I’m really excited and sad about this post. The excitement is from being able to look into the Chinese history of dragons. The sadness is because this will be my post for this blog. Let’s get started!
Background Information
There are a few different legends that tell how dragons came to be. The first one talks about how the ancient people’s totem worshipping practices could have formed the shape of the dragon. Different body parts of different animals helped form the shape. The second one tells the tale of Yandi who is an emperor in the Chinese pre-dynastic times. He was born from his mother’s ability of telepathy and his father was a dragon. Yandi allied with another emperor named Huang Di and his father. Together the three of them conquered China’s enemies of the time and united China. Yandi due to this is seen as an ancestor which means the Chinese civilization is descendants of a dragon.
Symbolism
“Everything male – In traditional Chinese society, men were considered to be physically strong and powerful and were often influential in community matters. Dragons were employed as representations of this relative dominance in traditional society. Masculine traits, thus, were considered physical manifestations of the mythological dragon.
Nobleness – According to Chinese astrology, those born in the Year of the Dragon are more prosperous and noble than others. For example, 1988, 2000, and 2012 are considered dragon years (see our full article on Chinese Zodiac Animals). Many Chinese people consider those born during dragon years to be strong-willed, decisive, and self-confident.
Agricultural life – According to Chinese mythology, dragons control the weather and the seasons. Though most dragons are wingless, male dragons possess the power to fly to the heavens and bring rain, while female dragons control earthly waters like rivers, lakes, seas, and wells.
Good fortune – Some people also believe dragons symbolize fortune and good luck. Thus, people often engrave dragons on utensils and personal items to attract the best life has to offer.
Kindness – In China, dragons are symbols of kindness and warmth. (Remember, the Chinese dragon doesn’t breathe fire as its European counterparts do.) However, there are some exceptions, as we will see below.”
Information copied from this source: https://studycli.org/chinese-culture/chinese-dragons/
Color Symbolism
There are different meanings for different colors
Red Dragon
- Good fortune
- Happiness
- Often seen at weddings
Yellow Dragon
- Good fortune
- Power
- Controls time and seasons
- Symbolizes the Chinese empire and emperor
- Warmth
- Wisdom
- Wealth
White Dragon
- Purity
- Death
- Mourning
Black Dragon
- Vengeance
- Catastrophes
- Storms
- See featured image above
List of The 8 Different Types
- Underworld
- Horned
- Coiling
- Spiritual
- Winged
- Celestial
- Treasure
- Dragon King
To learn more about the 8 types go to this source: https://studycli.org/chinese-culture/chinese-dragons/
Here is a youtube video that you can watch to get some deeper knowledge about Chinese dragons.
My Thoughts
It was really amazing to learn about the diversity of dragons in this culture. I knew that dragons play an important role in Chinese culture but I didn’t realize just how important until I really delved into research. I wanted to include a video because I knew I gave a lot of information and I thought watching this video will help break it up. I hope you the reader enjoyed this journey as much as I did and that you learned as much as I did.
Sources that I used:
https://studycli.org/chinese-culture/chinese-dragons/ (Source of the first image)
https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/article-chinese-dragons.htm
https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-dragon-facts.htm
