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 ...

, the shen or chen () is a

shapeshifting In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, Magic (paranormal), sorcery, Incantation, ...

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

shellfish Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater envir ...

-type

sea monster Sea monsters are beings from folklore believed to dwell in the sea and often imagined to be of immense size. Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or tentacled beasts. They can be slimy and scaly and are of ...

believed to create

mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meanin ...

Meanings

The

Chinese classics 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-Confucian ...

use the word ''shèn'' to mean "a large shellfish" that was associated with funerals and "an aquatic monster" that could change its shape, which was later associated with "mirages".

Large shellfish

The word used to mean a

, or mollusk, identified as an

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...

, or

giant clam The giant clams are the members of the clam genus '' Tridacna'' that are the largest living bivalve mollusks. There are actually several species of "giant clams" in the genus '' Tridacna'', which are often misidentified for ''Tridacna gigas'', ...

such as the

Pearl of Lao Tzu The Pearl of Lao Tzu (also referred to as Pearl of Lao Tze) was once considered the largest known pearl. The pearl was found in the Palawan sea, which surrounds the island of Palawan in the Philippines, and was found by a Filipino diver. It is not ...

. While early

Chinese dictionaries Chinese dictionaries date back over two millennia to the Han dynasty, which is a significantly longer lexicographical history than any other language. There are hundreds of dictionaries for the Chinese language, and this article discusses some of ...

treat ''shèn'' as a general term for "

mollusca Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

", the '' Erya'' defines it as a large ''yáo'' () "shellfish", "clam", "scallop", or "

nacre Nacre ( , ), also known as mother of pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is f ...

". The ''

Shuowen Jiezi ''Shuowen Jiezi'' () is an ancient Chinese dictionary from the Han dynasty. Although not the first comprehensive Chinese character dictionary (the '' Erya'' predates it), it was the first to analyze the structure of the characters and to give ...

'', an early second-century dictionary of the

Eastern Han 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 ...

, defines it a large ''gé'' (), meaning "clam", "oyster", "shellfish", or "

bivalve Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

". Chinese classics variously record that ''shèn'' was salted as a food (in the '' Zuo Zhuan''), named a "lacquered wine barrel" used in sacrifices to earth spirits (in the '' Rites of Zhou''), and its shells were used to make hoes (in the ''

Huainanzi The ''Huainanzi'' is an ancient Chinese text that consists of a collection of essays that resulted from a series of scholarly debates held at the court of Liu An, Prince of Huainan, sometime before 139. The ''Huainanzi'' blends Daoist, Confuci ...

'') and receptacles (in 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 ...

''). They also record two ''shèn-'' compounds related with funerals: ''shènchē'' (, with cart or carriage) "hearse" (''Rites of Zhou'',

Guo Pu Guo Pu (; AD 276–324), courtesy name Jingchun () was a Chinese historian, poet, and writer during the Eastern Jin period, and is best known as one of China's foremost commentators on ancient texts. Guo was a Taoist mystic, geomancer, collector ...

's commentary notes ''shèn'' means large, shell-like wheel rims) and ''shèntàn'' () "oyster-lime; white clay", which was especially used as mortar for mausoleum walls (''Zuo Zhuan'', ''Rites of Zhou'').

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 f ...

describes the ''shèn'' mussel as "a strange animal", and mentions the ''Rites of Zhou''s ''zhǎngshèn'' () "manager of ''shèn''", who was a special government official in charge of acquiring them for royal sacrifices and funerals. "It is not clear why these mussels were placed into the tombs," he admits, possibly either as a sacrifice to the earth god (compare ''shèn'' below) or "the shell lime was used simply for a purifying and protective effect."

Edward H. Schafer Edward Hetsel Schafer (23 August 1913 – 9 February 1991) was an American historian, sinologist, and writer noted for his expertise on the Tang Dynasty, and was a professor of Chinese at University of California, Berkeley for 35 years. Sc ...

, who translates ''shèn'' as "clam-monster", traces its linguistic evolution from originally designating a "large bivalve mollusc":

Aquatic dragon

Second, ''shèn'' meant the "clam-monster" that miraculously transformed shapes. The ''

'' defines ''gé'' (using a graphic variant with the ''hé'' phonetic above the radical) as the "category of ''shèn''", which includes three creatures that transform within the sea. A ''que'' "sparrow" transforms into a ''gé'' or ''muli'' "oyster" in the dialect of

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

, after 1000 (commentators say 10) years; a ''yān'' "swallow" transforms into a ''hǎigé'' (with "sea") after 100 years; and a ''fulei'' or ''fuyi'' "bat" transforms into a ''kuígé'' after it gets old. These kinds of legendary animal "transformations" (''huà'' "transform, change, convert, turn into; metamorphose; take the form of", see the ''

Huashu The ''Huashu'' (), or The ''Book of Transformations'', is a 930 CE Daoist classic about ''neidan'' "internal alchemy", psychological subjectivity, and spiritual transformation. In the description of Poul Andersen, The ''Huashu'' is a unique philos ...

'') are a common theme in Chinese folklore, particularly for dragons like the ''shèn''. The "dragon's transformations are unlimited", and "it is no wonder that Chinese literature abounds with stories about dragons which had assumed the shape of men, animals, or objects". The ''Yuèlíng'' "Monthly Commands" chapter of the ''

Book of Rites The ''Book of Rites'', also known as the ''Liji'', is a collection of texts describing the social forms, administration, and ceremonial rites of the Zhou dynasty as they were understood in the Warring States and the early Han periods. The ''Book o ...

'' lists sparrows and pheasants transforming into shellfish during the traditional Chinese

lunisolar calendar A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, combining lunar calendars and solar calendars. The date of Lunisolar calendars therefore indicates both the Moon phase and the time of the solar year, that is the position of the Sun in the Ea ...

. In Shuangjiang the last month of autumn, "[''jue'' , a rebus character for ''que'' "sparrow"] Small birds enter the great water and become [''gé'' ] mollusks", and in ( Lidong) the first month of winter, "[''zhi'' "pheasant"] Pheasants enter the great water and become [''shen'' ] large mollusks." While many other classical texts (e.g., ''

Lüshi Chunqiu The ''Lüshi Chunqiu'', also known in English as ''Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals'', is an encyclopedic Chinese classic text compiled around 239 BC under the patronage of the Qin Dynasty Chancellor Lü Buwei. In the evaluation of Michae ...

'', ''Yi Zhoushu'', ''Huainanzi'') repeat this seasonal legend about pheasants that transform in ''dàshui'' "great (bodies of) water; flood", the ''Da Dai Liji'' and '' Guoyu'' say they transform in the

Huai River The Huai River (), Postal Map Romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...

. According to

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 phen ...

, swallows are a favorite food of both ''lóng'' and ''shèn'' dragons. Read explains, "Hence if people eat swallow's flesh they should not go out and cross a river (dragons will eat them if they do)." Eberhard equates the ''shàn'' with the ''

jiaolong ''Jiaolong'' () or ''jiao'' (''chiao'', ''kiao'') is a dragon in Chinese mythology, often defined as a "scaled dragon"; it is hornless according to certain scholars and said to be aquatic or river-dwelling. It may have referred to a species of c ...

'' "flood dragon; crocodile" and compares tales of both these dragons attacking cattle in rivers. The 1596 ''

Compendium of Materia Medica 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 ...

'' describes the ''shèn'' under the ''jiaolong'' entry with quotes from the ''Yueling'' and Lu Dian's ''

Piya The ''Piya'' (; "Increased ra") was a Chinese dictionary compiled by Song Dynasty scholar Lu Dian ( 陸佃/陆佃, 1042-1102). He wrote this ''Erya'' supplement along with his ''Erya Xinyi'' (爾雅新義 "New Exegesis of the ''Erya''") comment ...

''.

Mirage

The shape-changing ''shèn'' is believed to cause a

or Fata Morgana. ''Shèn-'' synonyms meaning "mirage" include ''shènlóu'' (with "multi-storied building", "clam castle" or "high house of the clam-monsters"), ''shènqì'' , ''shènqìlóu'' , ''hǎishì shènlóu'' , and ''shènjǐng'' . In

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 ...

and

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

, ''shinkirō''/''singiru'' is the usual word for "mirage". Compare the association between the ''lóng'' "dragon" and "waterspouts", evident in words like ''lóngjuǎn'' (lit. "dragon roll") "waterspout" and ''lóngjuǎnfēng'' ("dragon roll wind") "cyclone; tornado"

Characters

Many

Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

are phono-semantic compounds, written with a

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 that indicates pronunciation with a

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

or signifier that suggests semantic meaning. ''Shens standard and antiquated characters combine the character ''chen'' ("

Dragon (zodiac) The Dragon, also known as Loong, () is the fifth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Dragon is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 辰, pronounced ''chen''. ...

duodecimal The duodecimal system (also known as base 12, dozenal, or, rarely, uncial) is a positional notation numeral system using twelve as its base. The number twelve (that is, the number written as "12" in the decimal numerical system) is instead wri ...

5th of the 12

Earthly Branches The twelve Earthly Branches or Terrestrial Branches are a Chinese ordering system used throughout East Asia in various contexts, including its ancient dating system, astrological traditions, zodiac and ordinals. Origin This system was built ...

; period from 7-9 AM; time period; occasion; star; celestial body") phonetic with the ''chong'' ("insect; reptile") radical. A variety of other characters utilize this phonetic ''chen'' , which the ''

Wenlin Wenlin Software for Learning Chinese () is a software application designed by Tom Bishop, who is also president of the Wenlin Institute. It is based on his experience of the needs of learners of the Chinese language, predominantly Mandarin. It co ...

'' says "may have depicted an ancient kind of hoe" in ancient

oracle bone script Oracle bone script () is an ancient form of Chinese characters that were engraved on oracle bonesanimal bones or Turtle shell#Plastron, turtle plastrons used in pyromancy, pyromantic divination. Oracle bone script was used in the late 2nd millen ...

(compare to the same work's definition of ''nou'' "hoe; rake"). Some etymologically significant examples include: *''chen'' (with

radical 72 Radical 72 or radical sun () meaning " sun" or "day" is one of the 34 Kangxi radicals (214 radicals in total) composed of 4 strokes. In the ''Kangxi Dictionary'', there are 453 characters (out of 49,030) to be found under this radical. is also ...

, , "sun") = "dragon star" *''zhen'' (with

radical 173 Radical 173 or radical rain () meaning "rain" is one of the 9 Kangxi radicals (214 radicals in total) composed of 8 strokes. This radical character transforms into when used as an upper component. In the ''Kangxi Dictionary'', there are 298 char ...

, , "rain") = "thunder; quake" (also a bagua trigram ☳ "The Arousing") *''zhen'' (with

radical 64 Radical 64 or radical hand () meaning " hand" is one of the 34 Kangxi radicals (214 radicals in total) composed of 4 strokes. When appearing as a left-side component, this radical is almost always written as (notable exceptions: , although Jap ...

,"hand") = "shake; stimulate" *''zhen'' (with

radical 38 Radical 38 or radical woman () meaning "woman" or "female" is one of the 31 Kangxi radicals (214 radicals total) composed of three strokes. In the ''Kangxi Dictionary'', there are 681 characters (out of 49,030) to be found under this radical. i ...

, , "woman") = "pregnant" *''shen'' (with

radical 130 Radical 130 or radical meat () meaning "meat" is one of the 29 Kangxi radicals (214 radicals in total) composed of 6 strokes. When used as a left component, the radical character transforms into in Simplified Chinese and Japanese or in modern T ...

, , "meat") = "sacrificial meat" This ''chen'' or ''chenxing'' "dragon star" is an asterism in the traditional

Chinese constellations 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 Hellenistic t ...

, a morning star within the Azure Dragon that is associated with east and spring. Specifically, the "dragon star" is in the 5th and 6th lunar Twenty-eight mansions, with its ''xin'' "

Heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

" and ''wei'' "

Tail The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, r ...

" corresponding to the Western

constellations A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the earliest constellation ...

Antares Antares is the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius. It has the Bayer designation α Scorpii, which is Latinised to Alpha Scorpii. Often referred to as "the heart of the scorpion", Antares is flanked by σ Scorpii and τ S ...

and

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 Gre ...

Etymologies

Michael Carr etymologically hypothesizes that the ''chen'' < *''dyən'' phonetic series (using

Bernhard Karlgren Klas Bernhard Johannes Karlgren (; 15 October 1889 – 20 October 1978) was a Swedish sinologist and linguist who pioneered the study of Chinese historical phonology using modern comparative methods. In the early 20th century, Karlgren conducte ...

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...

reconstructions) split between *''dyən'' "dragon" and *''tyən'' "thunder". The former words include aquatic ''shen'' < *''dyən'' "large shellfish; sea dragon", celestial ''chen'' < *''dyən'' "dragon star", and possibly through dragon-emperor association, ''chen'' < *''dyən'' "imperial palace; mansion". The latter ones, reflecting the belief that dragons cause rainfall and thunder, include ''zhen'' < *''tyən'' "thunder; shake", ''zhen'' < *''tyən'' "shake; scare", and ''ting'' < *''d'ieng'' "thunderbolt". Axel Schuessler provides a different set of reconstructions and etymologies: *''shèn'', ''chèn'' < *''dəns'' "'Clam, oyster' … 'some kind of dragon'." *''chén'' < *''dən'' "The 5th of the Earthly branches, identified with the dragon … cf. 'some kind of dragon'", which might be a loan from one of the

Austroasiatic languages The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are t ...

(proto-Austroasiatic *''k-lən'' "python"). *''chén'' < *''dən'' or "Time when life begins to stir: (1) 'early morning' … (2) "start of growing/agricultural season in the 3rd month; heavenly bodies that mark that time' … 'heavenly body', 'time'." *''zhèn'' < *''təns'' or "('To stir, be stirring':) 'to shake, rouse, quake' … 'to alarm, fear', 'scared', 'thunder', 'move'". *''shēn'' < ''təns'' "'Pregnant', 'become pregnant' … is derived from 'to shake, rouse, excite' (e.g., a grasshopper from hibernation, i.e., coming to life), hence lit. 'start stirring, moving' (of an embryo)."

Modern times

In the present day, the mythical ''shèn'' is best known in

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...

through the everyday words for mirage or illusion (). One is used by the in the

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series ''

Naruto ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...

''.

References

* * * * * * *{{cite book , last=de Visser, first=Marinus Willem , year=1913 , url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924021444728 , title=The Dragon in China and Japan , series=Verhandelingen der Koninklijke akademie van wetenschappen te Amsterdam. Afdeeling Letterkunde. Nieuwe reeks, deel xiii, no. 2 , publisher=Johannes Müller , place=Amsterdam Chinese dragons Legendary invertebrates Yaoguai