聊聊龙年积木

庞进    

友人为孩子买了一套乐高公司（LEGO）推出的龙年积木玩具，发来图片，希望我能从龙文化的角度聊聊。我即上网，搜看了相关资料，赏析、研思了一番，觉得可以说四点：

第一，龙年积木突出了一个“福”字。“福”在汉语中，若作名词，意为吉祥、幸运、顺遂、富贵、寿考；若作动词，意为赐福、造福、保佑。“福生”即“造福众生”，是龙的基本的、核心的精神和重要功能。无论是作为兴云布雨、除旱排涝的水利神、农业神，还是作为显灵征瑞的吉祥神、祖先神、民族神，龙都以造福众生为根本使命。这套积木以“祥龙纳福”为名，说明乐高公司决策层、设计者，对龙福生的精神和功能，认知是到位的。

第二，龙的另一个基本精神是“容合”，即“兼容、包容、综合、化合”。龙是中华先民对自然界中的多种动物和天象经过多元容合而发明、展现的神物。容合的精神给人以方法论的启示，即主动地“兼容、包容、综合、化合”以创造新的可以“福生”的事物。龙年积木之“积”，意为“聚集”，“聚集”的对象，包括龙的角、眉、眼、耳、鼻、髭、口、舌、牙、脊、腹、鳞、爪、尾，及掌中的水晶、足下的云团、站立的岩石、石下的浪花，乃至“聚集”者的想象、动手、审美的能力等。积木通过“拼搭”而造型，这“聚集”“拼搭”，都意味着“容合”，都是“容合”精神的外显、体现、形象化。

第三，龙年积木有益于孩子们和家长们，了解、学习、传承、弘扬龙文化乃至相关的中华文化。龙年积木的广告语中讲，这套具有象征意义的龙年积木，可以“激发孩子的想象力，为家庭对话提供话题和机会”。孩子们玩这套积木时，自然会询问家长：龙是怎么回事？为什么自然界里看不到？为什么汉语里有那么多含龙字的成语？为什么华人称自己是“龙的传人”？……家长们要准确、全面地回答这些问题，就得了解、学习龙文化以及相关的中华文化，这对龙文化乃至相关的中华文化的传承和弘扬无疑是有益的。

第四，总部在丹麦的乐高公司，是全球知名的玩具制造厂商，至今已有九十多年的发展史。在欧美家庭，乐高玩具一直享有很高的声誉，即使在亚洲，也有相当多的用户。在中国甲辰龙年到来之际，乐高公司推出龙年积木玩具，既说明乐高公司的决策层和设计者对中华龙文化有比较到位的了解和认知，也说明中华龙文化具有全球性的审美价值和广泛、深远的影响力，以及可观的商业回报。我曾言“龙文化既是根源文化，也是标志文化；既是传统文化，也是时尚文化；既是物质文化，也是精神文化；既是中国文化，也是世界文化”，龙年积木玩具的面世和在全球各地的热销，为我的说法提供了一个证明。

2024年1月27日于加拿大枫华阁

作者简介：庞进 龙凤文化研究专家、作家、龙凤国际联合会主席、中华龙文化协会名誉主席、中华龙凤文化研究中心主任、西安日报社高级编辑。中国作家协会会员，陕西省作家协会理事，陕西省社会科学院特约研究员，中华龙凤文化网（www.loongfeng.org）主编，加拿大西安大略出版社副总编辑。20世纪70年代开始从事文学创作和文化研究，至今已发表各类作品逾千万字，出版《创造论》《中国龙文化》《中国凤文化》《中国祥瑞》《灵树婆娑》《庞进文集》等著作四十多种，获首届中国冰心散文奖、首届陕西民间文艺山花奖、西安市社会科学优秀成果一等奖等奖项八十多次。有“龙文化当代十杰”之誉。微信号：pang_jin

ChatGPT:

Let's talk about the Loong Year building blocks

Pang Jin

A friend bought his child a set of Loong Year building blocks from LEGO, and sent me pictures, hoping I could talk about it from the perspective of loong culture. After searching online and reviewing the relevant information, I think there are four points to make:

Firstly, the Loong Year building blocks highlight the character "福" (Fu). In Chinese, "Fu" as a noun means auspiciousness, luck, smoothness, wealth, and longevity; as a verb, it means to bless or to bring happiness. "Fu Sheng," meaning "bringing happiness to all beings," encapsulates the loong's fundamental spirit and important function. Whether as a water-control deity bringing rain, an agricultural god, or as a symbol of good fortune, ancestral spirit, or national spirit, the loong's primary mission is to bring happiness to all beings. The naming of these blocks as "Auspicious Loong Brings Fortune" shows that LEGO's decision-makers and designers have a proper understanding of the loong's spirit and function.

Secondly, another fundamental spirit of the loong is "Rong He" (integration), meaning "compatibility, inclusiveness, synthesis, and amalgamation." The loong in Chinese culture is a divine creature invented and displayed through the integration of various animals and celestial phenomena by our ancestors. This spirit of integration offers methodological inspiration, suggesting the creation of new, beneficial things through active "compatibility, inclusiveness, synthesis, and amalgamation." The "building" in the Loong Year building blocks implies "gathering," including the loong's horns, eyebrows, eyes, ears, nose, whiskers, mouth, tongue, teeth, spine, belly, scales, claws, tail, the crystal in its hand, the clouds beneath its feet, the standing rocks, the waves under the rock, and even the imagination, manual skills, and aesthetic abilities of the assembler. The assembly and modeling of the building blocks signify "integration," manifesting and embodying the spirit of integration.

Thirdly, the Loong Year building blocks are beneficial for children and parents to understand, learn, inherit, and promote loong culture and related Chinese culture. The advertisement for these blocks says that they "stimulate children's imagination and provide topics and opportunities for family conversation." When playing with these blocks, children will naturally ask their parents: What is a loong? Why can't we see it in nature? Why are there so many Chinese idioms with the word loong? Why do Chinese people call themselves "descendants of the loong "? To answer these questions accurately and comprehensively, parents need to understand, learn about loong culture and related Chinese culture, which undoubtedly benefits the inheritance and promotion of loong culture and related Chinese culture.

Fourthly, LEGO, headquartered in Denmark, is a globally renowned toy manufacturer with a history of over ninety years. LEGO toys have always enjoyed a high reputation in European and American households, and they also have a considerable number of users in Asia. The launch of the Loong Year building blocks by LEGO on the occasion of the Chinese Jia Chen Loong Year shows that LEGO's decision-makers and designers have a good understanding and recognition of Chinese loong culture. It also shows that Chinese loong culture has global aesthetic value and widespread, profound influence, as well as significant commercial returns. I have said before, " Loong culture is not only a root culture but also a symbol culture; not only a traditional culture but also a fashion culture; not only a material culture but also a spiritual culture; not only Chinese culture but also world culture." The launch and global sales of the Loong Year building blocks prove my statement.

January 27, 2024, at Maple Hall, Canada

About the author: Pang Jin is an expert and writer in loong and phoenix culture, serving as the Chairman of the Loong and Phoenix International Federation and the Honorary Chairman of the Chinese Loong Culture Association. He is also the Director of the Chinese Loong and Phoenix Culture Research Center, a Senior Editor at Xi'an Daily, a member of the China Writers Association, a council member of the Shaanxi Writers Association, and a special researcher at the Shaanxi Academy of Social Sciences. He is the chief editor of the Chinese Loong and Phoenix Culture website (www.loongfeng.org) and the Deputy Chief Editor of the Ontario Publishing House in Canada. Since the 1970s, he has been involved in literary creation and cultural research, publishing over ten million words in various works. His publications include more than forty titles such as "Theory of Creation," "Chinese Loong Culture," "Chinese Phoenix Culture," "Chinese Auspiciousness," "Dancing Spirit Trees," and "Collected Works of Pang Jin." He has received over eighty awards, including the First China Bing Xin Prose Award, the First Shaanxi Folk Literature and Art Mountain Flower Award, and the Xi'an Municipal Social Science Outstanding Achievement First Prize. He is renowned as one of the contemporary "Ten Outstanding Figures in Loong Culture." WeChat ID: pang_jin