Tianlong

Xian riding dragons<ref>Template:Cite book (Project Gutenberg eText 15250)</ref>

Tianlong (Template:Zh; lit. "heavenly dragon") is a flying dragon in Chinese mythology, a star in Chinese astrology, and a proper name.

Word

The term tianlong combines tian Template:Linktext "heaven" and long Template:Linktext "dragon". Since tian literally means "heaven; the heavens; sky" or figuratively "Heaven; God; gods", tianlong can denote "heavenly dragon; celestial dragon" or "holy dragon; divine dragon".

Tianlong Template:Lang is homophonous with another name in Chinese folklore. Tianlong Template:Lang "Heavenly Deaf" (with the character long Template:Linktext "deaf" combining the "ear radical" Template:Linktext and a long Template:Lang phonetic element) and Diya Template:Lang "Earthly Dumb" are legendary attendants to Wenchang Wang Template:Lang, the patron deity of literature.

Meanings

From originally denoting "heavenly dragon", Tianlong Template:Lang semantically developed meanings as Buddhist "heavenly Nāgas" or "Devas and Nāgas", "centipede", and "proper names" of stars, people, and places.

Dragons

Among Chinese classic texts, tian "heaven" and long "dragon" were first used together in Zhou dynasty (1122 BCE – 256 BCE) writings, but the word tianlong was not recorded until the Han dynasty (207 BCE – 220 CE).

The ancient Yijing "Book of Changes" exemplifies using tian "heaven" and long "dragon" together. Qian Template:Lang "The Creative", the first hexagram, says: Template:Text and translation Commentaries on these explain: Template:Text and translation Template:Text and translation

The earliest usage of tianlong Template:Lang "heavenly dragon", according to the Hanyu Da Cidian, is in the Xinxu Template:Lang "New Prefaces" by Liu Xiang (79–8 BCE). It records a story about Zigao, the Duke of Ye, who professed to love dragons.<ref>(Yuan 2006:213)</ref> After he carved and painted dragon images throughout his house, a [Template:Lang] heavenly dragon [or fulong Template:Lang in some editions] came to visit, but Ye was scared and ran away.

The Fangyan Template:Lang dictionary by Yang Xiong (53 BCE – 18 CE) has another early usage of tian and long. It defines panlong Template:Lang "coiled dragon" as Template:Lang,<ref>Fangyan ch. 12</ref> syntactically meaning either "Dragons which do not yet ascend to heaven"<ref>Visser 1913:73</ref> or "Heavenly Dragons which do not yet ascend".<ref>(Carr 1990:113)</ref>

Asterisms

Tianlong Heavenly Dragon names both the Western constellation Draco and a star in the Chinese constellation Azure Dragon.

Tianlongza Template:Lang "Heavenly Dragon Seat/Constellation" is the Chinese translation of Draco (from Latin "Dragon"), a constellation near the north celestial pole. The (1578 CE) Bencao Gangmu pharmacopeia's entry for long "dragon" describes "a pearl under its chin",<ref>(Read 1934:301)</ref> 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.<ref>(Read 1934:306-7)</ref>

Tianlong Template:Lang "Heavenly Dragon" is the 3rd star in Fangxiu Template:Lang "Room (Chinese constellation)" and corresponds to the Western constellation Scorpius. "Room" is the 4th of the Twenty-eight mansions in the Azure Dragon, which is one of the celestial Four Symbols. Wolfram Eberhard notes, "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.<ref>(Eberhard 1968:243)</ref>

Centipede

The Bencao Gangmu entry for wugong Template:Lang "centipede" lists tianlong Template:Lang "heavenly dragon" as an alternate name. Li Shizhen's commentary reviews earlier Chinese commentators and texts. The Zhuangzi says, "People eat meat, deer eat grass, [Template:Lang] giant centipedes savor snakes, hawks and crows relish mice."<ref>(2, tr. Mair 1994:20–21)</ref> The Huainanzi says, "The [Template:Lang] ascending snake can drift in the mist, yet it is endangered by the [Template:Lang] centipede."<ref>(17, tr. Carr 1990:111)</ref> The Erya dictionary defines jili Template:Lang "thorns; puncture vine; bramble" as jieju Template:Lang "centipede; cricket";<ref>Erya dictionary, ch. 15</ref> which Guo Pu's commentary says resembles a huang Template:Lang "locust" with a large abdomen, long horns, and which eats snake brains. Although jieju can also mean xishuai Template:Lang "cricket", Li concludes it means the snake-controlling wugong "centipede" that the Fangyan dictionary also calls maxian Template:Lang "horse/giant millipede" or juqu Template:Lang.<ref>Fangyan, ch. 11</ref> According to Eberhard, centipedes were snake predators, and "the enmity between snake and centipede occurs in many folktales and customs."<ref>(Eberhard 1968:159)</ref>

Buddhist usages

In Chinese Buddhist terminology, tianlong means either "heavenly Nāgas (dragon gods)" or "Devas (heavenly gods) and Nāgas".

First, tianlong Template:Lang means "heavenly dragon/nāga" as the first of four nāga classes in Mahayana tradition.<ref>(tr. Visser 1913:21-2)</ref>

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

Hangzhou Tianlong Template:Lang "Heavenly Dragon from Hangzhou" was a 9th-century Chan Buddhist master who enlightened Juzhi Yizhi by holding up one finger. The Blue Cliff Record (tr. Cleary 1977:123-8) calls this "Chu Ti's One-Finger Ch'an" kōan.

Second, tianlong Template:Lang translates Sanskrit deva-nāga "Devas and Nāgas", the 2 highest categories of the Tianlong Babu Template:Lang "8 kinds of beings that protect the Dharma". The lower 6 categories are yecha Template:Lang "Yaksha; cannibalistic devils; nature spirits", gantapo Template:Lang "Gandharva; half-ghost music masters", axiuluo Template:Lang "Asura; evil and violent demigods", jialouluo Template:Lang "Garuda; golden bird-like demons that eat dragons", jinnaluo Template:Lang "Kinnara; half-human half-bird celestial music masters", and maholuluojia Template:Lang "Mahoraga; earthly snake spirits".

Tianlong Babu Template:Lang is also the title of a 1963 wuxia novel by Jin Yong, translated as English Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. This Chinese title is further used by movies, television series, and a Massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

Proper names

Tianlong is a common name in Standard Chinese. Tianlongshan Template:Lang "Heavenly Dragon Mountain", which is located near Taiyuan in Shanxi, is famous for the Tianlongshan Shiku Grottoes (Template:Lang). The commercial name Tianlong "Heavenly Dragon" is used by companies, hotels, and gungfu schools.

Tenryū-ji garden

Japanese Tenryū Template:Lang or Template:Lang, a loanword from Chinese Tianlong, is a comparable proper name. A famous example is Tenryū-ji Template:Lang "Heavenly Dragon Temple" in Kyoto, which is headquarters of the Tenryū-ji Branch of the Rinzai sect. Tenryū place names include a waterway (Tenryū River Template:Lang), a city (Tenryū, Shizuoka Template:Lang), and a village (Tenryū, Nagano Template:Lang). Further examples include Imperial Japanese Navy names (Japanese cruiser Tenryū Template:Lang), and personal names (Genichiro Tenryu Template:Lang, a wrestler).

References

• Carr, Michael. 1990. "Chinese Dragon Names", Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area 13.2:87–189.
• 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 Bulletin 8.4:279–362.
• Visser, Marinus Willern de. 1913. The Dragon in China and Japan Template:Webarchive. J. Müller.
• Wilhelm, Richard and Cary 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.