I was balancing a watermelon on my nose when....

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myths and dragons2006/01/24 11:58

Today I will be starting with the proper learning about China, and will be concentrating my efforts on Chinese Myths and Legends. As the dragon is a well known Chinese symbol (and the Chinese call themselves "Lung Tik Chuan Ren" - Descendents of the Dragon) I decided to investigate this further.

The Dragon is the ultimate representation of the forces of Mother Nature, the greatest divine force on Earth, and is regarded as the Supreme Being amongst all creatures (step down lion). The Dragon’s celestial breath brings upon the essence of life, known as sheng chi; he yields life and bequeaths its power in the form of the seasons, giving water from rain, warmth from the sunshine, wind from the seas and soil from the Earth.

Dragons symbolise of good fortune, and are believed to bring abundance and prosperity, They signify greatness, goodness and blessings. Unlike our dragons (which according to a Welshman I once met are ‘real legends’, unlike the one about the dog, Gelert, which was ‘just made up’ (!)), Chinese dragons are gentle and wise, powerful and bold, heroic and noble, and they control many watery things including rain, rivers, lakes and the sea. No surprise that all this means they are worshipped, and that leaders of many Asian countries claim to have dragon ancestors. In fact calling an Emperor ‘dragon-face’ was the greatest of compliments :o)

Sadly though, dragons are also vain – they get highly offended when we don’t follow their advice or honour their importance, and at these times they can stop the rains, bring floods, or express their displeasure in other ways. So my advice would be get worshipping people (but concentrate on the biggies – apparently smaller dragons just get mischievous and make roofs leak or your rice sticky. Bless)

There are nine major types of Chinese dragons:
Jiaolong - the horned dragon (is deaf);
Yinglong - the winged dragon (the oldest of Eastern dragons; helped a man called Yu stop the Yellow River flooding by digging channels with his tail);
Shenlong - the spiritual dragon (who controls the wind and rain);
Dilong – the underground dragon (preside over rivers and streams; sometimes considered the female counterpart of Shenlong);
Tianlong - the celestial dragon (who protects the gods and pulls their chariots);
Fucanglong - the dragon of hidden treasures (who guards underground treasures; volcanoes are when they burst out of the ground to report to heaven);
Panlong - the coiling dragon (lives in water, not sure what he does there though);
Huanglong - the yellow dragon (who emerged from water and showed the Emperor Fu Shi the elements of writing); and
the dragon king (actually consisting of four separate dragons, each ruling over a sea of the north, south, east, and west (is there a sea to the west of China I have to ask myself?!) and have the ability to shapeshift into human form – spooky! They are guarded by shrimp soldiers and crab generals. I like the dragon king :o)

There are also nine ways dragons get represented to show their qualities. These include dragons carved on the tops of bells and gongs, because of the beast's habit of calling loudly when attacked, carved on stone tablets because dragons love literature, and on the beams of bridges because dragons are fond of water.

A few dragons begin life as fish. Carp, who successfully jump rapids and leap over waterfalls, change into fish-dragons. A Chinese saying, which I suggest we all adopt, "The carp has leaped through the dragon's gate," means success.
Right, I think that might be enough dragon learning for the moment, except one last thing which I liked – male dragons sometimes mate with other animals (naughty boys). A dragon fathers an elephant when he mates with a pig, and he sires a racehorse, after mating with a mare :o)

I might tell a dragon story later (or tomorrow), but think this is long enough for the moment, so go worship your dragons people. I will be worshipping the Dragon King and his shrimps and crabs :o)

Byee
leo xx

Useful Chinese phrase of the day:
No, you may not date until you are 35 - Bu xing. Dao san shi wu sui zai zhao dui xiang ba.