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
4 comments:
Hi Ling, thank you for what you are sharing.
In Italy - in Europe - I found teachings that seem similar to the description of the four dragons.
In Europe, we have a Tradition (Angelology or also Kabala) that teaches about Angels (spiritual, invisible but real Creatures that God created in order to help and support human beings). Beside the Angels, we can find also other invisible kind of Creatures named: "Elementali": they are four and they are responsible for ruling and governing: Fire (Salamandre), Water (Ondine), Air (Silfidi) and Earth-in the deep (Gnomi). I will look for the right names in English.
I have also some questions for you. Do you think it is suitable and appropriate for you to discuss about spiritual and divine matters?
One of these days, I would like to speak with you about another Tradition I found in Italy, concerning the Golden Plumed Serpent.
Let me know about and thank you very much.
With friendship, Andrea Mennella
Hello Friends!
Thank you for the information about the four kinds of Chinese dragons. The dragons are pretty cool. We enjoyed your explanations of their personalities. We do have some questions.
We notice the spiritual dragon has two dragons in the yin-yang. Why are they the spiritual dragons if they control the wind and rain? Which one is the spiritual dragon--the red or the black or both?
Maybe we can find a picture of the earth and underworld dragons.
Sincerely,
Your buddies in America
Hi Andrea
It's great to talk about spiritual and divine matters.
But I'm not sure whether they are related to our topic.
If the Angle and Elementali have similar power as dragons.
It's interesting to compare them.
Besides, what is the Golden Plumed Serpent?
Is it a dragon?
Thank you
Ling
Hi Our American partners!
It's good to know you've know what are and yin and yang.
Based on the information we found, yes, the two dragons are spiritual dragons and they are not always red or black.
In fact, they change their color all the time.
Sometimes, they are blue. The reason they can control weather is that they are weathermaker. So Chinese people have to please them, or that will cause a disaster like flood and drought when the spiritual dragons get angry!
Your friends from Taiwan
Post a Comment