Teng (mythology)

The Chinese character 螣 for teng or te graphically combines a phonetic element of zhen 朕 "I, we (only used by emperors)" with the "insect radical" 虫.

This latter teng, which is used to write the 騰蛇 tengshe flying dragon, occurs in draconic 4-character idioms such as longtenghuyue 龍騰虎躍 (lit.

The (3rd–2nd centuries BCE) Erya dictionary (16)[1] defines teng 螣 as tengshe 螣蛇 "teng-snake", and Guo Pu's commentary glosses it as a "[feilong 飛龍] flying dragon that drifts in the clouds and mist".

For instance, the Wiktionary and the Unihan Database translation equivalent for teng 螣 is "mythological wingless dragon of" [sic].

The Wei army routed enemy soldiers by deploying troops into over ten columns that changed between feilong "flying dragons", tengshe 螣蛇 "ascending snakes", and yuli 魚麗 "beautiful fishes" (alluding to Shijing 170).

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

6th century BCE) Shijing (212 大田) describes farmers removing plant pests called mingte 螟螣 and maozei 蟊賊 in fields of grain.

In Modern Standard Chinese usage, te only occurs as a literary archaism, while ming is used in words like mingling 螟蛉 "corn earworm; adopted son" and mingchong 螟虫 "snout moth's larva".

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.

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

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."

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,[13]) 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.

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.

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.