Chinese Dragons
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The Chinese dragon is a very common symbol in Chinese culture. It is often shown as a very long animal that is very similar to the form of a snake. Yet it has four legs, and feet with claws. It may be depicted with a very small flame be shooting from the mouth.
In the Chinese culture, the dragon is a very powerful symbol of strength. It is a common part of their celebrations, and the dragon is also one of the animals that their years are named after.
The Chinese do not believe that dragons once roamed the Earth, though. Instead dragons are a symbol of the mystical part of life that often cannot be explained.
In many of the early writings the Chinese dragon is believed to be the bearer of the water and the rain. This is why many of the traditional celebrations honor the dragon for what it has offered to the land.
There is material to suggest that the Chinese dragon was the official symbol of early Emperors. It is believed that this was done to remind people of the power that this person held. It also resulted in many of the people making art of dragons in order to honor their respect for the Emperor.
If you take a close look at many forms of early art work and architecture in China, you will see many detailed works of dragons. Many of them have been well preserved over the years as well. They want to be able to continue showing their respect to this type of creature.
For those Chinese people that get tattoo work done, the dragon is the most common. Males often want the dragon on their body as a symbol of strength and honor.
It is common for families of the same origin to have a particular dragon tattoo on them. This is a way to continue showing their pride in their heritage.
The dragon is still an important part of the Chinese culture. It is disrespectful to destroy anything with a dragon image on it.
They also have plenty of advertisements that include dragons. Of course, they only show them in the very best views. They do not allow disrespect of dragons to be shown in movies or films either.
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4 Comments »
« The Dragon and His Grandmother, Part 2 | Home | Fire Dragons »
November 11th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Very nice article. I didn’t know some of those facts before. Keep up the posts- I’m interested in this site!
November 12th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Thanks, Sapphire Dragon. I probably will not be a prolific poster, but I do have some other topics in mind. I hope you like them, too.
November 19th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Dragon dancers were out in force on the streets of our small town yesterday. Part of a celebration for the Cihinese School a few blocks away. They ….dance…into all the small shops to collect donations and then have to slowly and carefully manage to somehow turn around and uncoil those lenghty bodies back out the doorways. Hard work for a 30 foot dragon in a small storefront with only only 15 feet of space!
November 19th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Thanks for that great story, Thai Dragon!