Tianlong (; lit. "heavenly dragon") is a flying dragon in

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of t ...

, a star in

Chinese astrology Chinese astrology is based on the traditional astronomy and calendars. Chinese astrology came to flourish during the Han Dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD). Chinese astrology has a close relation with Chinese philosophy (theory of the ...

, and a

proper name A proper noun is a noun that identifies a single entity and is used to refer to that entity (''Africa'', ''Jupiter'', ''Sarah'', ''Microsoft)'' as distinguished from a common noun, which is a noun that refers to a class of entities (''continent, ...

Word

The term ''tianlong'' combines ''tian'' "heaven" and ''long'' "dragon". Since ''

tian ''Tiān'' () is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and religion. During the Shang dynasty (17th―11th century BCE), the Chinese referred to their supreme god as '' Shàngdì'' (, "Lor ...

'' literally means "heaven; the heavens; sky" or figuratively "Heaven; God; gods", ''tianlong'' can denote "heavenly dragon; celestial dragon" or "holy dragon; divine dragon". Tianlong is

homophonous A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (pa ...

with another name in

Chinese folklore Chinese folklore encompasses the folklore of China, and includes songs, poetry, dances, puppetry, and tales. It often tells stories of human nature, historical or legendary events, love, and the supernatural. The stories often explain natural phe ...

. Tianlong "Heavenly Deaf" (with the character ''long'' "deaf" combining the "ear radical" and a ''long''

phonetic Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...

element) and ''Diya'' "Earthly Dumb" are legendary attendants to

Wenchang Wang Wenchang Wang (), also known as Wenchang Dijun (), is a Taoist deity in Chinese mythology, known as the God of Culture and Literature. He is also at times referred to simply as Wen Qu, or Wen. The literal translation of his name would be King () ...

, the patron deity of literature.

Meanings

From originally denoting "heavenly dragon", ''Tianlong'' semantically developed meanings as

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

"heavenly Nāgas" or "Devas and Nāgas", "centipede", and "proper names" of stars, people, and places.

Dragons

Among

Chinese classic texts Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confucia ...

, ''tian'' "heaven" and ''long'' "dragon" were first used together in

Zhou Dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by ...

(1122 BCE – 256 BCE) writings, but the word ''tianlong'' was not recorded until the

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

(207 BCE – 220 CE). The ancient '' Yijing'' "Book of Changes" exemplifies using ''tian'' "heaven" and ''long'' "dragon" together. ''Qian'' "The Creative", the first hexagram, says (tr. Wilhelm 1967:9), "Nine(it stands for a solid horizontal line that symbolizes the yang. Why nine is used is unclear.) in the fifth place means: Flying dragons in the heavens. It furthers one to see the great man("九五，飞龙在天，利见大人”)." The "Commentary on the Decision" (, tr. Wilhelm 1967:371) explains, "Because the holy man is clear as to the end and the beginning, as to the way in which each of the six stages completes itself in its own time, he mounts on them toward heaven as though on six dragons(大明終始，六位時成。時乘六龍以御天)." And the "Commentary on the Images" (, tr. Wilhelm 1967:371) says, "'Flying dragon in the heavens.' This shows the great man at work.(飛龍在天，大人造也。)" The earliest usage of ''tianlong'' "heavenly dragon", according to the ''

Hanyu Da Cidian The ''Hanyu Da Cidian'' () is the most inclusive available Chinese dictionary. Lexicographically comparable to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', it has diachronic coverage of the Chinese language, and traces usage over three millennia from Ch ...

'', is in the ''Xinxu'' "New Prefaces" by Liu Xiang (79–8 BCE). It records a story (Yuan 2006:213) about Zigao, the

Duke of Ye Shen Zhuliang (), Duke of Ye () or Gao, Duke of Ye () (c. 529 BCE – after 478 BCE), was a general and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. Shen Zhuliang's father, Shen Yin Shu, was a g ...

, who professed to love dragons. After he carved and painted dragon images throughout his house, a [] heavenly dragon [or ''fulong'' in some editions] came to visit, but Ye was scared and ran away. The ''Fangyan (book), Fangyan'' dictionary (12) by Yang Xiong (author), Yang Xiong (53 BCE – 18 CE) has another early usage of ''tian'' and ''long''. It defines '' panlong'' "coiled dragon" as , syntactically meaning either "Dragons which do not yet ascend to heaven" (Visser 1913:73) or "Heavenly Dragons which do not yet ascend" (Carr 1990:113).

Asterisms

''Tianlong'' Heavenly Dragon names both the Western constellation Draco and a star in the

Chinese constellation Traditional Chinese astronomy has a system of dividing the celestial sphere into asterisms or constellations, known as "officials" ( Chinese ''xīng guān''). The Chinese asterisms are generally smaller than the constellations of Hellenisti ...

Azure Dragon. ''Tianlongza'' "Heavenly Dragon Seat/Constellation" is the Chinese translation of Draco (from Latin "Dragon"), a constellation near the

north celestial pole The north and south celestial poles are the two points in the sky where Earth's axis of rotation, indefinitely extended, intersects the celestial sphere. The north and south celestial poles appear permanently directly overhead to observers at ...

. The (1578 CE) ''

Bencao Gangmu The ''Bencao gangmu'', known in English as the ''Compendium of Materia Medica'' or ''Great Pharmacopoeia'', is an encyclopedic gathering of medicine, natural history, and Chinese herbology compiled and edited by Li Shizhen and published in the ...

'' pharmacopeia's entry for ''long'' "dragon" describes (Read 1934:301) "a pearl under its chin", and Read notes,

The constellation Draco has the appearance of guarding and encircling the northern pole which is the centre of the movement of the fixed stars. The Chinese paintings of the Dragon straining after a mystical "Pearl" undoubtedly relate to this relationship to the North Pole Star, though other explanations are given for this. (1934:306-7)

''Tianlong'' "Heavenly Dragon" is the 3rd star in ''Fangxiu'' "

Room (Chinese constellation) The Room mansion (房宿, pinyin: Fáng Xiù) is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellation Traditional Chinese astronomy has a system of dividing the celestial sphere into asterisms or constellations, known as "officials" ...

" and corresponds to the Western constellation

Scorpius Scorpius is a zodiac constellation located in the Southern celestial hemisphere, where it sits near the center of the Milky Way, between Libra to the west and Sagittarius to the east. Scorpius is an ancient constellation that pre-dates the Gr ...

. "Room" is the 4th of the Twenty-eight mansions in the Azure Dragon, which is one of the celestial

Four Symbols The Four Symbols (, literally meaning "four images"), are four mythological creatures appearing among the Chinese constellations along the ecliptic, and viewed as the guardians of the four cardinal directions. These four creatures are also ref ...

Wolfram Eberhard Wolfram Eberhard (March 17, 1909 – August 15, 1989) was a professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley focused on Western, Central and Eastern Asian societies. Biography Born in Potsdam, German Empire, he had a strong ...

(1968:243) notes, "When the dragon star appeared in the sky it was customary to make a sacrifice supplicating for rain," and this springtime dragon festival occurs on the 2nd day of the 2nd month.

Centipede

The ''Bencao Gangmu'' entry for ''wugong'' " centipede" lists ''tianlong'' "heavenly dragon" as an alternate name.

Li Shizhen Li Shizhen (July 3, 1518 – 1593), courtesy name Dongbi, was a Chinese acupuncturist, herbalist, naturalist, pharmacologist, physician, and writer of the Ming dynasty. He is the author of a 27-year work, found in the ''Compendium o ...

's commentary reviews earlier Chinese commentators and texts. The ''

Zhuangzi Zhuangzi may refer to: * ''Zhuangzi'' (book) (莊子), an ancient Chinese collection of anecdotes and fables, one of the foundational texts of Daoism **Zhuang Zhou Zhuang Zhou (), commonly known as Zhuangzi (; ; literally "Master Zhuang"; als ...

'' (2, tr. Mair 1994:20–21) says, "People eat meat, deer eat grass, [] giant centipedes savor snakes, hawks and crows relish mice." The ''Huainanzi'' (17, tr. Carr 1990:111) says, "The [] Teng (mythology), ascending snake can drift in the mist, yet it is endangered by the [] centipede." The ''Erya'' dictionary (15) defines ''jili'' "thorns; puncture vine; bramble" as ''jieju'' "centipede; cricket"; which Guo Pu's commentary says resembles a ''huang'' "locust" with a large abdomen, long horns, and which eats snake brains. Although ''jieju'' can also mean ''xishuai'' "cricket", Li concludes it means the snake-controlling ''wugong'' "centipede" that the ''Fangyan'' dictionary (11) also calls ''maxian'' "horse/giant millipede" or ''juqu'' . According to Eberhard (1968:159), centipedes were snake predators, and "the enmity between snake and centipede occurs in many folktales and customs."

Buddhist usages

Chinese Buddhist Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, ...

terminology, ''tianlong'' means either "heavenly

Nāga The Nagas (IAST: ''nāga''; Devanāgarī: नाग) are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...

s (dragon gods)" or " Devas (heavenly gods) and Nāgas". First, ''tianlong'' means "heavenly dragon/nāga" as the first of four nāga classes in

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

tradition (tr. Visser 1913:21-2). # ''Heavenly Nāgas'' (), who guard the Heavenly Palace and carry it so that it does not fall. # '' Divine Nāgas'' (), who benefit mankind by causing the clouds to rise and the rain to fall. # '' Earthly Nāgas'' () who drain off rivers (remove the obstructions) and open sluices (outlets). # '' Nāgas who are lying hidden'' () who guard the treasures of the "

Cakravartin A ''chakravarti'' ( sa, चक्रवर्तिन्, ''cakravartin''; pi, cakkavatti; zh, 轉輪王, ''Zhuǎnlúnwáng'', "Wheel-Turning King"; , ''Zhuǎnlún Shèngwáng'', "Wheel-Turning Sacred King"; ja, 転輪王, ''Tenrin'ō'' ...

" () and blesses mankind. Hangzhou Tianlong "Heavenly Dragon from

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whic ...

" was a 9th-century Chan Buddhist master who enlightened Juzhi Yizhi by holding up one finger. The ''

Blue Cliff Record The ''Blue Cliff Record'' () is a collection of Chan Buddhist kōans originally compiled in Song China in 1125, during the reign of Emperor Huizong, and then expanded into its present form by Chan master Yuanwu Keqin (1063–1135; ).K. Sekid ...

'' (tr. Cleary 1977:123-8) calls this "Chu Ti's One-Finger Ch'an"

kōan A (; , ; ko, 화두, ; vi, công án) is a story, dialogue, question, or statement which is used in Zen practice to provoke the "great doubt" and to practice or test a student's progress in Zen. Etymology The Japanese term is the Sino-J ...

. Second, ''tianlong'' translates

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

''deva-nāga'' "Devas and Nāgas", the 2 highest categories of the ''Tianlong Babu'' "8 kinds of beings that protect the Dharma". The lower 6 categories are ''yecha'' "

Yaksha The yakshas ( sa, यक्ष ; pi, yakkha, i=yes) are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in ...

; cannibalistic devils; nature spirits", ''gantapo'' "

Gandharva A gandharva () is a member of a class of celestial beings in Dharmic religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, whose males are divine performers such as musicians and singers, and the females are divine dancers. In Hinduism, they are ...

; half-ghost music masters", ''axiuluo'' "

Asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...

; evil and violent demigods", ''jialouluo'' "

Garuda Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda ...

; golden bird-like demons that eat dragons", ''jinnaluo'' "

Kinnara A kinnara is a celestial musician, part human and part bird, who are musically paradigmatic lovers, in Hinduism and Buddhism. In these traditions, the ''kinnaras'' (male) and ''kinnaris'' (female counterpart) are two of the most beloved mytho ...

; half-human half-bird celestial music masters", and ''maholuluojia'' "Mahoraga; earthly snake spirits". ''Tianlong Babu'' is also the title of a 1963

wuxia ( ), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although is traditionally a form of historical fiction, its popularity has caused it to be adapted ...

novel by Jin Yong, translated as English ''

Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils ''Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils'' is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). It was first serialised concurrently from 3 September 1963 to 27 May 1966 in the newspapers ''Ming Pao'' in Hong Kong and ''Nanyang Siang Pau'' in Singapore. It has been ...

''. This Chinese title is further used by movies, television series, and a

Massively multiplayer online role-playing game A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

Proper names

Tianlong is a common name in Standard Chinese. Tianlongshan "Heavenly Dragon Mountain", which is located near Taiyuan in Shanxi, is famous for the Tianlongshan Shiku Grottoes (). The commercial name Tianlong "Heavenly Dragon" is used by companies,

hotels A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

, and gungfu schools.

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

''Tenryū'' or , a

loanword A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because t ...

from Chinese ''Tianlong'', is a comparable proper name. A famous example is ''

Tenryū-ji , formally known as , is the head temple of the Tenryū-ji branch of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism, located in Susukinobaba-chō, Ukyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan. The temple was founded by Ashikaga Takauji in 1339, primarily to venerate Gautama Budd ...

'' "Heavenly Dragon Temple" in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

, which is headquarters of the Tenryū-ji Branch of the

Rinzai The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-shū, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (along with Sōtō and Ōbaku). The Chinese Linji school of Chan was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan ...

sect. Tenryū place names include a waterway (

Tenryū River The is a river in central Honshū, Japan. With a length of , it is Japan's ninth longest river. Its source is Lake Suwa in the Kiso Mountains near Okaya in Nagano Prefecture. It then flows through Aichi Prefecture and western Shizuoka Prefect ...

), a city (

Tenryū, Shizuoka was a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Tenryū was founded on November 3, 1958. On April 1, 2005, the city had an estimated population of 22,643 and a density of 124.65 persons per km2. The total area was 181.65 km2. It ...

), and a village (

Tenryū, Nagano is a village located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the village had an estimated population of 1,275 in 712 households, and a population density of 12.1 persons per km². The total area of the village is . Geography Tenryū is located in mount ...

). Further examples include

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...

names ( Japanese cruiser Tenryū ), and personal names ( Genichiro Tenryu , a wrestler).

References

{{reflist *Carr, Michael. 1990
"Chinese Dragon Names"
''Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area'' 13.2:87–189. *Cleary, Thomas and J. C. Cleary. 1977. ''The Blue Cliff Record''. Shambhala. *Eberhard, Wolfram. 1968. ''The Local Cultures of South and East China''. E. J. Brill. *Mair, Victor H. 1990. ''Tao Te Ching: The Classic Book of Integrity and the Way, by Lao Tzu; an entirely new translation based on the recently discovered Ma-wang-tui manuscripts''. Bantam Books. *Read, Bernard E. 1934. "Chinese Materia Medica VII; Dragons and Snakes," ''Peking Natural History Bulletin'' 8.4:279–362. *Visser, Marinus Willern de. 1913
''The Dragon in China and Japan''
J. Müller. * Wilhelm, Richard and Cary F. Baynes. 1967. ''The I Ching or Book of Changes''. Bollingen Series XIX, Princeton University Press. *Yuan, Haiwang. 2006. '' The Magic Lotus Lantern and Other Tales from the Han Chinese''. Libraries Unlimited. Chinese astrology Chinese dragons fr:Tianlong ja:天竜 pl:Tianlong zh:天龙