A Study Of The "Dragon" Vocabulary In Shan Hai Jing

The dragon is a symbolic totem of the Chinese nation, and the dragon culture is also an important ingredient which is indispensable of Chinese traditional culture. Hundreds of millions of Chinese people considered themselves to be “descendants of the dragon”, and actually there is no lack of abundant national pride in it. What’s more, to the Chinese all over the world, the dragon culture possesses considerable national cohesion. However, the dragon barely exists in the natural environment. It is the creature of spirit and art which is materialized and surpassed the nature. It originated in the ancestors’ fear and imagination to the nature society. And after the generations’ transformation and creation, eventually it becomes to be the product. The power, wisdom, and the spirit of fairness and benevolence in the Chinese dragon culture all reflected the spirit and ideal that Chinese nation widely revered and advocated.This thesis conducted to investigate the myth related to the dragon in “Shan hai Jing”, and to study the significance and cultural symbol included in the myth. According the version of Yuan Ke’s “the Notes of Shan Hai Jing” and the version of Hao Yu Xing’s “ the Annotation of Shan Hai Jing “, and adopted the method of document’s analysis and demonstration in the investigation, the thesis intend to analyze the dragon myth with representative and typical feature in “Shan Hai Jing” specifically, and also analyze the cultural connotation in it. Firstly, referred to the ancient documents, this text prepare to list myth information associated with the dragon myths, and then proceed to complete the arrangement, induction and comparison of ancient works. Secondly, the thesis will discuss the figure related to Dragon candle, Dragon fish, Thor, YaYu and so on in “Shan Hai Jing”, then particularly explain the dragon culture in “Shan Hai Jing” through the elaborate analysis. Lastly, this thesis will summarize the value and the significance of the Chinese dragon. Thus, by the discussion of the dragon myth of “Shan Hai Jing”, we can look around the aspects of the Chinese dragon myth, and then elaborate the profound dragon culture inherited by China.There are five chapters in the thesis. In the Introduction, the thesis accounted for the cause and significance of the text, and then elaborated the range and current situation of the investigation about the dragon myth in “Shan Hai Jing”. In Chapter One, I summarized the dragon culture’s recordation in the ancient documents briefly, and conclude the means for distinguishing the dragon in terms of different ways. Chapter Two and Chapter Three are the important parts in this thesis. Firstly, the thesis analyzed six myth figures related to Dragon candle, Dragon fish, Yayu in “Shan Hai Jing”. Secondly, the thesis discussed the Mont-God which related to dragon image in “Shan Hai Jing”, and also discussed other myths about dragon. Lastly, in Chapter Five, through three different views of “The Dragon’s nine sons”, the different aesthetical standard between China and West, the modern value and significance of the Chinese dragon culture, the thesis will explain and conduct a micro-compromise to the Chinese dragon culture. Consequently, the thesis will discuss the academic research value of the dragon culture deeply, and combine it to the real-life closely.