Chapter 44 Jiaolong with scales

The ancient Chinese firmly believed that there lived a dragon named Jiao in their country, but they never explained clearly what kind of animal it was.  In some records, Jiao is described as a particularly large fish.Duan Chengshi believes that no matter what kind of freshwater fish, if it can avoid the predation of other fish, pass through human hooks and nets, and live for 360 years, then its body will grow rapidly and weigh more than one ton.At this time, the gods will give them special flying skills and give them the title of Jiao, making them the leaders of fish.  Describe this animal as a mysterious branch of snakes.According to the author of the book, Jiao had a small head, a long thin neck and a white mane.Jiao's torso is relatively thick, the largest of which has a waist circumference of more than 2 meters.This stout snake is also very ferocious, and it is often rumored to devour a living person.Pei Yuan, a Jin Dynasty traveler, said that he had witnessed it eating people many times in the Lingnan area.He added that although Jiao resembles a snake, it has four legs. Its chest and belly are ocher and its back is green. Among all snakes and insects, Jiao is the bravest.They eat everything in their path.The turtle is the only thing that the dragon does not eat, because the hot blood of the turtle will make the dragon peel off.

 The third description of jiao comes from an ancient Chinese dictionary called "Guang Ya", which believes that jiao is a part of dragon.  Ren X revealed the origin of this animal's name. In a book, he wrote that because the dragon's eyebrows were too long and dense, so that they intertwined, he was named "Jiao".But that's not necessarily the real reason it got its name. The word "jiao" is probably related to some peculiarities in Jiao's sexual behavior.  Eunuch Li Cheng served as the "envoy of the Yellow Gate" in the court of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty.In the sixth year of Kaiyuan, he was ordered by the emperor to go to Jiaozhou for business.When reporting back to the emperor, the imperial physician Ji Zhou was conducting daily routine consultations for Xuanzong.After carefully observing Li Cheng's complexion, Ji Zhou reported to the emperor that although he was an eunuch, he had been raped by a dragon and was pregnant with a dragon's heir in his belly. His life would also end after childbirth.

 The emperor was a little surprised when he heard the imperial physician's report, and turned around to ask about Li Cheng's experience in the south.Li Cheng replied to the emperor that when passing through Dayuling, the officials at the local post station served him rice and boiled celery.Ever since that meal, his belly had grown swollen and hard as a rock.The emperor asked the imperial physician if there was any cure.Ji Zhou wrote a prescription for Li Cheng to take.Just after drinking the soup, Li Chengcheng suddenly yelled and fell to the ground.A long, thin worm slowly flowed from his mouth.The emperor ordered his attendants to observe carefully, and the attendants reported that although the worm was only as thick as a little finger, it had scales and horn-like protrusions on its head.

 Famous doctor Zhang Zhongjing also treated this kind of patients. In his work records, he mentioned that animals like jiao always mate in spring and summer.During mating, the male jiao will get his semen all over the place.If a person eats celery with jiao essence, both men and women will become pregnant and give birth to jiao jiao.Drinking a lot of caramel water can prompt the patient to vomit the fetus.In the book, Li Shizhen also proposed a solution to the disease caused by the sexual behavior of dragons. Mixing realgar and Puxiao to make soup can avoid the pain of childbirth. 