Chinese dragons in Chinese culture-- Chinese characters of “Dragon”(1)

a. the shapes of old Chinese characters which means “Dragon” is just like a dragon!











(The picture on the right )Some of old Chinese characters’ shapes are like dragons’ heads and horns, and mouths, bodies and tails.

(The picture on the left)The left sides of some old Chinese characters’ shapes are like dragon’s heads and horns, mouths, bodies and tails. And the right side of the words are like backs and fins.


b. The words means “dragon” in Chinese calligraphy masterpieces
Calligraphy is our traditional writing art. We use a writing brush and ink to write beautiful Chinese words!
Wang Hsi-Chih, Du Fu, and Wang Hsi-Chih were all very famous calligraphers.
Do you think the shapes of the words are like dragons?








The word is written by Wang Hsi-Chih









The word is written by Du Fu.













The word is written by Wang Hsi-Chih.

Chinese dragons in Chinese culture-- Chinese characters of “Dragon”(2)

These are the Chinese idioms:

sheng long huo hu
(Lvely dragon and active tiger )
The idiom is used to describe an energetic man .



Long sheng jiu zi
(The dragon has nine sons)
The idiom means each person has his strong points.


(Dragon and phoenix’s wings)
Long han feng yi
The idiom is used to describe an outstanding talented person.

Chinese dragons in Chinese culture--The people born in the year of Dragon

The dragon is a symbol of power and good luck in Chinese culture. It is one of the most popular signs in Chinese art. Besides, dragons are so important that in Chinese Zodiac, we have the year of Dragon! (We also have the years of Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Dog, and Pig! )

The people born in the year of dragon go out of their way to help their friends, who often ask then for advice. The people born in the year of dragon is outgoing and like to get along with many types of people. The Dragon person is self confident and compulsive and consequently does not always listen to the others’ advice. The dragon people are also perfectionists and they set high standards for themselves. Although they are strong and decisive, the people born in the year of Dragon are not manipulative or sly. He enjoys being like an emperor, and solve the problems bravely.

The years of dragon: 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012.
Photo resource from :www.chinaculture.org

Chinese dragons in Chinese culture-- appliances

In ancient China, the emperor think they are the real dragons and the sons of heaven, so dragon figures are frequently used in the royal appliances, such as plates with decorative designs of dragons, flask with dragon figures, basin or bronze vessels with dragon motif…etc.. And only the emperor’s dresses can have the figures of dragon. In those days, dragon represented the absolute power of a nation. After Ming and Qing Dynasty, the emperor's clan stipulated five fingernails are the dragons, other fingernail numbers are not the dragons, allow the common people be able to use the dragon grain.

Nowadays, dragon is taken as a symbol of good luck and blessing, so there are bracelets or rings with dragon figures, and buckles with the shape of dragonhead. Dragon figures also appear on the closes, chopsticks, wallets, and handkerchiefs, especially in male appliances.
The dragon also is the propitious symbol, the dragon and phoenix chart is often seen on the wedding ceremony cake box design, and it is popular to use the picture of the dragon flying, the phoenix dancing on Chinese type wedding invitation cards, which represents the blessing and happiness for the new couples!







(The Chinese wedding cakes and the box)

Chinese dragons in Chinese culture-- holidays

In Chinese culture dragons are very important so in some festival we use some symbol of dragons. For example, on Dragon Boat Festival (the fifth day of the fifth Chinese lunar month) we have dragon boat racing, it has today become the highlight of all the festivities held during Dragon Boat Festival. When the race begins, all we can see are the rowers of each team driving their boats forward and in the boat one person beats drums. The winning team is the one that first grabs the flag at the end of the river. The energy and excitement of the race attracts thousands of spectators, who watch from the river bank cheering on their favorite team. In Chinese New Year we have Dragon Dance, rarely seen in western exhibitions, with two troupes of dancers twirl the dragons. In these festivals we can see why and how the dragons are important to us.

A place for creating your dragon story !

Please go to http://2006dragon-album.blogspot.com/
This is the blog for you all to post all your stories about dragons!
You can log in the blog with the same username and password!
We've already had the story from Italy.
Welcome everyone to read their story!
Ling

Korean dragons

Park jae young: The korean thought about dragons is similar to china's, since it 's from a mix of the original korean thought and china's.
A phyton means a giant boa, a huge snake that lives in the water after failing to become a dragon.
In korea, A phyton means someone who doesn't succeed in life because of a special reason even though they tried to succeed. A phyton has two magical senses. One is making rains and the other is taking the shape of human.

Han soo nyong : The Korean dragon is different from a western dragon.
The differences are color and shape. Korean dragon’s color is usually green or red but Western dragon’s color is usually blue . The Korean dragon’s shape is very meandering and delicate. But the western dragon’s shape is very fantastic
According to my survey I think Korean dragon and Western dragon is very difficult but the same things are the legendary animal.

Lee tak gye : korea's dragon is a symbol of strong power. people beileived dragon is sky's animal.!

Kim min jae : From ancient times, dragon obeyed the water god.
When drought came, farmers prayed for rains
The dragon's figure is majesty and bright, so it is used to represent the king's power.
At present, dragon is symbol that protect our country and prosperity our nation.

Four kinds of Chinese dragons

China dragons are called as "Lung" in Chinese.
There are four main kinds of Lung.


1. The Celestial Dragon (Tien-lung) (the first picture)
The Celestial Dragon protects the places where the Gods live
.
2. The Spiritual Dragon (Shen-Lung) (the second picture)
The Spiritual Dragon can control the wind and the rain.

3. The Earth Dragon (Ti-Lung)
The Earth Dragon can control rivers, and water on the Earth

4. The Underworld Dragon (Fut's-Lung)
The Underworld Dragon's job is to guard precious treasure like metals and gems.

Sorry! We can't find the pictures of the Earth dragon and the Underworld dragon!

It seems that Chinese dragons indeed bring us fortune and luck.

Extra information about the four dragons
1. Celestial Dragons (Guardians): They protect the heavens, supporting the mansions of the gods and shielding them from decay. Only these dragons and their earthly likenesses on the imperial regalia had 5 claws. All other dragons had only 3 or 4.
2. Spiritual Dragons (Weathermakers): Floating across the sky, a changeable blue in color, spiritual dragons governed the wind, clouds and rain on which life has always depended. The Chinese took care to appease them, for if these weathermakers grew angry or neglectful, the result was certain disaster.
3. Earth Dragons (River Lords): Earth dragons determined the course of rivers, regulated their flow and maintained their banks. Every river in China had it's own earth - dragon king, who held sway over the waters from a palace far beneath the surface.
4. Underground Dragons (Treasure Keepers): These dragons were in charge of all the precious jewels and metals buried in the earth. Each of these dragons bore an enormous pearl that was reputed to multiply whatever it touched, the pearl symbolized another hidden treasure - wisdom.
http://www.angelfire.com/va/drgon/oriental.html

More about Western Dragons (USA)

Hello to all, including our new friends from Italy! We have more to say about the way Western dragons look and where they live. See if you can tell the name of each dragon in the pictures. The Amhuluk dragon is not pictured.
We loved your comments and have sent some of our own. Check your introductory letters or last week's comments on our paragraphs about dragons. Thank you!

Amanda: The Amhuluk dragon interests me the most. This dragon lives in Oregon, in North America. The Amhuluk is a sea serpent, and they like to catch anything living and drown it for no reason. Amhuluks live near the Forked Mountains. These dragons are very powerful and will do anything to drown someone or something.

Lauryn: I am going to tell you about the Chimera dragon. The Chimera dragon has dragon wings, a lion and goat head, and sometimes has three heads. His head is orange and his wings are black whether or not they have wings. Long ago, this particular dragon destroyed the town of Livvelia and for years he stole the king’s riches. The villagers chased him away and he vanished. They say he lives on mountaintops still over looking the town. This is my favorite dragon. What is yours?

Trevor: One dragon that interests me the most is the Worm Serpent. The Worm Serpent looks like a huge snake with a dragon’s head. He has two horns and a very short beard. The worm serpent also doesn’t have wings or joints. This dragon is found in woody areas or near and even in the wells. What dragon interests you the most?

Ryan: One kind of dragon that I liked was the Air Dragon. It can be found in many different habitats. They are one of the dragons that can fly. The Air Dragon can be found on high mountain tops. I never knew how cool Western dragons really are to learn about.

Matt: The Western dragon has a spiked or spade tail. The Western dragon has a thick long body, scaly skin, 4 strong legs, two long bat-like wings, wedge-shaped heads or heads, and long neck. The Western dragon also breathes fire. Does the Chinese dragon breath fire?

Eric: The Wyvern dragon has two legs and a very powerful wing with a long serpentine tail.This dragon is now portrayed as a pest. They live up in the mountains. They are vicious predators to tons of animals. We would be lucky enough to see one.

Tommy: One dragon that interests me the most is the heraldic dragon. It is probably the most well-known dragon. It has razor sharp claws and teeth. It also has 4 legs (no arms). All of the legs have claws. It also has a ridged spine going down its back (head to tail tip). These are a few facts on my favorite dragon (Heraldic dragon).

Western Dragons(USA)

Please read what we have discovered about Western dragons. Do you want to comment or would you like to tell us more about Chinese dragons? We would like to read what you have to say! Thank you.

Lauryn: The Western dragon has six senses. They can hear, taste, see, feel, and they can smell. Their amazing sixth sense is to be able to “read” other beings feelings. The word read means they’re able to tell what another living thing is feeling. If I were able to read living things, I would never be in trouble or make people mad. I wonder how dragons are so disliked if they can read your feelings. Anyway, I thought this was a cool fact about the Western Dragon!

Trevor: The thing that interests me the most is how Western dragons know how to separate gold, silver, and jewels. I thought they just put it into a monstrous pile and sit on top of it so nobody could steal it. I didn’t think their brains were as evolved as ours or even smarter!

Amanda: The most interesting fact about the Western dragon was about the babies. The name that they are called as a baby is the wyrmling. As soon as they hatch out of their eggs, if they eat the white part of it and they are still hungry, they will attack younger siblings. If the parents still aren’t there, they could get away with a lot especially if they are the oldest. Dragons are a fascinating species to learn about.

Tommy: The Western Heraldic Dragon is the more widespread classical-shaped dragon. It is often a huge beast with frightening teeth and claws. They walk with all four feet all of their lives.

Matthew: The thing that interests me the most about the Western Dragon is that it lives 1,200 human years. I thought a dragon only lived 100 to 200 years.

Eric: Some Western water dragons are aquatic and some are amphibious. Some live near water like serpents and some live near mountains like the more classical dragons. Swamps provide homes for various small and squat type dragons. My favorite mythical water dragon is the Loch Ness Monster.

Ryan: One kind of serpent is the worm serpent. It has a large dragon-like head with two horns, it has a beard, and it looks like a giant snake. Also they don’t have any wings so they can not fly. But they do live deep under the water. They also live near the water and in some wells.

Kristin: Most people believe dragons are nothing but animals in fairytales. Some have other thoughts. Dragons used to be seen everywhere. They could be in the sky, the sea, and the ground. Now people just about never see them. They have never been seen in North America, Australia, the Pacific Isles, or Southern Africa. Even though some are supposed to bring long life, good fortune and happiness.
The Guivre and the Amphiptere are kind of creepy to me.

Dragon Pictures(USA)

We looked at the dragon pictures that you posted. Here are our thoughts.

Trevor:
Dragon 1
I think the two dragons in this picture are fighting.
Dragon 2
This picture is odd because it has a lot red in it.
Dragon 3
I think the dragon is hungry and he’s trying to bite his tail.
Dragon 4
This dragon confuses me to because I don’t know what he is doing.

Lauryn: I think that the dragons in the first picture are fighting. I think this because they look mad and they’re facing each other in a monstrous way. This also looks mystical.

The second picture hurts my eyes. There is too much red clashing together. There are too many lines.

The third one is just looking funny. He also looks like he is yelling.

The fourth one looks like he is trying to destroy a jewel that is important and holds the faith of their land. He looks like he is furious. I think he is the dragon king.

Tommy: The dragons in the smoky, cloudy, sky look like they’re fighting. The next one looks like it’s popping out of a flower. The third one is breathing fire, and the last one is is roaring, shooting lightning, or something, but that’s what I think.

Eric: Number 1 looks like the two dragons are fighting over some thing, just like my brother and me.

Ryan: I think the dragons in the picture number one are flying away from each other because they are trying to fight each other. The dragon in picture two is popping out of a big flower. The dragon in picture three is trying to burn it self by throwing out a lot of fire. The last one is trying to break open a walnut with lighting.

Matthew: I think the first dragon is fighting. I think the second dragon is hatching out of his egg. The third dragon is blowing fire. I think the fourth dragon has weird things coming out of him.

Amanda: I think that the first picture is a dragon under the night’s sky in water.
The second picture looks like it is a dragon confused.
The third picture looks just like a dragon blowing fire on itself because he is mad.
I think the last dragon is tangled up in some kind of net. I think this because it is breathing fire to get his head out of the net.

I think.....(Taiwan)

• (Annie, Jason)I think the 1st dragons look like that they are fighting.

• (Cindy) I think the 2nd dragon is flying.

• (Cindy) I think the 3rd dragon is looking around.
• (Cindy) I think the dragon is roaring.

What do you think the dragons in the pictures are doing? Tell us what you think! Thank you!

The basic infomation about Chinese dragons(Taiwan)

( Wendy)
The dragon is the ancient to the fish, the alligator, the snake, the pig, the horse, animal and so on cow, with the fog, the thunder and lightning, one kind of sacred animal which the rainbow and so on the natural celestial phenomenon fuzzy set produces. The dragon image "three stops nine resembles", " three stops " is refers to ' from head to the upper body, form the upper body to the waist, ' from waist to the rear part are equally long ;" Nine resembles "is refers to" the angle to like the deer, the head resembles the camel, the eye resembles the rabbit, the item resembles the snake, the abdomen resembles the big clam, the large male deer resembles the fish, the fingernail resembles the hawk, the palm resembles the tiger, the ear resembles cow "..
The Chinese calls self for dragon teaching other people, in daily life common dragon image, like temple construction decoration, folk custom celebration dragon dance, even is the daily life appliance pattern.
From the Yellow Emperor time, the dragon becomes the Chinese nation the symbol, but from the B.C. three the beginning of centuries, Han Dynasty Emperor Liu Bang takes the dragon emperor's symbol.
The dragon is governs the water in the folklore the god, can incur the cloud to rain, also can surrender the monster.
Sources from http://www.yjs.com.tw/CULTURE/CULTURE1_4_1.HTM
http://www.draconian.com/dragons/chinese-dragon.php

What Chinese Dragons Look Like(Taiwan)

People said dragons looks like nine animals.
(Click on the photo, you can see it more clearly)