龙与鹰：中德政治符号与文化象征的比较

中国与德国历史上都曾建立过普世意义上的帝国,并分别选择了龙与鹰作为皇权的象征。中国皇帝试图垄断龙纹,体现了中央集权的专制文化。在欧洲中世纪封建制度下,兴起了纹章文化,德意志臣民可自由采用鹰纹章作为效忠皇帝的标志,体现了德国封建的自治传统。中国成立共和国后,虽然放弃了龙纹作为国家标志,但龙仍被建构成为中华民族的象征,成为民间最重要的中国象征。而鹰纹章在帝制结束后仍成为德国的国家标志,并为民众所认同。

Dragon and eagle: A comparison of political and cultural symbols between China and Germany

There were universal empires in the histories of China and Germany, which respectively selected dragon and eagle as the symbols of their imperial power. The monopolistic use of dragon by the Chinese emperors reflected the despotic culture of the centralization of authority. The feudal system in the Middle Ages of Europe produced the culture of the coat of arms, and the German subjects had the right to use eagle freely as a coat of arms in order to show their loyalty to the emperor. It reflected the feudal tradition of autonomy in Germany. After the founding of the Republic of China, though dragon as a national emblem was abandoned, it was constructed as a symbol of the Chinese nation as well as the most crucial symbol of China by the common people. After the end of the German empire, eagle was still used as the national emblem of Germany and accepted by the common people.