Dragon cultures exit in both the Eastern and Western world. Dragons are deeply rooted in
Chinese culture, so Chinese often consider themselves, 'the descendants of
the dragon.'
In the Western, dragons can be found in many
literatures and they
look significantly different from the Chinese dragon. We will focus on the Chinese dragon
here.
Nobody really knows where the dragon comes from. The dragon looks like a combination of many animals,
such as a reptile, a snake, an alligator, and a lizard. Or it may be just a product from the
imagination of Chinese people.
Chinese
emperors think they are the real dragons and the sons of the heaven. Thus the beds they sleep on are
called the dragon beds, the throne called the dragon seat, and the emperor's ceremonial
dresses called
the
dragon robes. Also dragons can be seen on the buildings in the imperial palace.
Dragon screens are an important part of this dragon culture.
The dragon is a symbol of imperial power.
Traditionally the dragons are considered as the governors of rain falls in Chinese culture.
They have the power to decide where and when to have rain falls. The kings of
the water dragons live in the dragon palaces under the oceans.
The dragon also plays an important part in Chinese Festivals. The
dragon dance has a long history,
which was already a popular event during the
Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD). The
Dragon Boat Festival is almost purely
dragon-related festival, which becomes popular international events now.
There are many Chinese
stories about the dragon. There is even a very famous Chinese idiom, 'Lord Ye's
Love of Dragons,' which means professed love of what one really fears. Here is the story
behind the idiom. Lord Ye loved dragons deeply. He had dragons everywhere and he was thinking about
dragons all the time. His love of dragons moved a real dragon, so the dragon came to visit
him one day. When he saw the real dragon, he was frightened to death.
For more info about dragons, check out the
Dragon Page here.
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