Totem Mythology and Chinese Traditional Life

Author: Liu Yuqing
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-04-01
Features: "Dragon" is a cultural symbolic system, composed of numerous totems. Therefore, each part carries the information of ancient tribal and ethnic cultures. At the same time, the selection of each part's image is driven and dominated by the national aesthetic psychology, so each part has a special symbolic meaning: the ox head symbolizes diligence, obedience, and struggle, representing agricultural culture; the pig mouth symbolizes appetite, representing food culture; the snake body symbolizes sexual desire, representing sexual culture; the fish scales symbolize the desire for many children, representing reproductive culture; the turtle neck symbolizes the desire for longevity, representing health culture; the horse tail symbolizes the desire for achievement, representing hero worship; the bird claws symbolize the desire for power, representing the "official-oriented" culture; the goat beard symbolizes a kind heart; the deer antlers symbolize the demeanor of a gentleman; the dog shape symbolizes loyalty. The formation of the dragon is the result of cultural integration, and this special form formed by cultural integration reflects the power of the two basic spirits of Chinese culture: "inclusiveness" and "harmony." And these two basic spirits are what the future of humanity needs. This book aims to explore the origin of dragon culture, seeking the meaningful connection between ancient culture and traditional Chinese life, thereby fundamentally interpreting Chinese culture, and focusing on an in-depth analysis of the influence of dragon culture on the inner spirit of the Chinese people and the outward-oriented behavioral manifestations that arise from it.
"Dragon" is a cultural symbolic system, composed of numerous totems. Therefore, each part carries the information of ancient tribal and ethnic cultures. At the same time, the selection of each part's image is driven and dominated by the national aesthetic psychology, so each part has a special symbolic meaning: the ox head, symbolizes diligence, obedience, struggle, representing agricultural culture; the pig mouth, symbolizes appetite, representing food culture; the snake body, symbolizes sexual desire, representing sexual culture; the fish scales, symbolize the desire for many children, representing reproductive culture; the horse tail, symbolizes the desire for power, representing the "official-oriented" culture; the goat beard, symbolizes a kind heart; the deer antlers, symbolize the demeanor of a gentleman; the dog shape, symbolizes loyalty. The formation of the dragon is the result of cultural integration, and this special form formed by cultural integration reflects the power of the two basic spirits of Chinese culture: "inclusiveness" and "harmony." And these two basic spirits are what the future of humanity needs. This book aims to explore the origin of dragon culture, seeking the meaningful connection between ancient culture and traditional Chinese life, thereby fundamentally interpreting Chinese culture, and focusing on an in-depth analysis of the influence of dragon culture on the inner spirit of the Chinese people and the outward-oriented behavioral manifestations that arise from it.