More about Dragons
Dragon culture
No one exactly knows where Chinese dragons came from. Unlike
European dragons, they are worshipped as gods and are an integral
part of Chinese culture. Dragons have the power to control
rainfall and bring prosperity and good fortune. Temples to dragons
are found near water because it is thought most dragons live in
water.
Chinese Emperors can trace their
lineage back to descendants of dragons. So they sleep in dragon beds, sit on a
dragon seat and wear ceremonial dragon robes.
Dragons are described as being made up from parts of nine other
animals. These are believed to be:
- The head of a camel.
- The horns of a deer.
- The eyes of a devil.
- The neck of a snake.
- The abdomen of a clam.
- The scales of a carp.
- The claws of an eagle.
- The paws of a tiger.
- The ears of an ox.
(This is somewhat different from the 'kite parts' list on the introduction page -
often dragon tradition contains contradictions and/or parallels, due
to the time over which the traditions evolved. )
Types of dragons
Legend tells of nine sons of the dragon who each have a strong
personality. The names of the sons vary but these are the most
widely used ones:
Pulao is fond of roaring. His image is on the top of bells and
gongs.
Qiuniu likes music. His image is carved on the bridge of
stringed instruments.
Bixi can support heavy weights. His image is carved on the
bottom of stone monuments and on panniers.
Hanuxian. An adventurous dragon. His image is carved on the
eaves of temples.
Baxia likes water. His image is carved on bridges and archways.
Yazi likes to fight. His image is carved on the hilts of swords
and knives.
Jiaotu is tight lipped like a mussel. His image is carved on
doors and gates.
Chiwen likes to gaze into the distance. His image is carved on
pinnacles.
Suanmi likes smoke and fire. His image is
carved on the legs of incense-burners.
The Chinese believe that the dragon originated in China. When a
dragon walks east it looses toes. The further east it goes the more
toes it looses and eventually it can. t walk any more. Similarly,
when it goes west it gains toes until it can. t walk further west
either. This explains why Chinese dragons have 5 toes; Korean
dragons have 4 toes and Japanese dragons 3 toes. It also explains
why Chinese dragons never reached Europe!
Dragon mythology
The fish and the pearl
It is also thought that dragons originated in water. There is a
legend that there was once a special fish who had a precious pearl
in his throat. Other fish wanted to take away the pearl but he was
always able to outwit them.
One day a man in rags come to the water's edge and cried
out to the Gods that it was unfair that he was poor and couldn't
look after his family properly. The fish heard and felt sorry for the
man and wanted to help him. He decided that he would give the pearl
to the man. He hid his pearl in a shell then leapt out of the water
so that the man would see him. When the man tried to grab the fish
he missed but found the shell. He opened it and found that it
contained the precious pearl. He realised its worth and ran home happy.
The fish felt sad at the loss of his pearl. Suddenly he was
engulfed by a warm sensation and he heard a voice telling him that
because of his great kindness to the man he would be transformed
into a creature that will always be loved and special to the world.
The fish found himself changing. He turned into a dragon and was
able to fly away into the heavens.
The boy and the pearl
One day a village boy finds a large and brilliant pearl while
he is out looking for food. He takes it home to his mother and
they hide it in a jar of rice so the neighbours won't be jealous.
Next day the jar of rice is full. So they put the pearl beside
to another jar and the following day that jar's full too. They decided
to share the rice with their neighbours but kept the secret of the
pearl to themselves.
However, the secret got out and the
villagers plotted to steal the pearl. During the raid, the boy
accidentally swallowed the pearl and its magic turned him into a
huge dragon.
This is why you will see Chinese dragons depicted with a flaming
pearl in front of them. The dragon was once the boy and he is
protecting the precious pearl.
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