Jin Longshou: How to break through the differences of "dragon culture" between the East and the West and let the world know more about China?
China News ServiceHarbin, April 17th Question: How to break through the differences of "dragon culture" between the East and the West and let the world know more about China?
-Interview with Jin Longshou, the author of The Legend of the Black Dragon
China News ServiceReporter Shi Yifu
"dragon" means auspicious in the East and "Dragon" means evil in the West. What causes this difference? Jin Longshou, the author of The Legend of the Black Dragon, recently accepted an exclusive interview with the East-West Question of China News Service, explaining the historical origin and profound connotation of "dragon culture" and how to break through the differences between the East and the West and tell the fairy tale of "dragon" in China well.
The interview record is summarized as follows:
China News Service reporter: What story does The Legend of the Black Dragon tell? Why does it take ten years to tell this China fairy tale well?
Jin Longshou: Dragon culture runs through the development of the Chinese nation and reflects the spiritual connotation of Chinese culture. The legend of the dragon is spread all over China, and the dragon culture affects the whole of China. In this land of Heilongjiang, the myths and legends of dragons are sung. In order to tell a good story about China, I spent ten years traveling all over Heilongjiang, visiting and researching, collecting materials, and determined to carry forward excellent traditional culture in the form of telling a good story. The Legend of the Black Dragon traces the origin of the name of Heilongjiang, whose predecessor was Bailong River. In mythology, the white dragon often makes waves, so that the countryside is depressed and the people are miserable. Black Dragon witnessed all kinds of evil deeds of White Dragon on earth, and joined forces with Qi Xin, a common people, to rise up and fight back and defeat White Dragon in one fell swoop. Finally, the black dragon showed its original shape as a fairy and dedicated its body to this land. People changed "Bailong River" to "Heilongjiang" to deeply commemorate it.
Heihe river section of Heilongjiang river basin.China News ServiceSend Zhang Hui photo
China News Service reporter: What kind of development has China’s "dragon culture" experienced and what is its relationship with the development of Chinese civilization?
Jin Longshou: Scholars in China have different views on the origin and development of dragon culture. Most of them think that dragon culture has experienced the development process of totem, gods, emperors and other worship consciousness, and many cultural relics and sites have vividly restored dragon culture. China inherits the ancient culture, which is closely related to the development of Chinese civilization in participation, integration, symbol, inheritance and guidance.
"Participation" means that dragon culture participated in the origin of Chinese civilization, and there were dragons in every period in history.
"Integration" means that Long Wenhua witnessed and integrated different ideas in different development periods of Chinese civilization.
"Symbol" means that "dragon" has gradually become an irreplaceable symbol in the development of Chinese civilization. Dragon culture is China culture, and Chinese is the successor of dragon.
"Inheritance" means that the national spirit accumulated for thousands of years has been carried and continued by Long Culture. It is united, harmonious, inclusive, pioneering and innovative, and constantly striving for self-improvement. It has endless centripetal force and cohesion, and always encourages Chinese to struggle hard, be kind and tolerant, persevere and bravely climb the peak.
"Leading" means that in the future, dragon culture will still go higher and further with the Chinese nation. The world outlook of the harmonious development of dragon culture, the national outlook of unity and unity, the values of common prosperity and the world outlook of the community of human destiny will all lead China to achieve common prosperity, long-term stability, prosperity and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
"loong" and Photoelectric Fireworks Show.China News ServiceReporter Liu Zhongjun photo
China News Service reporter: What are the cultural differences between China’s "dragon" and the western "dragon"? What causes such a completely different attitude?
Jin Longshou: loong, which originated from myth, is a mysterious spiritual creature with the body of a snake, scales of a fish and horns of a deer. The Book of Changes says: "In the Ninth Five-Year Plan, the flying dragon was in the sky". The ancients thought that the dragon was the master of the wind and rain, and "the real dragon son of heaven" was the name of the ancient emperor. In the ancient stars, among the four gods guarding the east, west, south and north, Qinglong is a kind of dragon. "Three Graves" says: "The dragon is good at changing, which can cause sex and rain, and it is also for the monarch." The dragon symbolizes good luck and good weather among the people; Wang Anshi’s "Dragon Fu" uses dragons as a metaphor for virtue, which shows that dragons inspire people’s wisdom and morality.
The word "dragon" in English is translated into Chinese as "dragon", but its meaning is totally different from that of loong. The word "dragon" comes from the old French word "dragon", while the latter comes from the Latin word "draconem", which means giant snake. In western culture, people’s first impression of dragons comes from the Bible, which describes a big red dragon, which shows people in an evil image and is the incarnation of Satan. In "Beowulf", Beowulf, the hero, fights with a fire-breathing dragon monster, which continues the evil symbol of the dragon in Christianity. Therefore, the dragon is the object of being slaughtered by heroes in western fairy tales.
In addition, the difference lies in the ideological differences between China and the West. Due to geographical environment and cultural development, western countries tend to demonize and demonize nature or other forces to show and realize individual heroism. In China culture, the emphasis is on collectivism, which is inclusive, benevolent and harmonious. China’s traditional culture teaches us to discover goodness and beauty and be grateful. Therefore, "Dragon" symbolizes the industrious, kind and tolerant world outlook of Chinese children.
China News Service reporter: How is the "Dragon Culture" reflected in China’s social life? With the deepening of cultural exchanges between China and the West, what changes have taken place in the world’s recognition of China’s "dragon culture"?
Jin Longshou: Dragon culture is rooted in China’s excellent traditional culture, which can be described as ubiquitous.
First of all, loong has derived traditional festivals and local customs, such as "Dragon Head Up" on February 2nd, Dragon Boat Race on the Dragon Boat Festival, Dragon Boat Festival for ethnic minorities, and Dragon Sacrifice Festival. Another example is the Chinese zodiac, where only the dragon does not exist in reality and is the sacred mascot of China.
Secondly, dragon totem is also the carrier of dragon culture for thousands of years. No matter how the society develops and the world changes, the dragon totem will always be the symbol of greatness and respect in Chinese’s heart, and the dragon culture is rooted in the heart of every Chinese, which is the fundamental source of pride and responsibility of the Chinese nation. In addition, the "dragon" culture is also vividly reflected in Chinese. For example, there are idioms such as dragon horse spirit, crouching tiger, hidden dragon, dragons and phoenixes are auspicious, and children are eager to succeed. For example, China’s parents often use the word "dragon" when naming their children. The name "dragon" in my brother’s and mine contains parents’ good expectations.
With the in-depth communication between Chinese and western cultures, the understanding of dragon culture in the world is gradually changing. From ignorance to curiosity, foreign friends have now recognized and loved Dragon Culture, which reflects the charm and value of loong culture. This is also due to the spread of loong culture by overseas Chinese, which reflects the patriotic feelings of Chinese sons and daughters and their sense of mission and responsibility as "descendants of the dragon".
The Gulf of Mexico International Dragon Boat Race held in Houston, USA.China News ServiceReporter Huan Wang photo
China News Service reporter: How to solve the misunderstanding of loong culture in the West?
Jin Longshou: Westerners’ misunderstanding of loong culture stems from the differences in cultural symbols and spiritual connotations. Some experts and scholars put forward that the word "dragon" should be translated into "loong" instead of "Dragon" to reshape the image of loong.
In addition, we should tell the fairy tales of China, especially the fairy tales of dragon culture, publicize the excellent Chinese traditional culture and human history to the world, and let them know and understand Chinese traditional culture.
China News Service reporter: Gu Ailing printed "loong" on her snow suit. What’s the significance of sharing loong culture with the world?
Jin Longshou: In the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Gu Ailing can be said to be the "spokesperson" of loong’s cultural walk. No matter before or after the competition, China delicacies such as steamed stuffed bun, Beijing roast duck, leek box, etc. have aroused public opinion hotspots, and foreign friends are drooling through her introduction, which is a vivid publicity of Chinese food culture. In addition, her costume, snowboard and helmet not only have her own designs of loong, but also English expressions of China Red, Xiangyun and "Dragon among People", which she said is to let the whole world see and understand China culture.
China’s Gu Ailing took part in the competition in a golden dragon pattern costume.China News ServiceReporter Mao Jianjun photo
In the arena of the Winter Olympics, she achieved two gold medals and one silver medal, showing Chinese’s qualities of caring for the world, unity and friendship, perseverance, courage and fearlessness, firmness and self-confidence, and courage to climb the peak. She said that she is a bridge between China and the United States, which is an interpretation of loong’s culture, which embraces all rivers, peaceful development and a community of destiny. I hope there will be more "spokespersons" of loong culture like her, and I believe the world will have more objective comments on China. (End)
Interviewee profile:
Jin Longshou, a member of Heilongjiang Writers Association, is the author of The Legend of the Black Dragon. At present, Jin Longshou is translating the English version of The Legend of the Black Dragon and participating in the preparation of the animated film based on it.