannot grasp them, nor can they understand their workings. Dreams are surreal, hazy,, and transcend time and space. Dreams are like untamed steeds, coming and going alone. Dreams are the enigmatic secrets hidden deep within the human psyche. With their harsh psychological reality and the unique imagination of our nation, dreams have woven a vibrant and dazzling dream world that transcends the real world. Predictive dreams mark the beginning of this imagination, and our narrative will start from this beginning.