The Dragon Culture
2 min readChinese dragons are legendary creatures in Chinese mythology and folklore,with mythic counterparts among Japanese,Korean,Vietnamese,Bhutanese,Western and Turkic cultures.In Chinese art,dragons are typically portrayed as long,scaled,serpentine creatures with four legs. In yin and yang terminology,a dragon is yang and complements a yin fenghuang(phenix).
In contrast to European dragons,which are considered evil,Chinese dragons traditionally symbolize potent and auspicious powers,particularly control over water,rainfall,hurricane,and floods. Dragon is also a symbol of power,strength,and good luck.
Historically,dragon was the symbol of the Emperor of China.In Zhou Dynasty,the 5-clawed dragon was assigned to the Son of Heaven,the 4-clawed dragon to the Zhuhou (seigneurs),and the 3-clawed dragon to the Daifu chigh.In Qin Dynasty,the 5-clawed dragon was assigned to represent the Emperor while the 4-clawed and 3-clawed dragons were assigneu to the commoners.The dragon in Qin Dynasty appeared on national flags.
The image of dragon is sometimes used in the West as a national emblem of Cnind. However,this usage within both the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan as the symbol of the nation is not common.Instead,it is generally used as the symbol Chinese culture,In Hong Kong,the dragon image is part of the design of Brand Hong Kong. symbol used to promote Hong Kong as an international brand name.
In European-influenced cultures,dragon has aggressive.warlike connotations and ntt conjectured that the Chinese government wishes to avoid using it as a symbol,but most Chinese. disagree with this decision.Westerners onlv sometimes confuse the disposition of the benevoicn Chinese dragon with the aggressive Western dragon.
Many Chinese people often use the term”Descendants of the Dragon”(EA)asa sign of their ethnic identity,as part of a trend that started in the 1970s when difterent Asian nationalities were looking for animal symbols for representation sThe wolf was used among the Mongols.and the monkey among Tibetans.
In Chinese culture today,the dragon is mostly used for decorative purposes,It is a taboo to disfigure a depiction of a dragon.For example,an advertisement campaign commissioned by Nike,which featured the American basketball player LeBron James slaying a dragon (as wel as beating up an old Kung Fu master),was immediately banned by the Chinese government after public outcry over disrespect.
