The philosophy of symbiosis in the reception of the dragon image in Chinese culture

Van Syaoyui ORCID: 0009-0008-0322-1702 Postgraduate student, Department of Theory and History of Culture of Arts and Design, Transbaikal State University 672039, Russia, Zabaikalsky Krai, Chita, Alexandro-Zavodskaya str., 30 wxy42081@163.com Other publications by this author

Introduction

The dragon, one of the most ancient totems in China, is the basis of the mythological worldview of the Chinese. The dragon culture, having passed through the stages of mythological and religious ways of exploring the world, continues to develop in the modern rational world, when scientific thinking has become the leading way of mastering reality. The uniqueness of Chinese culture today lies in the philosophy of symbiosis, when different ways of thinking and perceiving the world coexist and develop: the myth "continues to function in the consciousness, mentality and culture of modern man in a kind of duality with other ontological structures" ^{[1, p. 156]}. Perhaps it is the philosophy of symbiosis that allows the Chinese people to preserve the spirit of the nation and remain stable in the conditions of a spiritual crisis, which T. V. Lugutsenko, O. M. Shevchenko write about: "Despite its technological achievements, humanity has not humanized its consciousness, on the contrary, it has lost the ability to moral improvement and creative activity" ^{[2, p. 32]}. Researcher of Chinese culture and culture of the peoples of the North A.-K. I. Zabulionite believes that "in search of new ways of civilization development, a new formulation of the question of the functional connection of various natural ontological structures of consciousness (science and myth) may turn out to be an unexpectedly interesting area of research in the philosophy of culture and cultural studies" ^{[1, p. 156]}. Thus, the purpose of this work is to study the reception of the dragon image in Chinese culture in the aspect of symbiosis philosophy. 

The dragon theme in Chinese culture is one of the most popular topics among sinologists. A review of the scientific literature has revealed the main areas of research on this topic. The essence of the dragon and the origin of the dragon culture are devoted to the works of Wen Yido ^[3], Wang Xiaodong ^[4], Wang Dayu ^[5], Wu Wen ^[6] and others. The image of the dragon in Chinese myths, rituals, national holidays, and in the development of philosophical thought has been studied by scientists Wan Lin ^[7], V. V. Garrido ^[8], R. G. Zhamsaranova ^[9], A. S. Koroleva, R. R. Mukhametzyanov, N. A. Somkina ^[10], D. Ranjan, C. Zhou ^[11] and others . The modern significance of dragon culture is explored by Liu Zhiqin ^[12], Pan Jin ^[13] and others. Relevant in intercultural communication are works devoted to comparing the image of a dragon in different cultures ^{[14, 15]}). There are also many scientific papers devoted to the study of the image of the dragon in literature, architecture, painting, decorative and applied arts. Based on these works, the study of the dragon theme in Chinese culture in the aspect of symbiosis philosophy is relevant.

Research methodology

The article uses general scientific and special research methods, including document analysis, historical research, classification, comparative research method and semiotic analysis.

Results

The founder of the philosophy of symbiosis is the Japanese architect and philosopher Kise Kurokawa. V. M. Sytnik conveys the basic views of K. Kurokawa as a proposal to "move from the primacy of Reason to the primacy of Intuition." An outstanding philosopher of the 20th century believed that "logocentrism with the concept of universal truth destroys cultures and their distinctive appearance", and therefore in the 21st century it is necessary to replace universality as the ideal of the machine age with a symbiosis of cultures, and "dualistic philosophy will gradually be replaced by a philosophy of symbiosis" ^{[16, p. 135]}. 

Today, the philosophy of symbiosis is manifested in scientific and technological progress and the development of dragon culture in modern Chinese society. In the philosophy of symbiosis, such categories as "connection of meanings", "intermediate, transitional meaning", "connection" occupy an important place. The key concepts of symbiosis are the connection of non-connected elements into a single image, and the philosophy of symbiosis is also manifested in the reception of the image of the dragon in culture. The evolution of the image of the dragon as a totem, as the power of the emperor, the dragon as a megastructure and superdominant, as a closed system, as a dialogue between the possible and the real, as a symbol of the projected – all these manifestations of the dragon culture form symbiotic connections in culture.

Since the dragon is a symbol of China, the dragon culture is considered part of ancient Chinese traditional culture. Conceptual formations arise around the image of the dragon, including politics, economics, customs, language, literature, and art.

Already in the Chunqiu period (the period of Spring and Autumn, Chunqiu shidai, Chinese upr. , VIII-V centuries BC), the dragon became the exclusive sign of the rulers, symbolizing their greatness and status. In the Tang era, the dragon on the imperial seals became the symbol of the emperor, personifying him as a representative of the heavenly powers. In Ancient China, dragon culture has always been at a high level of popularity compared to other cultural symbols, and its origin and development are closely linked to the state and political institutions of China, which emphasizes the important place of dragon culture in traditional Chinese culture.

The concept of "dragon culture" was introduced by Chinese researcher Wen Yidu in the works "Fuxi Image Research" and "Dragon and Phoenix". In the dragon culture, the concept of "merging totems" is especially important, which provides a scientific justification for the origin of the dragon image in Chinese culture. According to the book "Ancient Society" by the American historian Morgan, published in 1877, totem is a word from the Indian language meaning "his ancestors, predecessors" ^[17]. Primitive people not only could not correctly understand natural phenomena, but also did not know how their own tribe arose, and, feeling at the subconscious level that their tribe originated from some animal, plant or some inorganic object, they began to worship this object as their ancestor. This is how the cult of totem worship arose, and the totem sign became the patron god and the banner of the tribe. The worship of the totem is the most ancient religious consciousness and cult that arose among mankind in primitive society. Totem worship existed in all regions of the world.

In Chinese society, the dragon totem was continuously enriched, the dragon was presented as a mysterious and incomprehensible creature capable of expressing the will and desire of people. Most Chinese do not question whether the dragon actually exists, but unconditionally accept it as the totem of the Chinese nation for worship. Common worship, common sacrifices, and common heritage objectively strengthen the solidarity of the Chinese nation. It is for this reason that, although the dragon has never existed on earth, it lives in the ideas of the Chinese from generation to generation, and the dragon culture has become the basis for the development of the Chinese worldview and philosophy.

In ancient China, the dragon was considered a sacred being and was depicted as one of the deities representing authority, power and mystery. At this stage, the dragon was often viewed as a water deity. With the advent of ancient dynasties in China, the dragon began to be seen as a symbol of imperial power, embodying the right to power and a sacred position. The dragon was included in the symbolic system of dynasties and was depicted on the clothing, architecture and artifacts of the emperors, expressing the power and authority of the rulers.

After the emperor of the Western Han Empire in China, Wu di (141 - 87 BC) ordered the liquidation of other philosophical schools and recognized only the teachings of Confucianism, Confucianism became the official ideology supporting the feudal order of government ^[18]. Confucianism preaches ethical standards put forward by feudal etiquette. In general, this is a statement of the supreme and indisputable power and position of the emperor: "the emperor orders the servants to die, the servants cannot help but die." These standards acquired the force and immutability of divine law after the expansion of veneration for the dragon into the political sphere, along with the mythologization of the emperor's origin. The emperor exalted himself, calling himself a dragon, "the true son of heaven" ^[19], asserting his divine destiny to rule people on earth as a representative of the gods. This view also reinforced the idea of the integrity of government and the state. That is why every generation of Chinese scientists considered "loyalty to the ruler, patriotism, love for the people" as the highest moral goal. For example, Fan Zhongyan in his work "Notes on the Yueyang Towers" said that he admired the "ancient sages", whose moral character is that "they do not rejoice in material goods, do not feel sad about their own fate, they worry about their people, being in a high position, and about their own the ruler, being in remote places. <...> They worry about the whole world until they eliminate all the troubles" ^[20]. The lifestyle described by the "ancient sages" illustrates the idea of loyalty to the ruler, patriotism and love for the people. 

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the first flag of China was approved, its main color was earthy yellow, representing the Chinese people, and the image of a large dragon reflected the idea of unity of power and the state.

The dragon's supernatural abilities influenced the thinking of ordinary people and became the basis of social order in a feudal society. On the one hand, through the image of the dragon, royal power became divine, and the idea of the divinity of royal power also influenced the broad masses of the population. Even at the end of the reign of a dynasty, when political corruption, economic crisis and acute class contradictions forced the peasants to rebel, it was more a loss of confidence in the last emperor than a doubt in the monarchy itself. As a result, for two millennia, "those who rebelled against the emperor in order to become emperor" were replaced – dynasties changed, but the feudal order was preserved. 

On the other hand, Confucius compared Lao Tzu to a dragon, and people began to associate talented people with dragons. Before Zhuge Liang became known as Sage Liang, his residence in Longzhong was known as Sleeping Dragon Mountain and was famous throughout the country. This confirms the wise expression: "A mountain doesn't have to be high to have a name, and the water doesn't have to be deep to be spiritual, you just need a dragon." Thus, the expression "hope that the child will become a dragon" has become common in the Chinese mentality. And a man from a poor family, Zhu Yuanchang – the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty - it was in this concept that he rose from the leader of a peasant uprising to the throne of the dragon, becoming a representative of the feudal landowning class. In Chinese culture, the phraseology "carp will jump through the dragon gate" has spread, which originated from the legend of the carp that turned into a dragon. These ideas of ordinary people certainly form the social basis for the regulation of the feudal order. From the above, we can conclude how important the dragon played in the political sphere of the feudal period of China.

The dragon was also important in folk traditions and in everyday culture. In folk lore, the dragon plays the role of punishing evil and promoting good. For example, if someone was struck by lightning, it was said that he had done many evil deeds and was caught by a dragon. If a person did not have evil deeds, people said that he was suffering for the sins of a previous life. Old books also record cases when lightning struck the palaces of emperors, and people believed that it was the dragon punishing the current emperor for his evil policies, hoping that the emperor would change his behavior and become a wiser and fairer ruler. In the city of Yujin, Shanxi province, there is a temple in the main hall of which there is a sculptural group of dragons clutching the bloody head of Tu Anjia, the treacherous minister of the Zhen Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn period.  The functions of punishment that our ancestors attributed to the dragon, if superstitious ideas are discarded, are an expression of unwavering confidence in the victory of good over evil and the triumph of justice.

According to the Chinese, the dragon played an important role in the economic well-being of the people. China is one of the countries where the change of the hunting and gathering economy to agriculture occurred before anything else in the world. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, agriculture had already become the main source of livelihood for the Hua Xia people. The "Book of Songs" ("Shi Jing") gives a vivid description of agricultural life: "At sunrise, they go to the fields, and return home at sunset. By digging wells, they get water to drink, growing crops, they do not starve" ^[21].

Chinese farmers have created irrigation systems, including such engineering wonders as "Dujianyang" (an irrigation system built in 256 BC in Sichuan Province by the scientist Li Bing to manage the floods of the Ming River and irrigate fields). Nevertheless, the rituals of invoking rain, which originated in ancient times, were preserved. In the annual reports of the counties, one can find references to various rituals of invoking rain, including dragon worship, burning their images, exposing them to the sun, which is a cultural phenomenon associated with the idea of the magical ability of dragons to cause rains.

The traditions of Chinese calendar holidays associated with the dragon culture have been preserved to this day. These holidays are distinguished by their national flavor, which is why they are still popular among modern people. The holiday of the fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar, known as Yuanxiao, originated during the reign of the emperor of the Eastern Han Empire Ming-di (57-75). This day is for the Chinese a day of communication with the heavenly rulers, who, according to the tradition of Taoism, can bestow blessings on people. Among the various events on this day, a special place is occupied by the dragon dance and the lighting of dragon lanterns. 

The second day of the second month of the lunar calendar, known as the Day of the Dragon's Head, falls during the period when Terrible Cold Weather and the Vernal Equinox occur in the lunar calendar. The ancestors of the current Chinese believed that during this period the dragon raises its head. On Dragon Head Day, people prepare "dragon cakes" and "dragon noodles" and also make sacrifices to the spring dragon. Farmers hope that the dragon, the lord of water, will make the year prosperous and the harvest rich. Therefore, there is such a folk saying: "The second day of the second month is the day when the dragon raises its head, the big barn will be full, and the small one will be overflowing" ^[22]. In addition, "raising the dragon's head" is a very auspicious event, so it is considered to be a good day for a haircut, hence the saying: "In the first month, do not cut your hair, do not shave, wait until the dragon raises its head in the second month."

The origin of the Duanu festival, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, is associated by contemporaries with the memory of the father of Chinese poetry, Qu Yuan (poet and politician of the kingdom of Chu during the Warring Kingdoms period, years of life: 340 – 278 BC). But there is another, ancient version of the origin of the holiday: it is a holiday, dedicated to conducting rituals of totem worship. Every year on the fifth of May, the Chinese fill bamboo tubes or palm leaves with various products, some of them are thrown into the water to sacrifice to the totem gods, and the other part is eaten by the participants of the holiday. At the end, they arrange races on boats carved in the shape of a dragon, to the sound of fast drums ^[3].

The Zuanzu ethnic group holds a magnificent dragon worship festival during the second month to ensure the peace and safety of people and livestock throughout the year. The Yao ethnic group has a dragon worship holiday on the third day of the third month. The Han ethnic group holds a holiday on the second day of the second month, when two strong and beautiful young men are chosen, who dress up in women's clothes and, under the guidance of the main dragon, travel around various settlements, accompanied by a crowd of people.

Today, the Chinese people continue to celebrate these holidays not out of superstition, but to preserve the historical cultural heritage, connection with the history of their ancestors.

Discussion

The totemic sign of the Chinese nation is the result of the fusion of many totemic units of various ethnic groups. This process reflects the ancient instruction to the ruler about the need to "act fairly, get rid of one's own prejudices, good and evil must be fair throughout the world" ^[23]. The idea of justice in the context of the interaction of many ethnic groups is complemented by the Confucian idea of "great unity", the common veneration of totems and common ritual actions, which contributed to strengthening the unity of the country and national solidarity. Therefore, the descendants of the first Chinese emperors Yan di and Huang di, regardless of which lands they are in, feel unity based on the common culture of the dragon.

Dragon culture also expresses the idea of overcoming all obstacles and strengthens the spirit of self-respect, confidence and indefatigability of the Chinese people. The so–called spirit of self-respect, self-defense and constant development is the pursuit of truth, diligent study, courage and determination, willingness to be the first and overcome any difficulties. The Chinese Book of Changes ("I Ching") conveys a call to people to be steadfast and powerful, like the Sun and Moon in heaven: "The sons of China should move, like the celestial region, continuously and relentlessly, even if they are in distress, they should not fall and be discouraged" ^[24]. Confucius urged: "Understand the truth of life in the early morning hours, so that in the evening you can die without regret" ^[25]. It is also a propaganda of diligent learning, comprehension of true knowledge, tireless striving and willingness to become the first in the world. The ancient ancestors of modern Chinese created a dragon and endowed it with all sorts of supernatural abilities to make sense of the world. Modern researcher V. V. Garrido explains the meaning of the dragon in the collective consciousness of the people in this way: "In the manifested world of duality, in a fully formed world, the dragon symbol is an infinitely becoming being, continuous creation, a visual expression of a single primordial matter and world substance, which takes various forms, combining with itself, producing and absorbing an infinite number of new bodies" ^{[8, p. 99]}. The dragon symbol as an expression of the world substance does not allow a person to completely break away from nature, preserves the harmony of man and the world.

The dragon culture, as a part of traditional Chinese culture, in addition to its undoubted advantages in the development of the worldview of the people, in the establishment of statehood and the formation of patriotism, may also have disadvantages. The study of dragon culture should be based on the principle of eliminating shortcomings and assimilating the essence through the principle of using the ancient in modern times. For example, religious consciousness and feudal superstitions should be criticized from a materialistic view of the world in order to affirm the spirit of scientific progress. But at the same time, it is necessary to seriously think about why these cultural phenomena have existed in the history of China for tens of thousands of years and persist in modern conditions. Penetrating into the depths of the spiritual world of the ancient Chinese, one can understand the logic of the existence of this cultural phenomenon in the modern world. D. Ranjan and S. Jou emphasize the importance of dragon culture for the rapid development of the country: "The Chinese dragon leads the social system from tradition to modernity, becoming a spiritual force in the consciousness of the people" ^{[11, p. 78]}. Thus, the philosophy of symbiosis, manifested in the reception of the image of the dragon in traditions, way of life, culture and art, contributes to the preservation of the unity of the people and stability in the conditions of the spiritual crisis of modernity.

The dragon culture serves as an expression of the good intentions and aspirations of the ancestors of modern Chinese, and their legacy has been preserved for many generations, reflecting the creative spirit of the Chinese nation. Today, Chinese people around the world have a common language, common ideals, common goals and symbiotic relationships, fighting to achieve the full unity of the country and the comprehensive revival of the Chinese nation. This is the modern meaning of the dragon spirit.

Conclusion

The dragon, as an ancient totem and symbol of the Chinese tradition, not only represents power and greatness, but also has a deep spiritual content and symbolic meaning. The symbiosis of the dragon culture with modern culture is manifested in the support of China's national unity and the preservation of its cultural heritage. With the development of scientific technology, human thinking continues to evolve, but the dragon spirit retains its importance. The image of the dragon, which has been the most important symbol of Chinese traditional culture for many millennia, provides a symbiotic connection of scientific, rational thinking of modern man with mythological archetypes preserved in the collective consciousness. The philosophy of symbiosis in the reception of the dragon image is important for the preservation of traditional cultural values, national spirit and state identity in China.