The Imperial Chinese Dragon: Legend or reality?
It’s an exciting story! Chinese Mythology is rich with myths and
legends of the noble Imperial Chinese Dragon. But did such a creature
really exist? And what made the Chinese Emperors choose such a creatures
as their national mascot?
The Imperial Chinese Dragon is one of the most revered in Chinese
mythology because it carried with it the promise of rain. Through out
Chinese history, the coming of a dragon was equated with rain; that
could be good or bad. A few of the worst floods in Chinese history were
attributed the bad moods of an upset dragon! But apart from that,
dragons form the cornerstone of Chinese history making an appearance in
art, poetry, architecture, literature ad songs. The dragons were also
equated with the emperor’s benevolence over his people. Every picture
of an imperial Chinese dragon looks distantly different from dragon
depictions in Western art and culture. This was because the Imperial
Dragon was supposed to be made up of nine separate beings. They were the
eyes of a demon, the head of a camel, the ears of a cow, the neck of a
snake, the horns of a stag, the claws of an eagle and the belly of a
clam. His soles were made of the feet of a tiger and his body was
covered with carp scales numbering an odd 117. As a result, each picture
of the Imperial Dragon shows a winding twisty golden-red colored
fearsome creature that is nonetheless very beautiful to look at.
According to a few historians, this mish-mash of pictures arose when the
first Emperor of China Huang Di created this image from the
conglomeration and merging of the tribal symbols that were conquered by
the victorious king.
Popular culture According to popular Chinese culture, there
were four main kinds of dragons (also called as Loong in China.) They
were: 1.The Celestial Dragon was also called as "Tien-loong", and
protected the homes of the Gods 2.The Spiritual Dragon was referred to
as "Shen-Loong" and it was the weather dragon that was responsible for
the flow of wind and rain.
3.The Earth Dragon was also called "Ti-Loong", and controlled river
and sea bodies all over the earth. 4.The Underworld Dragon called as "Fut's-Loong",
guarded the Earths treasure of gems and precious metals. There are
indications that several Chinese regions also believe in there being
nine variations or children of the first dragon but the four above
variations are better known all over China. One major difference that
historians have noted is that all Chinese dragons have five claws unlike
the Imperial Dragon that has four claws to distinguish it as the ruling
class. No one other than the Emperor was allowed to use the four-clawed
image. Any one found to be defying the rules was immediately put to
death.
Modern times On auspicious occasions, it’s still very common
to see life sized paper and silk dragons dancing the famous Dragon
dances to usher in good luck and fair weather. Another important
festival is the Duan Wu festival where dragon boat races are the main
attraction of the festival. |
