Teng (mythology)

''Teng'' () or ''Tengshe'' (; lit. "soaring snake") is a flying dragon in Chinese mythology.

Names

This legendary creature's names include ''teng'' "a flying dragon" (or ''te'' "a plant pest") and ''tengshe'' "flying-dragon snake" or "soaring snake".

Teng

The Chinese character for ''teng'' or ''te'' graphically combines a phonetic element of ''zhen'' "I, we (only used by emperors)" with the "insect radical" . This radical is typically used in characters for insects, worms, reptiles, and dragons (e.g., '' shen'' "a sea-monster dragon" or '' jiao'' "an aquatic dragon"). The earliest written form of ''teng'' is a (ca. 3rd century BCE) Seal script character written with the same radical and phonetic.

''Teng'' has two etymologically cognate Chinese words written with this ''zhen'' phonetic and different radicals: ''teng'' (with the "water radical" ) "gush up; inundate; Teng (state); a surname" and ''teng'' (with the "horse radical" ) "jump; gallop; prance; mount; ascend; fly swiftly upward; soar; rise". This latter ''teng'', which is used to write the ''tengshe'' flying dragon, occurs in draconic 4-character idioms such as ''longtenghuyue'' (lit. "dragon rising tiger leaping") "scene of bustling activity" and ''tengjiaoqifeng'' ("rising dragon soaring phoenix", also reversible) "a rapidly rising talent; an exceptional literary/artistic talent; a genius".

The (3rd–2nd centuries BCE) ''Erya'' dictionary (16) defines ''teng'' as ''tengshe'' "teng-snake", and Guo Pu's commentary glosses it as a "feilong'' ] flying dragon that drifts in the clouds and mist".

Some bilingual Chinese dictionaries translate ''teng'' as "wingless dragon", but this apparent ghost word, ghost meaning is not found in monolingual Chinese sources. For instance, the Wiktionary and the Unihan Database translation equivalent for ''teng'' is "mythological wingless dragon of" . This dangling "of" appears to be copied from Robert Henry Mathews's dictionary "A wingless dragon of the clouds", which adapted Herbert Giles's dictionary "A wingless dragon which inhabits the clouds and is regarded as a creature of evil omen." While dragons are depicted as both winged and wingless (e.g., the lindworm "a bipedal wingless dragon"), Chinese dictionaries note ''teng'' "flying serpents" are ''wuzu'' "footless; legless" (see the ''Xunzi'' below) not "wingless".

Tengshe

"The ''teng'' dragon", says Carr, "had a semantically more transparent name of ''tengshe'' 'rising/ascending snake'." ''Tengshe'' is written with either ''teng'' "flying dragon" or ''teng'' "soaring; rising" and ''she'' "snake; serpent".

From the original "flying dragon; flying serpent" denotation, ''tengshe'' acquired three additional meanings: "an asterism" in Traditional Chinese star names, "a battle formation" in Chinese military history, and "lines above the mouth" in physiognomy.

First, ''Tengshe'' Flying Serpent (or ''Tianshe'' "Heavenly Snake") is an asterism of 22 stars in the Chinese constellation ''Shi'' Encampment, which is the northern 6th of the 7 Mansions in the Xuanwu Black Tortoise constellation. These Tengshe stars spread across corresponding Western constellations of Andromeda, Lacerta, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, and Cygnus. In traditional Chinese art, Xuanwu is usually represented as a tortoise surrounded by a dragon or snake.

Second, ''Tengshe'' names "a battle formation". The (643–659 CE) '' Beishi'' history of Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei Dynasty (r. 452–465 CE) describes a 454 CE battle. The Wei army routed enemy soldiers by deploying troops into over ten columns that changed between ''feilong'' "flying dragons", ''tengshe'' "ascending snakes", and ''yuli'' "beautiful fishes" (alluding to ''Shijing'' 170).

Third, ''Tengshe'' "flying dragon" has a specialized meaning in ''Xiangshu'' "Chinese physiognomy", referring to "vertical lines rising from corners of the mouth".

Te

The earliest occurrence of means ''te'' "a plant pest" instead of ''teng'' "a flying dragon". The (ca. 6th century BCE) ''Shijing'' (212 ) describes farmers removing plant pests called ''mingte'' and ''maozei'' in fields of grain. These ''Shijing'' names rhyme, and Bernhard Karlgren reconstructed them as Old Chinese *''d'ək'' and *''dz'ək'' . The Mao Commentary glosses four insects; the ''ming'' eats hearts, the ''te'' eats leaves, the ''mao'' eats roots, and the ''zei'' eats joints. Compare these translations:
*We remove the insects that eat the heart and the leaf, And those that eat the roots and the joints
*Avaunt, all earwigs and pests
*We remove the noxious insects from the ears and leaves, and the grubs from roots and stems

Han Dynasty Chinese dictionaries write ''te'' "a plant pest" with the variant Chinese character . The ''Erya'' defines ''ming'' as " nsect thateats seedlings and cores" and ''te'' " nsect thateats leaves". Guo Pu's commentary glosses these four pests as types of ''huang'' "locusts; grasshoppers". The (121 CE) ''Shuowen Jiezi'' dictionary defines ''ming'' "insect that eats grain leaves" and ''te'' as "insect that eats sprout leaves".

The identity of this rare ''te'' or "a grain pest" called remains uncertain. In Modern Standard Chinese usage, ''te'' only occurs as a literary archaism, while ''ming'' is used in words like ''mingling'' "corn earworm; adopted son" and ''mingchong'' "snout moth's larva".

Classical usages

Chinese classic texts frequently mention ''tengshe'' or "flying dragons". The examples below are roughly arranged in chronological order, although some heterogeneous texts are of uncertain dates. Only texts with English translations are cited, excluding ''tengshe'' occurrences in texts such as the ''Guiguzi'', ''Shuoyuan'', and ''Shiji''.

Xunzi

The (c. 4th century BCE) Confucianist '' Xunzi'' (1 ) first records the Classical Chinese idiom ''tengshe wuzu er fei'' "flying dragon is without feet yet flies", which figuratively means "success results from concentrating on one's abilities".
*The T'eng-she dragon has no feet but flies; the squirrel have five talents, but cannot perform any one of them to perfection.
*The wingless dragon has no limbs, but it can fly; the flying squirrel has five talents, but it is reduced to extremity.

Hanfeizi

The (3rd century BCE) Legalist text '' Hanfeizi'' uses ''tengshe'' in two chapters.

"Ten Faults" (), uses it describing the Yellow Emperor's heavenly music.

In by-gone days the Yellow Emperor once called a meeting of devils and spirits at the top of the Western T'ai Mountain, he rode in a divine carriage pulled by [] dragons, with Pi-fang a tree deity keeping pace with the linchpin, Ch'ih-yu [a war deity] marching in the front, Earl Wind [a wind deity] sweeping the dirt, Master Rain [a rain deity] sprinkling water on the road, tigers and wolves leading in the front, devils and spirits following from behind, rising serpents rolling on the ground, and male and female phoenixes flying over the top.

The "Critique on the Concept of Political Purchase" (, quotes Shen Dao contrasting ''feilong'' "flying dragon" with ''tengshe'' to explain ''shi'' "political purchase; strategic advantage".

Shen Tzu said: "The flying dragon mounts the clouds and the ''t'eng'' snake wanders in the mists. But when the clouds dissipate and the mists clear, the dragon and the snake become the same as the earthworm and the large-winged black ant because they have lost that on which they ride. Where men of superior character are subjugated by inferior men, it is because their authority is lacking and their position is low. Where the inferior are subjugated by the superior, it is because the authority of the latter is considerable and their position is high.

Chuci

The (3rd–2nd centuries BCE) ''Chuci'' parallels ''tengshe'' with ''feiju'' "flying horse" in the poem "A Road Beyond" ().

With team of dragons I mount the heavens, In ivory chariot borne aloft. ... I wander through all the constellations; I roam about round the Northern Pole. My upper garment is of red stuff; Of green silk is my under-robe. I loosen my girdle and let my clothes flow freely; I stretch out my trusty Gan-jiang sword. The Leaping Serpent follows behind me, the Flying Horse trots at my side.

Huainanzi

The (2nd century BCE) ''Huainanzi'' uses both ''tengshe'' graphic variants (with the insect radical, chapters 9 and 18, which is not translated) and (horse radical, chapter 17).

"The Art of Rulership" (9 ), uses ''tengshe'' with '' yinglong'' "responding dragon". The ''t'eng'' snake springs up into the mist; the flying ''ying'' dragon ascends into the sky mounting the clouds; a monkey is nimble in the trees and a fish is agile in the water."

The "Discourse on Forests" (17) , has ''tengshe'' in the same "drifts into the mist" phrase, "The ascending snake can drift in the mist, yet it is endangered by the centipede."

Other texts

''Tengshe'' frequently occurs in Chinese poetry. Two early examples are "The Dark Warrior shrinks into his shell; The Leaping Serpent twists and coils itself" ("Rhapsody on Contemplating the Mystery" by Zhang Heng, 78–139 CE, and "Though winged serpents ride high on the mist, They turn to dust and ashes at last" ("Though the Tortoise Lives Long" by Cao Cao, 155–220 CE.

Mythology

The Chinese books above repeatedly parallel the ''tengshe'' "soaring snake; flying dragon" with its near synonym ''feilong'' "flying dragon". Like the ''tianlong'' "heavenly dragon", these creatures are associated with clouds and rainfall, as Visser explains.

The Classics have taught us that the dragon is thunder, and at the same time that he is a water animal akin to the snake, sleeping in pools during winter and arising in spring. When autumn comes with its dry weather, the dragon descends and dives into the water to remain there till spring arrives again.

The (1578 CE) ''Bencao Gangmu'' (43), mentions this mythic serpent, "There are flying snakes without feet such as the 螣蛇 ''T'eng She''." The commentary explains, "The ''t'eng-she'' changes into a dragon. This divine snake can ride upon the clouds and fly about over a thousand miles. If it is heard, (this means) pregnancy."Tr. .

Wolfram Eberhard surveys the cultural background of ''tengshe'' "ascending snake" myths.

Frequently, in the early literature, the snake steps into the clouds 'Shenzi'', ''Baopuzi'', ''Huainanzi'' Here one suspects that the word dragon was taboo and had to be substituted; this is confirmed by Chung-ch'ang T'ung 'Hou Han Shu''stating that the ascending snake loses it scales. One can hardly speak of scales in the case of a real snake, but a dragon was believed to be scaly. Otherwise this flying snake may be compared with the folktale of the fight between centipede and snake which is associated with Thai culture … The dragon-like snake in the sky is again the dragon ''lung'', again of the Thai cultures. Otherwise the "ascending snake" (''t'eng-she'') may mean a constellation of stars near the Milky Way 'Xingjing'' According to Ko Hung 'Baopuzi''it makes lightning, and this again equates it with the dragon ''lung''.

Legends about flying snakes, serpents, and dragons are widespread in comparative mythology, exemplified by the Biblical Fiery flying serpent. Snakes in the genus Chrysopelea are commonly known as "flying snakes".

References

*
Internet Archive

Footnotes

External links

{{Wiktionary, 螣
螣 entry
Chinese Etymology

Chinese dragons