Jiaolong

Jiaolong (zh-stpw |s=蛟龙|t=蛟龍|p="jiāolóng"|w="chiao-lung") or jiao is an aquatic dragon in Chinese mythology, variously translated as a "hornless dragon", "scaly dragon", "flood dragon", "alligator", and "crocodile".

Name

蛟 Character

In traditional Chinese character classification, "jiao" is a "radical-phonetic" or "phono-semantic character", combining the "insect radical" with a "jiao" "cross; mix; mingle; mate with; exchange" phonetic. This 虫 radical is frequently used in characters for insects, worms, and reptiles, and occasionally for dragons (e.g., "shen" 蜃 and "hong" 虹). This phonetic "jiao" 交 (originally a pictograph of a person with crossed legs) is also used with the "fish radical" in "jiao" "shark" (see below) and the "horse radical" in "bo" , which is a variant Chinese character for "bo" "mixed colors; piebald; confused".

In the Japanese writing system, the kanji 蛟 can be read "mizuchi" "a Japanese river dragon" in native "kun'yomi" or "kō" in Sino-Japanese "on'yomi" (e.g., "kōryō" 蛟竜 "flood dragon: hidden genius" from "jiaolong").

Etymology

"Jiao" 蛟's etymology is obscure. Carr, using Bernhard Karlgren's reconstruction of Old Chinese *kǒg 蛟, explains.

Most etymologies for "jiao" < *"kǒg" 蛟 are unsupported speculations upon meanings of its phonetic *"kǒg" 交 'cross; mix with; contact', e.g., the *"kǒg" 蛟 dragon can *"kǒg" 交 'join' its head and tail in order to capture prey, or moves in a *"kǒg" 交 'twisting' manner, or has *"kǒg" 交 'continuous' eyebrows. The only corroborated hypothesis takes *"kǒg" 交 'breed with' to mean *"kǒg" 蛟 indicates a dragon 'crossbreed; mixture'. Eberhard (1968:378) notes from an early time, 蛟 was considered an embodiment of the fish, snake, rhinoceros; or the tiger. (1990:126-7)

Compare the "tiger "jiao" below. In addition, Carr cites Wen Yiduo that "jiaolong" 交龍 "crossed dragons"' or "jiaolong" 蛟龍 were emblems of the mythological creators Fuxi and Nüwa, who are represented as having a human's upper body and a dragon's tail.

Schuessler (2007:308) reconstructs modern "jiāo" 蛟 "scaly dragon", "alligator", or "mermaid" as Middle Chinese "kau" and Old Chinese *"krâu". He suggests possible Tibeto-Burman etymological connections with Burmese "k^hru^B" or "k^hyu^B" "mermaid; serpent" and Tibetan "klu" "nāga; water spirits".

Usage

Chinese "jiao" is more frequently used in the compound "jiaolong" with the -"long" "dragon" suffix than by itself. Take, for example, familiar "chengyu" "set phrases; 4-character idioms". "Jiaolong" occurs in several such as "jiaolongdeshui" 蛟龍得水 (lit. "jiao"-dragon obtains water", from the "Guanzi" below) "in the most congenial surroundings; bold person getting a good opportunity" and "jiaolongzhizhi" 蛟龍之志 ("jiao"-dragon's ambition") "a person with great ambitions". "Jiao" occurs abbreviating "jiaolong" with "feng" abbreviating "fenghuang" 鳳凰 "Chinese phoenix" in "tengjiaoqifeng" 騰蛟起鳳 ("soaring "jiao" rising "feng") "a rapidly rising literary/artistic talent; a genius".

Jiaolong occurs in Chinese toponyms. For example, the highest waterfall in Taiwan is Jiaolong Dapu 蛟龍大瀑 "Flood Dragon Great Waterfall" in the Alishan National Scenic Area.

Meanings

"Jiao" < *"kǒg" 蛟 is defined with more meanings than any other Chinese draconym", writes Carr (1990:126), "(1) 'aquatic dragon', (2) 'crocodile; alligator', (3) 'hornless dragon', (4) 'dragoness', (5) 'scaled dragon', ( 6 ) 'shark' [= 鮫] , and (7) 'mermaid'."

In some textual usages, differentiating these "jiao" meanings is problematic. For instance, "jiaolong" 蛟龍 can be parsed as two kinds of dragons or one. Some contrastive contexts clearly use the former meaning "jiao" and "long" dragons"; the "Zhuangzi" (17, tr. Watson 1968:185) parallels "the sea serpent or the dragon" with "the rhinoceros or the tiger." The latter meaning of "jiao" dragon" is evident from usages such as the "Guanzi" (1, tr. Visser 1913:77), "The "kiao-lung" is the god of the water animals. If he rides on the water, his soul is in full vigour, but when he loses water (if he is deprived of it), his soul declines. Therefore I (or they) say: 'If a "kiao-lung" gets water, his soul can be in full vigour'."

Aquatic dragon

"Jiao" and "jiaolong" were names for a legendary river dragon.

The mythological "Shanhaijing" "Classic of Mountains and Seas" mentions "jiao" and "hujiao" 虎蛟 "tiger "jiao", but notably not "jiaolong". The "Classic of Southern Mountains" (1, Visser 1913:76) records "hujiao" in the Yin River 泿水.

The River Bank rises here and flows south to empty into the sea. There are tiger-crocodiles in it. Their bodies look like a fish's, but they have a snake's tail and they make a noise like mandarin ducks. If you eat some, you won't suffer from a swollen abscess, and it can be used to treat piles. (tr. Birrell 2000:8)

The commentary of Guo Pu glosses "hujiao" as "a type of ["long" 龍] dragon that resembles a four-legged snake." The "Classic of Central Mountains" (5, tr. Birrell 2000:93, 97) records "jiao" in the Kuang River 貺水 and Lun River 淪水: "There are numerous alligators in the River Grant" and "The River Ripple contains numbers of alligators". Guo adds that the "jiao" "has a small head, narrow neck, white scales, is oviparous, can grow up to ten meters long, and eats people."

Wolfram Eberhard (1968:378) quotes the (11th century CE) "Moke huixi" 墨客揮犀 for the "best definition" of a "jiao", "looks like a snake with a tiger head, is several fathoms long, lives in brooks and rivers, and bellows like a bull; when it sees a human being it traps him with its stinking saliva, then pulls him into the water and sucks his blood from his armpits." He concludes (1968:378-9) that the "jiao", which "occur in the whole of Central and South China", "is a special form of the snake as river god. The snake as river god or god of the ocean is typical for the coastal culture, particularly the sub-group of the Tan peoples."

"Jiao" 蛟 is sometimes translated as "flood dragon". The (c. 1105 CE) "Yuhu qinghua" 玉壺清話 (Carr 1990:128) says people in the southern state of Wu called it "fahong" 發洪 "swell into a flood" because they believed flooding resulted when "jiao" hatched. The "Chuci" (13, tr. Hawkes 1985:255) uses the term "shuijiao" 水蛟 "water "jiao": "Henceforth the water-serpents must be my companions, And dragon-spirits lie with me when I would rest."

Crocodile or Alligator

Besides a legendary dragon, "jiao" and "jiaolong" anciently named a four-legged water creature, identified as both "alligator" and "crocodile". The "Dragons and Snakes" section of the (1578 CE) "Bencao Gangmu", which is a comprehensive Chinese materia medica, differentiates (tr. Read 1934:314-318) between "jiaolong" 蛟龍 (or "e" ) "Saltwater Crocodile, "Crocodylus porosus" and "tolong" 鼉龍 "Chinese Alligator, "Alligator sinensis". Most early references describe the "jiaolong" as living in rivers, which fits not only this freshwater "Chinese alligator" but also the "Saltwater crocodile" that spends the tropical wet season in freshwater rivers and swamps. Comparing maximum lengths of 6 and 1.5 meters for this crocodile and alligator respectively, "Saltwater crocodile" seems more consistent with descriptions of "jiao" reaching lengths of several "zhang" "approximately 3.3 meters".

Three classical texts ("Liji" 6, tr. Legge 1885:1:277, "Huainanzi" 5, and "Lüshi Chunqiu" 6) repeat a sentence about capturing water creatures at the end of summer; 伐蛟取鼉登龜取黿 "attack the "jiao" 蛟, take the "to" 鼉 "alligator", present the "gui" 龜 "tortoise", and take the "yuan" 黿 "soft-shell turtle"."

Early texts frequently mention capturing "jiao". The (ca. 111 CE) "Hanshu" (6, Carr 1990:128) records catching a "jiao" 蛟in 106 BCE. The (4th century CE) "Shiyiji" 拾遺記 has a "jiao" story about Emperor Zhao of Han (r. 87-74 BCE). While fishing in the Wei River, he

caught a white "kiao", three chang [ten meters] long, which resembled a big snake, but had no scaly armour The Emperor said: 'This is not a lucky omen', and ordered the Ta kwan to make a condiment of it. Its flesh was purple, its bones were blue, and its taste was very savoury and pleasant. (tr. Visser 1913:79)

The historicity of such accounts can be dubious. The (ca. 109-91 BCE) "Shiji" biography of Emperor Gaozu of Han (r. 202-195 BCE) recounts a legend that his mother dreamed of a "jiaolong" before his birth.

Hornless dragon

The (121 CE) "Shuowen Jiezi" dictionary defines "jiao" 蛟 as "A kind of dragon, a hornless dragon is called "jiao". It explains that "if the number of fish in a pond reaches 3600, a "jiao" will come as their leader, and enable them to follow him and fly away." However, "if you place a fish trap in the water, the "jiao" will leave." According to the "Chuci" commentary of Wang Yi 王逸 (d. 158 CE), the "jiao" is a "hornless dragon" or a "small dragon", perhaps implying a young or immature dragon.

Note the pronunciation similarity between "jiao" 蛟 and "jiao" "horn". "Jiaolong" 角龍 "horned dragon", which is the Chinese name for the Ceratops dinosaur, occurs in Ge Hong's " Baopuzi" (10, tr. Ware 1966:170) "the horned dragon can no longer find a place to swim."

Female dragon

"Jiao" meaning "female dragon; dragon mother" is first recorded in the (c. 810 CE) Buddhist dictionary "Yiqie jingyinyi" 一切經音義 (19). It defines "jiaolong" as "a fish with a snake's tail," notes the Sanskrit name "guanpiluo" 官毘羅 "kumbhīra"; crocodile; alligator", and quotes Ge Hong's "Baopuzi" 抱朴子 that "jiao" 蛟 means "dragon mother, dragoness" and "qiu" "horned dragon" means "dragon child, dragonet". However, the received edition of the "Baopuzi" does not include this statement. The (11th century CE) "Piya" dictionary repeats this "female dragon" definition.

caly dragon

The (3rd century CE) "Guangya" defines "jiaolong" as "scaly dragon; scaled dragon", using the word "lin" "scales (of a fish, etc.)". Many later dictionaries copied this meaning, but it lacks textual corroboration.

hark

"Jiao" 蛟 was an interchangeable graphic loan character for "jiao" 鮫 "shark", usually called the "jiaoyu" 鮫魚 or "shayu" 鯊魚. "Jiaoge" 鮫革 (with "ge" "hide; leather") means "sharkskin". Several texts ("Hanshi waizhuan" 韓詩外傳, "Shangzi", "Xunzi", "Shiji", and "Huainanzi") record that soldiers from the southern state of Chu made strong armor with skin from "jiao" sharks and hides from rhinoceros.

Mermaid

"Jiaoren" 蛟人 "dragon person" or 鮫人 "shark person" (cf. Japanese "samebito" 鮫人) "mermaid" is a later meaning of "jiao". The (early 6th century CE) "Shuyiji" 遹異記 "Records of Strange Things" (Eberhard 1968:378) first mentions a mythical southern mermaid who spins silk underwater and sheds pearls for tears. The raw silk supposedly spun by mermaids was called "jiaoxiao" 蛟綃 "mermaid silk" or "jiaonujuan" 蛟女絹 "mermaid woman's silk".

References

*Birrell, Anne, tr. 2000. "The Classic of Mountains and Seas". Penguin.
*Carr, Michael. 1990. "Chinese Dragon Names," "Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area" 13.2:87-189.
*Eberhard, Wolfram. 1968. "The Local Cultures of South and East China". E. J. Brill.
*Hawkes, David, tr. 1985. "The Songs of the South: An Anthology of Ancient Chinese Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets". Penguin.
*Legge, James, tr. 1885. "The Li Ki", 2 vols. Oxford University Press.
*Read, Bernard E. 1934. "Chinese Materia Medica VII; Dragons and Snakes," "Peking Natural History Bulletin" 8.4:279-362.
*Schuessler, Axel. 2007. "ABC Etymological Dictionary of Old Chinese". University of Hawaii Press.
*Visser, Marinus Willern de. 1913. [http://fax.libs.uga.edu/GR830xD7xV8/# "The Dragon in China and Japan"] . J. Müller.
*Watson, Burton, tr. 1968. "The Complete works of Chuang Tzu". Columbia University Press.

External links

* [http://www.chineseetymology.org/CharacterASP/CharacterEtymology.aspx?characterInput=%E8%9B%9F&submitButton1=Etymology 蛟 entry] , Chinese Etymology
* [http://www.kangxizidian.com/kangxi/1081.gif蛟 entry page] , 1716 CE Kangxi Dictionary
* [http://tiscsvr.tbroc.gov.tw/en/photo.asp?phrfnbr=5992 Flood Dragon Waterfall] , Alishan National Scenic Area