The dragon is an important symbol of Chinese civilization and the ancestor of the Chinese nation. Whether dragons really existed, or whether they ever existed, has long been a topic of debate. On Earth 100 million years ago, there lived a green snake with claws, which has been identified by scholars as the prototype of the Chinese dragon since its discovery. What kind of animal is this, and is the image of the dragon really derived from this snake? Let's explore the truth.
Long-legged thick needles
Between 145 million and 66 million years ago, the Earth was in a vibrant environment. The continent was divided by the ocean during this period, the climate on the land became more suitable for survival with the arrival of humid air, and various newborn animals came into the world. This period is called the Cretaceous.
There are many newly evolved creatures, such as small mammals, bees, moths and snakes. Among the many snake fossils, there are two of the most eye-catching, that is, Pachycephalus and Hashi snake. At first, scientists thought that Echidna and Hashis were the same animal because they were both snakes with a pair of hind legs, but follow-up studies found that the sternum of the two was very different. Strictly speaking, Pachycephalus and modern snakes are not close relatives, but an extinct species category, the serpents. The Hassan snake is more like the ancestor of snakes.
Fossils of Echinososaurus show that they were generally about 1 meter long and had two feet on their hind limbs, making them an animal that lived in the water. The head of the thick needle dragon resembles a lizard, the body is very similar to the snake, slender and soft, and does not look too much like an amphibian.
Paleontologists discovered fossils of Pachycephalus in Palestine in 1979. Because of their strong hind legs and head features, they were initially defined as a type of lizard, but follow-up studies have found that they are more like snakes in the process of evolution, because the fossils preserve the posture of Pachycephalus swimming in the water, which relies on the twisting of the body to create thrust, which is consistent with the swimming posture of modern snakes.
The splethy snakes did not become extinct
The aforementioned population of Apatosaurus has become extinct because all the legsed snakes have disappeared. Experts speculate that snakes first had limbs, because all the ancestors of land life were teleost fish, and this simple structure of fish soon evolved limbs after abandoning the ocean to land. The Cretaceous period was the peak of the dinosaurs, and at the top of the food chain, they were likely to feed on catching snakes, so they could hide in the dirt and stone crevices to effectively survive. Snakes should have gradually abandoned their limbs in this crisis.
Experts recently speculated in 1997 that both the Thick Needle Dragon and the Hastenosaurus snake were one of the evolutionary forms of snakes that gave up their limbs for survival purposes.
The most direct example is that the python family's cockroaches still have bipeds that have not yet degenerated completely.
Pachycephalus and Chinese dragon
The appearance of the thick needle dragon has been impossible to see, and the characteristics of the snake body, lizard head, and hind legs are somewhat similar to those of the Chinese dragon, but after all, it is still too bad.
The image of the Chinese dragon first appeared in the Yangshao Cultural Site on the West Water Slope of Puyang County, Henan Province, where the clam dragon known as the "first dragon in China" has been made up of shell inlays for more than 6600 years. Ancient science could not explain some natural phenomena, so it was believed that dragons should be able to represent some animals to fight them, such as fish scales symbolizing swimming in the water, and eagle claws symbolizing the ability to fight lightning in the sky. So gradually fixed in the "standard" of the lock head, snake neck, antlers, turtle eyes, fish scales, tiger paws, eagle claws, and cow ears is still used today.
The "Compendium of Materia Medica" records that "the dragon has nine resemblances", which means that the dragon has nine forms, each of which corresponds to a name, such as a hornless dragon called "Qiu", a winged dragon called "Ying Long", and so on.
The image of the dragon was first recorded in the Shang Dynasty, and the standardized image of the Chinese dragon began to appear in the Western Han Dynasty. Dragons in China recognized origin time is the early Neolithic age, to the present has a history of more than 8,000 years, this period of China is in the early civilization of the tribal era, according to Sima Qian's "History of the Five Emperors Benji" record, the Yellow Emperor to create the image of the dragon is likely to be unified after the unification of the various tribes, each tribe's totem extraction part of the combination.
The exact time of the disappearance of Pachycephalus is uncertain, but according to the time of fossil identification, the creature should no longer exist on Earth before the end of the Cretaceous Period. The time of extinction of dinosaurs was the end of the Cretaceous Period, so when Pachylodni existed, dinosaurs were still the overlords of the earth. Therefore, whether it is appearance or time, the thick needle dragon cannot be the origin of the image of the Chinese dragon.
There are also creatures that are more like Chinese dragons
Speaking of strange species in fossils, there are two creatures that can be said to be very similar to Chinese dragons.
As early as 1881 in Slovenia, archaeologists found a fossil that was initially found in the second half, more like a lizard. Later, complete fossils were found one after another, only to find that it was a snake with four limbs! This Adelaron had strong limbs, no shoulder blades like The Thick Needle Dragon, very sharp claws, and a much longer body proportion than a lizard. Analysis of its skull revealed that not only did it have curved and sharp teeth, but it also had bulging "horns" on its head! If it weren't for the fact that the fossil was only 6 centimeters long, I would have really thought it was a dragon!
There is also a creature called the European cave salamander that also resembles the Chinese dragon. In 1768, Austrian physician and natural scientist Loren was exploring the vicinity of the Alps in southern Slovenia when he accidentally discovered the salamander at the groundwater's edge beneath a volcanic ash cave. This animal has two sets of respiratory systems, lungs on land, gills in water, 30 to 40 cm long, round and slender throughout, and limbs of the same proportion as dragons. It's just that this salamander scene lives underground, and the skin has degenerated into a pink translucent shape, if it is covered with fish scales, it really looks like a Chinese dragon!
In ancient Chinese mythology, Fuxi and Nüwa are both human-headed snake bodies, so it makes sense that the image of the dragon comes from the snake, because in that chaotic era, the snake represented strength and honor, and the dragon was able to "climb high" on the snake, which was also a great achievement. In the subsequent development of civilization, the status of the dragon in the minds of Chinese gradually rose, and finally surpassed the snake in one fell swoop and became the most auspicious and honorable totem.
Whether the dragon exists or not is also a cliché, such as the Yingkou dragon fall incident, the Jiangsu true dragon appearance incident, etc., which seem to be evidence that can be handed. Recently, there is a theory that dragons are atmospheric creatures, that unknown objects such as dragons and UFOs exist in the atmosphere, that they can move in the atmosphere like swimming, and that they cannot be truly touched like other dimensions, of course, there is no direct evidence to prove it.
In fact, we should learn more about the spirit of the dragon. The I Ching has a cloud "the sting of the dragon and the snake, in order to survive", which means that when you are in an unfavorable situation, you must learn to wronged yourself and wait for the opportunity. In addition, the dragon also has the spirit of self-improvement, brave unity, indomitable progress, etc. to support the Chinese nation's rejuvenation in a hundred years of humiliation, which is worth remembering for a lifetime.
Author: Old Dream Tales Preliminary Review: Ding Bao'er School Manuscript Editor: W