Author: Smith Lindsay (Page 1 of 2)

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

I wanted to save the two most common cultures that are thought of when most people think of dragons, Japanese and Chinese. I chose to do these two left because I wanted to explore the more different cultures that I personally haven’t heard more about. So now I’m a little excited to look into these two cultures. I am going to do this blog post about the Japanese aspects and my last blog post will be about the Chinese ones.

Background Information

There are four divine creatures in Japanese mythology and these creatures are one of them. Japanese dragons are usually associated with being connected to the sea. They have three toes like the one in the image above. It is believed that the further dragons traveled away from Japan the more toes they grew. Their bodies are serpent-like and they fly less than other dragons. The abilities include being able to shapeshift into a human being. Japanese dragons are often seen battling with other gods and often help make heroes. They represent strength, wisdom, and success.

The source YABAI Writers included a list of what different body parts of dragons represent in this culture and I really wanted to share it with you the readers.

• Ouroboros – symbolizes the cycle of life
• A Sleeping Dragon – symbolizes a hidden power or strength that comes out when needed
• A Gothic Dragon – symbolizes the primal instincts of man, i.e. fearlessness
• A Tribal Dragon – symbolizes a deep connection with the culture of the tribe where the design originated from
• A Rising Dragon – symbolizes progress and ascension
• A Yin-Yang Dragon – symbolizes the proper balance of forces
• A Dragon and Snake – symbolizes the conflicting ideas of superstition and science
• A Dragon and Tiger – symbolizes the importance of having brains over brawns
• A Dragon Claw – symbolizes fearlessness and power
• A Dragon Skull – symbolizes that a difficulty has been conquered
• A Dragon and Moon – symbolizes the connection of the sub-consciousness and nature
• A Flaming Dragon – symbolizes passion, power, and sexual desires

– Source: http://yabai.com/p/2516

Watatsumi /Ryu Jin

I wanted to talk about one specific dragon like I have done in previous posts so I chose the dragon that interested me the most. The dragon I have chosen has different names which are Watatsumi, Ryu Jin, and Ryo Wo. He is considered the king of the dragons who lives in the sea and is the god of water. The physical appearance of Ryu Jin was a human body with a crown that has a serpent wrapped around it. Ryu Jin’s palace located under the sea is called Ryugo-jo and made of crystal and coral. He is the protector and guardian of the Shinto religion, which is Japan’s traditional religion. Ryu Jin is known for his wisdom and nobility. If someone was to fall into the sea Ryu Jin would save them and bring them to his kingdom to live there.

I wanted to include a short story that was included in one of my sources. I think that this story shows Ryu Jin’s wisdom.

"One story in the Kojiki tells of how a man named Hoori lost his brother’s fish hook in the sea and, while searching for it, met Otohime, a daughter of Watatsumi. Hoori and the dragon goddess soon got married and lived in Ryugo-jo.
After three years, Hoori started feeling homesick and wanted to live on land, again, but was afraid of facing his brother without his fish hook. Watatsumi confronted Hoori about what was bothering him and upon hearing his concerns, the water god summoned all the fishes of the sea to ask if any of them had seen the fish hook.
Fortuitously, one of the fishes did come across the fish hook and had it stuck in its throat. It was obtained, washed, and given to Hoori.
Watatsumi then instructed Hoori to take Otohime back with him up to the lands using a wani, another mythical dragon best described to be a sea monster/creature."
 - YABAI Writers 

Source: http://yabai.com/p/2516

Sources that I used:

http://yabai.com/p/2516 (the link for the photo as well)

Japanese Dragons

I was so lost on what to research for this blog. I spent some time trying to think about what dragon do I want to look into or what folklore. So after some time, I decided to look up “dragons around the world” which resulted in me finding this website written by Brown Geeks. It showed me a list of 9 dragons where I was instantly connected to the Philippines’ tale about Bakunawa.

Bakunawa

Bakunawa is described as a serpent-like body, gills, a red tongue, whiskers, and a mouth the size of a lake. The color of his body changes depending on what story is told. He can be either red, dark blue, or white. As seen in the photo above. He is said to live in the depths of the ocean. There is a second “player” in his tale named Bathala. Bathala is believed as the god of all the gods and the creator of all things. In this story, they are mortal enemies.

Bathala created 7 moons and put them in the sky. Bakunawa saw them from the depths of the ocean which was dark and the light coming from the moons drew them to him. He jumped into the sky and ate one of the moons. Every 100 years he would jump out of the ocean and ate one of the moons. Whenever he ate one of the moons eclipses and earthquakes occurred. He ate them all until there was just one left. This caused Bathala to be beyond angry with him.The ancient Filipinos were tired of Bakunawa’s actions and didn’t want him to eat the last moon that would cause even more darkness and earthquakes. They knew that he was afraid of loud noises so when Bakunawa grabbed the final moon they grabbed pans and started banging on them and yelling. The noises scared Bakunawa he let go of the moon and went back into the ocean. Every 100 years the tradition is still carried out. The people bring out pans, drums, and they yell so Bakunawa doesn’t take the moon away.

My thoughts

It was really interesting to learn about a tradition somewhere else in the world. It must be a fun night to have. I would love any purpose to bang on pots and drums and scream into the night. It’s really interesting to think that different generations have played a role in this tradition while others have not but know the legend.

Links that I used:

https://mythus.fandom.com/wiki/Bakunawa

https://thebrowngeeks.com/9-amazing-dragons-from-around-the-world/ (this is also the link to the photo)

My dog Ally and I were laying down together doing some research when we came across Akhekhu. Akhekhu is a dragon in Egyptian mythology. He has a body of a serpent with four legs. He is often depicted to be associated with the deity Seth. Seth is the god of the desert, earthquakes, eclipses, thunderstorms, and foreign lands. He is also the god that helps guide those to the afterlife. He is the Egyptian version of the Greek god Hades. One of the reasons why Akhekhu is associated with Seth is because Akhekhu could be found in the desert.

The legend of Akhekhu was brought to Europe where they made their own legend of him. Instead of having a serpentine body it was of an antelope and a head of a bird but still had some aspects of a serpent. Akhekhu in European folklore also has 3 uraei. The image that is incorporated in this post fits that description.

I find it interesting in how legends are influenced in different countries. There was still similarities but there was also some main differences. Yet images that I kept seeing is of the European description. Which is curious because that’s not even the original form of Akhekhu. I think that this may be because Europe has had a great influence throughout time. Perhaps that because of their travels it is more common than the Egyptian one.

There is something else that I noticed when doing the research. This is yet another god that is related to thunderstorms. In the posts that I wrote about Greek and India the gods were related to thunderstorms. Maybe this is just a coincidence but maybe there is a deeper meaning that I have yet to discover.

Links to the sources that I used:

https://dragons.fandom.com/wiki/Akhekh (this is also the link of the photo)

http://www.blackdrago.com/fame/akhekhu.htm

https://egyptianmuseum.org/deities-seth#:~:text=Seth%20(Set)%2C%20son%20of,pharaohs%2C%20particularly%20Ramses%20the%20Great.