The Meanings of Your Dreams According To The Wisdom Of The Ancient Chinese

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Studies reveal that the average human spends about six years of their lifetime dreaming. That is time long enough to acquire both a bachelor and master's degree.What is a dream?
"A dream is a series of thoughts, images, or emotions occurring involuntarily during sleep".
Throughout recorded history, man has always been fascinated by dreams. And this should not be surprising since we spend significant parts of our lives dreaming. What should come as a surprise is that despite the amount of time and energy that has been devoted to analyzing and speculating on dreams, their content and purpose are still not fully understood.
As early as 5000 BC, dreams were recorded on clay tablet by the Mesopotamians. And many other great civilizations, people's and cultures in history have left us their beliefs regarding the purpose of dreams and ways to interprete them.
This is the first in a series of articles that explores the different beliefs about dreams found in different religions, cultures and philosophies. It will end with articles that focus on contemporary scientific discoveries regarding sleep and dreams which have informed present hypothesis and theories found in the fields of oneirology (the study of dreams) and psychology. Let's begin by looking at the beliefs of the ancient Chinese about dreams.
The ancient Chinese believed that a person has a two part soul. The part that has to do with the body and secular world was known as Po. This part was also associated with the Taoist concept of Yin. The second part which was known as Hun dealt with the divine realm. This part was associated with the Taoist concept of Yang.
They both are inseparable until a person is asleep. During sleep, our Hun soul is able to separate from the Po and our body temporarily, so as to relate with the souls of our ancestors and the gods. During this time, the Po stays with the body in the physical realm. A permanent separation only occurs at death when the Hun joins the souls of the ancestors in the divine realm.
Before death, man is able to understand the future through his dreams with the assistance of his Hun. Things that he normally would have no insight into during his wakeful hours become revealed in his sleep.
When a person is asleep, the Chinese believed that abruptly waking them up could lead to their death because the link between their body and soul could be cut thereby making the persons Hun join the souls of the ancestors permanently.

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Zhou Gong is the Chinese god of dreams. He is an actual historical figure who lived more than 3000 years ago. He is credited with writing the Book of Auspicious and Inauspicious Dreams, a work that interpretes the meaning of 7 different categories of dreams. The ancient Chinese who lived after this work was written believed that Zhou gong, the god of dreams, reveals the future to people through dreams.
Part of this book can be found in the Chinese almanac. In it dreams are categorized into seven, namely: God's and spirits, Living things, Astronomy, Body or person, Home and surroundings, Music & Disharmony, Clothing and Miscellaneous category. Let us take a look at what it has to say about different things.

Dreams about abandonment

When a person is abandoned in their dream, the meaning according to Zhou Gong is that they are going to receive something. A husband who dreams that his marriage has ended has nothing to fear because it means the love between him and his wife will increase.

Dreams about Ancestors

In many cultures people dread dreaming about their dead ancestors. But the Chinese culture welcome it. Zhou gong wrote that an encounter in a dream with a dead ancestor means that the dreamer's family is blessed and has the protection of the ancestors. Conversing with an ancestor also guarantees financial security.

Bleeding

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Dreams of losing blood through bleeding is also a sign of good things coming. The dreamer will soon experience good fortune

Chariots

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Being in a chariot reveals the way a person feels about the direction of their life. An immobile chariot signifies that the dreamer feels they are not making any progress while being in a speeding chariot means they are experiencing progress. If the Chariot loses a wheel however it means there is an impending financial loss.

About Dogs

One sign of future bad luck is dreaming of being bitten by a dog. Also, a master who sees his dog barking at him might soon loose big money.

Eating

When one eats meat that is properly cooked, it is a sign that one will be rich while eating raw meat is sign of impending poverty. Eating rotten fruit means the dreamer will soon fall sick.

Grey Hair

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A dream in which a person has grey hair serves to break the good news that the dreamer will live long.

House

Doing house cleaning in a dream means the dreamer is going to have a guest. Entering a dilapidated and rickety house means the beginning of a luckless period in the dreamer's life. Entering a house and finding no one in it could mean that there would soon be report of someone's demise.

The writing of Zhou gong on dreams has influenced the Chinese for over three thousand years. Even the legendary Chinese thinker Confucius is recorded to have believed to have revered Zhou gong. One thing is sure, Chinese philosophy has made a valuable contribution to the field of dream interpretation. Although we may be in a better position than the ancients were, we are not where we are today without their contributions.

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