Different dragons
As we all know, Chinese proud of the dragon, the dragon, as the Mascot of China, has been made a large number of ornaments and valuable cultural relics. In our impression, the dragon has always been a sacred image, solemn and solemn. However, the shape of the Tang Dynasty dragon is very different from the dragons that are often seen in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and 12 vivid red gold dragons have been unearthed from the cellars of Hejia Village.
Each dragon is about 4 centimeters long, the tallest is 2.8 centimeters, the shortest is 2 centimeters, only the size of the thumb, they are slender, wide mouth and neck, the top of the head has double horns, the dragon's tail is curled, the body is decorated with exquisite scales, and the dragons form a beautiful and smooth curve from the dragon head to the dorsal ridge to the tail.
Different from the image of the flying dragon in the sky in the Ming and Qing dynasties, Tang Chijin walking dragon is small and exquisite, simple and plain, showing the image characteristics of early dragons, and has more animal characteristics and does not become a majestic idol like the dragons of later generations. If the dragon was a real animal that had existed in ancient times, the dragon should have taken the form of these little dragons.
Dragon Sacrifice
This group of dragons was discovered by archaeologists in 1970 in Hejia Village, a southern suburb of Xi'an. At that time, this group of dragons was not exposed, but in this exquisite silver jar. When the experts opened the silver cans, a puzzling scene appeared in front of the experts. I saw liquid in the silver jar and a piece of gold leaf floating in it. On top of this gold leaf, there stood 12 small golden dragons with small size and amazing workmanship!
(Gilded parrot pattern beam silver jar)
From the unique shape of the small golden dragon to the deliberate placement at the time of excavation, it all implies that this group of red gold dragons must have extraordinary intentions, and experts have analyzed that they may be the magic tools of the Taoist "dragon sacrifice" ceremony. The activity of dragon sacrifice comes from the Taoist belief that dragon-shaped artifacts are buried in the mountains or sunk into the water during the sacrifice, and in this way they are played to the heavens. Therefore, the red gold dragon may have been buried with the desire to drive away evil spirits, avoid demons, suppress disasters, and pray for the immortality of the emperor for the Tang Dynasty.
However, it is a great pity that on September 26, 1975, an exhibition room of the Shaanxi History Museum located in the Forest of Steles in Xi'an was stolen, and 6 small golden dragons, 5 pieces of plain gold noodles, 1 piece of gold stamped octagonal cup excavated from the cellar of He Jia Village were stolen, and the case is still unsolved to this day, so now only 6 small golden dragons are displayed to the world.
(Graphic and text collation comes from the network, invasion and deletion)