qiulong

This Chinese dragon name can be pronounced qiu or jiu and written {{lang|zh-hant|虯}} or {{lang|zh-hant|虬}}.

The variant Chinese characters for the qiu or jiu dragon are {{linktext|lang=zh|虯}} and {{linktext|lang=zh|虬}}, which combine the "insect radical" {{linktext|lang=zh|虫}} with phonetics of {{zhp|p=jiu|c={{linktext|丩}}|tr=connect}} and {{zhp|p=yin |c={{linktext|乚}}|tr=hidden}}. This {{lang|zh-hant|虫}} radical is typically used in Chinese characters for insects, worms, reptiles, and dragons (e.g., {{zhp|p=shen|c=蜃}}, {{zhp|p=jiao|c=蛟}}, and {{zhp|p=hong|c=虹}}). Compare the word jiu ({{linktext|lang=zh|糾}} or {{linktext|lang=zh|糺}} "twist; entangle; unite") that is written with the "silk radical" {{linktext|lang=zh|絲}} and the same alternate phonetics as qiu {{lang|zh-hant|虯}} or {{lang|zh-hant|虬}}.

Qiu {{lang|zh-hant|虬}} or {{lang|zh-hant|虯}} is also an uncommon Chinese surname. For example, Qiuranke Zhuan {{lang|zh-hant|虯髯客傳}} "The Legend of the Curly-whiskered Guest" is a story by the Tang dynasty writer Du Guangting {{lang|zh-hant|杜光庭}} (850–933 CE), and Qiu Zhong {{lang|zh-hant|虬仲}} was the courtesy name of the Qing dynasty painter Li Fangying.

In Japanese, the kanji "Chinese characters" {{lang|ja|虬}} or {{lang|ja|虯}} are sometimes used for the mizuchi {{lang|ja|蛟}} "river dragon".

Sinological linguists have proposed several etymologies for the qiu or jiu {{lang|zh-hant|虯}} dragon.

Bernhard Karlgren reconstructed Old Chinese pronunciations of qiu < *g'yŏg or jiu < *kyŏg for {{zhi|c=虯|tr=horned dragon}} and {{zhi|c=觓|tr=horn-shaped; long and curved}}.{{harvp|Karlgren|1957|p=274}} This latter word combines the "horn radical" {{linktext|lang=zh|角}} and {{lang|zh-hant|虯}}'s jiu {{lang|zh-hant|丩}} phonetic.

Carr follows Karlgren's reconstructions and suggests qiu < *g'yŏg or jiu < *kyŏg {{lang|zh-hant|虯}} is "part of a 'twist; coil; wrap' word family"{{harvp|Carr|1990|pp=151-2}} that includes:

• qiu < *g'yôg {{linktext|lang=zh|觩}} "long and curved; curled up horn"
• jiu < *klyŏg {{linktext|lang=zh|樛}} "curving branch; twist"
• miu < *mlyŏg or jiu < *klyŏg {{linktext|lang=zh|繆}} "bind; wind around; wrap; twist"
• liu < *glyôg or lu < *glyôk {{linktext|lang=zh|勠}} "join forces; unite"
• jiao < *klôg {{linktext|lang=zh|膠}} "glue; unite"
• liao < *glyôg {{linktext|lang=zh|摎}} "tie around; strangle"

This "twisting; coiling" etymology can explain both the meanings "horned dragon; twisted horns" and "curling; wriggling" below.

Schuessler reconstructs Old Chinese qiu < *giu or jiu < *kiu for {{lang|zh-hant|觓}} or {{lang|zh-hant|觩}} "horn-shaped; long and curved" and {{zhi|c=虯|tr=horned dragon}},{{harvp|Schuessler|2007|p=435}} and cites Coblin's comparison of "horned dragon" with Written Tibetan klu "Nāga, serpent spirit".{{harvp|Coblin|1986|p=130}} Schuessler compares jiu < *kiuʔ {{lang|zh-hant|糾}} "to twist, plait" and concludes the "most likely etymology is 'twisting, wriggling'".

Chinese dictionaries give three qiu {{lang|zh-hant|虯}} or {{lang|zh-hant|虬}} meanings: "dragon without horns", "dragon with horns", and "curling; coiling".

Several Chinese classic texts and commentaries from the Han dynasty identified {{zhp|p=qiu|c=虯}} as a "hornless dragon; dragon without horns", which is interpreted as "young dragon; immature dragon".

The 2nd century BCE Chuci uses {{zhp|p=qiu|c=虬}} seven times, which is more frequently than any other classical text. The standard Sibu Beiyao {{lang|zh-hant|四部備要}} edition gives the character as {{lang|zh-hant|虬}} instead of {{lang|zh-hant|虯}}. Qiu is a dragon name in four contexts. The first uses {{zhp|p=yuqiu|c=玉虬|tr=jade hornless-dragon}}; "I yoked a team of jade dragons to a phoenix-figured car, And waited for the wind to come, to soar up on my journey."Li Sao, {{harvp|Hawkes|1985|p=73}} The second uses {{zhp|p=qiulong|c=虬龍|tr=hornless dragon}}; "Where are the hornless dragons which carry bears on their backs for sport?"Heavenly Questions, {{harvp|Hawkes|1985|p=128}} In both contexts, commentary of Wang Yi {{lang|zh-hant|王逸}} (d. 158 CE) says qiu means "hornless dragon" and long means "horned dragon". The third uses {{zhp|p=qingqiu|c=青虬|tr=green dragon}} referring to the legendary Shun as Chong Hua {{lang|zh-hant|重華}}; "With a team of azure dragons, white serpents in the traces, I rode with Chong Hua in the Garden of Jasper."{{lang|zh-hant|涉江}} Crossing the River, {{harvp|Hawkes|1985|p=160}} Wang notes qiu and chi are types of long "dragons". The fourth uses {{zhp|p=qiu|c=虬}} alone; "With team of dragons I mount the heavens, In ivory chariot borne aloft."{{lang|zh-hant|通路}}, {{harvp|Hawkes|1985|p=271}}

The 121 CE Shuowen Jiezi dictionary gives inconsistent definitions of {{zhp|p=qiu|c=虯}}. Some early editions define {{zhi|out=c|c=龍無角者|tr=a dragon without horns}}, while later editions define {{zhi|out=c|c=龍子有角者|tr=a young dragon with horns}}. Carr notes the discrepancy of three Shuowen definitions for "hornless dragon": {{zhp|p=qiu|c=虯}}, {{zhp|p=jiao|c=蛟}}, and {{zhp|p=chi|c={{linktext|螭}}}}.{{harvp|Carr |1990||pp=93-4}} The Shuowen Jiezi scholar Zhu Junsheng {{lang|zh-hant|朱駿聲}} (1788–1834 CE) explains that male {{zhp|p=long|c=龍}} "dragons" have horns and female ones do not, and among young dragons, {{zhp|p=jiao|c=蛟}} has one horn, {{zhp|p=qiu|c=虯}} has two, and {{zhp|p=chi|c=螭}} is hornless.

A few later sources, such as the c. 1011 CE Guangyun rime dictionary, concur with early Shuowen Jiezi editions and define {{zhp|p=qiu|c=虯}} as "hornless dragon", but most dictionaries define a contrast set between {{zhp|p=qiu|c=虯}} "horned dragon" and {{zhp|p=chi|c=螭}} "hornless dragon".

Image:Dragon gods - Project Gutenberg eText 15250.jpg riding horned dragons.{{cite book | first=E. T. C. | last=Werner|author-link=E. T. C. Werner| year=1922 | title=Myths & Legends of China | publisher=George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd. | location=New York | url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15250 | access-date=2007-03-14 }} (Project Gutenberg eText 15250)]]

The c. 139 BCE Huainanzi "Peering into the Obscure" chapter (6) mentions {{zhp|p=qingqiu|c=青虯|tr=green horned-dragon}} twice. First, "The Fable of the Dragons and the Mud-Eels" uses it with {{zhp|p=chichi|c=赤螭|tr=red hornless-dragon}}; "When the red hornless dragon and the green horned dragon roamed the land of Chi {{lang|zh-hant|冀}}, the sky was limpid and the earth undisturbed."{{harvp|Le Blanc|1985|p=144}} The commentary of Gao Yu {{lang|zh-hant|高淯}} (fl. 205 CE) notes qingqiu and chichi are types of {{zhp|p=long|c=龍|tr=dragons}}, but without mentioning horns. Second, a description of Fu Xi and Nüwa, who are represented as having dragon tails, uses qingqiu with {{zhp|p=yinglong|c=應龍|tr=winged dragon}}; "They rode the thunder chariot, using winged dragons as the inner pair and green dragons as the outer pair."{{harvp|Le Blanc|1985|pp=161-2}}

The c. 100 BCE Shiji "Records of the Grand Historian" biography of Sima Xiangru quotes his {{zhp|p=fu|c=賦}} poem entitled {{zhp|p=Zixu|c=子虛|tr=Sir Fantasy}}. Like the Huaiananzi, it contrasts {{zhp|p=qingqiu|c=青虯|tr=green horned-dragon}} with {{zhp|p=chichi|c=赤螭}|tr=red hornless-dragon}}, which Watson translates "horned dragon" and "hornless dragon".{{harvp|Sima Quan|loc=vol 2: 309, 312}}

Ge Hong's 4th century CE {{zhp|p=Baopuzi|c=抱朴子}} has four references. It mentions: {{zhp|p=jiu|c=虬}} "As to the flying to the sky of the k'iu of the pools, this is his union with the clouds", {{zhp|p=shenjiu|c=神虬|tr=divine horned-dragon}} "If a pond inhabited by fishes and gavials is drained off, the divine k'iu go away", and {{zhp|p=qingjiu|c=青虬|tr=green horned-dragon}} "The ts'ui k'iu (kingfisher-k'iu) has no wings and yet flies upwards to the sky", "Place the shape (i.e. an image of this dragon) in a tray, and the kingfisher-k'iu (shall) descend in a dark vapoury haze".{{lang|zh-hant|外篇}}, {{harvp|Visser|1913|pp=73-4}}

The c. 230 CE Guangya dictionary defines {{zhp|p=qiu|c=虯}} (written with a rare {{linktext|lang=zh|黽}} "frog"-radical graphic variant) as "horned dragon" and {{zhp|p=chi|c=螭}} as "hornless dragon". This semantic contrast is repeated in later dictionaries such as the 997 CE Longkan Shoujian and the c. 1080 CE Piya, which says: "If a dragon has scales, he is called kiao-lung ({{lang|zh-hant|蛟龍}}); if wings, ying-lung ({{lang|zh-hant|應龍}}); if a horn, k'iu-lung ({{lang|zh-hant|虬龍}}); and if he has no horn, he is called ch'i-lung ({{lang|zh-hant|螭龍}})."{{harvp|Visser|1913|p=73}}

In traditional Chinese art, dragons are commonly represented with two horns. According to the 2nd century CE Qian fu lun, the dragon's "horns resemble those of a stag".{{harvp|Visser|1913|p=70}} The 1578 CE Bencao Gangmu materia medica prescribes {{zhp|p=longjue|c=龍角|tr=dragon horn}}, "For convulsions, fevers, diarrhea with fever and hardened belly. Taken continuously it lightens the body, enlightens the soul and prolongs life."{{harvp|Read|1934|p=9}}, "fossilized horns of the Chalicotherium sinense")

Qiu can mean "curling; twisting; coiling; wriggling; writhing" in Chinese compounds. For instance:

• {{zhp|p=qiupan|c=虬蟠|tr=curled up like a dragon; curling and twisting (esp. tree roots)}}
• {{zhp|p=jiaoqiu|c=蛟虬|tr=coil like a dragon}}
• {{zhp|p=qiuxu|c=虬鬚|tr=curly beard; curly mustache}}
• {{zhp|p=qiuran|c=虯髯|tr=curly whiskers}}

Besides the four "hornless dragon" examples above, three Chuci contexts use qiu in words describing dragons "coiling; wriggling; writhing". Two use {{zhp|p=youqiu|c=蚴虬}} to describe the {{zhp|p=canglong|c=蒼龍}} Azure Dragon constellation: "I rode in the ivory chariot of the Great Unity: The coiling Green Dragon ran in the left-hand traces; The White Tiger made the right hand of my team";{{lang|zh-hant|惜誓}}/"Sorrow for Troth Betrayed", cf. {{zhp|p=qingqiu|c=青虯|tr=green horned-dragon}} above, {{harvp|Hawkes|1985|p=240}} "To hang at my girdle the coiling Green Dragon, To wear at my belt the sinuous rainbow serpent."{{lang|zh-hant|遠逝}}, {{harvp|Hawkes|1985|p=290}} One uses {{zhp|p=liuqiu|c=蟉虬}} with {{zhp|p=chi|c=螭|tr=hornless dragon}}: "They lined water monsters up to join them in the dance: How their bodies coiled and writhed in undulating motion!"{{lang|zh-hant|遠遊}}, {{harvp|Hawkes|1985|p=198}}

Image:Marduk and pet.jpgn cylinder seal.]]

The ancient Chinese {{zhp|p=jiu|c=虯|tr=horned dragon}} is analogous with the Mountain Horned Dragon lizard and several legendary creatures in Comparative mythology.

Assuming trans-cultural diffusion, MacKenzie suggests that the Chinese "horned-dragon, or horned-serpent" derives from the Egyptian Osiris "water-serpent".{{harvp|Mackenzie|1923|p=54}} The Chinese Hui people have a myth about a silver-horned dragon that controls rainfall.{{harvp|Li|Luckert|1994|p=104}}

In Babylonian mythology, the deity Marduk supposedly rode a horned dragon when he defeated Tiamat, and it became his emblem. In Persian mythology, the hero Garshasp killed an Aži Sruvara "horned dragon". In Greek mythology, the two-headed Amphisbaena dragon was represented with horns.

{{reflist}}

• {{cite journal |last=Carr |first=Michael |date=1990 |url=http://sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf4/carr1990chinese.pdf |title=Chinese Dragon Names |journal=Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=87–189}}
• {{cite book |last=Coblin |first=W. South |date=1986 |title=A Sinologist's Handlist of Sino-Tibetan Lexical Comparisons |publisher=Nettetal}}
• {{cite book |translator-last=Hawkes |translator-first=David |date=1985 |title=The Songs of the South: An Anthology of Ancient Chinese Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets |publisher=Penguin |ref={{harvid|Hawkes|1985}}}}
• {{cite book |last=Karlgren |first=Bernhard |date=1957 |title=Grammata Serica Recensa |publisher=Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities}}
• {{cite book |last=Le Blanc |first=Charles |date=1985 |title=Huai-nan Tzu: Philosophical Synthesis in Early Han Thought: The Idea of Resonance (Kan-Ying) With a Translation and Analysis of Chapter Six |publisher=Hong Kong University Press}}
• {{cite book |last=Li |first=Shujiang |first2=Karl W. |last2=Luckert |date=1994 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gvPOAPar9XUC&pg |title=Mythology and Folklore of the Hui, a Muslim Chinese People |publisher=SUNY Press}}
• {{cite book |last=Mackenzie|first=Donald A. |date=1923 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vzbeLy4TBa4C&dq |title=Myths of China and Japan |publisher=Gresham}}
• {{cite journal |last=Read |first=Bernard E. |date=1934 |title=Chinese Materia Medica VII; Dragons and Snakes |journal=Peking Natural History Bulletin |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=279–362}}
• {{cite book |last=Schuessler |first=Axel |date=2007 |title=ABC Etymological Dictionary of Old Chinese |publisher=University of Hawaii Press}}
• {{cite book |last=Visser |first=Marinus Willern de |date=1913 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081026155019/http://fax.libs.uga.edu/GR830xD7xV8/ |archive-date=October 26, 2008 |url=http://fax.libs.uga.edu/GR830xD7xV8/ |title=The Dragon in China and Japan |publisher=J. Müller}}
• {{cite book |translator-last=Watson |translator-first=Burton |date=1993 |author=Sima Qian |orig-year=1st century BC |title=Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn= 9780231081689|ref={{harvid|Sima Quan}}}}

• [https://archive.today/20130415032737/http://www.internationalscientific.org/CharacterASP/CharacterEtymology.aspx?characterInput=+%E8%99%AF&submitButton1=Etymology {{lang|zh-hant|虯}} entry], Chinese Etymology
• [http://www.kangxizidian.com/kangxi/1076.gif {{lang|zh-hant|虯}} and {{lang|zh-hant|虬}} entry page], 1716 CE Kangxi Dictionary

Category:Chinese dragons