Chinese dragon

The Chinese dragon (龍, in pinyin: long2) is a mythical creature resembling a snake. It is the embodiment of the concept of yang. Associated with weather and water--the bringer of rain--the Chinese dragon is also a shape-changer (or at least a size-changer). It is thought of as benevolent and often caretakers.

The legend has it that the Huang Di (Yellow Emperor) used a snake for his coat of arms. Every time he conquered another tribe, he added his defeated enemy's emblem into his. Huang Di was immortalized into a dragon that looks like his emblem. That explains why the Chinese dragon has a body of a snake; the scales and tail of a fish; the antlers of a deer; the face of a qilin (a deer-like mythical creature with fire all over its body); and two pairs of talons of eagles; and the eyes of a demon. They fly in the sky among the clouds. Almost all pictures of Chinese dragons show them playing with a flaming pearl. Supposedly it is the pearl that gives them their power and allows them to ascend to heaven.

Also, since the Chinese consider Huang Di as their ancestor, they sometimes refer themselves as "the descendants of the dragons".

Another legend says the carps become dragons after they leaped over the dragon gate.

Chinese Dragons have five toes on each foot; Korean or Indonesian dragons have four and Japanese dragons have three. To explain this phonemenon, Chinese legend states that although dragons originated in China, the further away from China a dragon went the fewer toes it had, and dragons only exist in China, Korea, Indonesia ,and Japan because if they travelled further they would have no toes to continue. Japanese legend has an opposing story, namely that dragons originated in Japan, and the further they travelled the more toes they got and as a result if they went too far they would have too many toes to continue to walk properly. In Korea and Indonesia, depending upon which direction the dragon travels it will either gain or lose toes and the principles of the previous two myths both apply here.

Another interpretation: according to several sources, Chinese dragons had four toes--but the Imperial Dragon had five. It was a capital offense for anyone other than the emperor to use the five-clawed dragon motif.

The dragon is one of the 12 Chinese zodiacs which is used to designate year in the Chinese calendar. It is thought that each animal is associated with certain personality traits. (see Dragon (Zodiac)).

The dragon was a symbol for the emperor in many Chinese dynasties. During the late Qing dynasty, the dragon was even adopted as the national flag. It was an capital offense for commoners to wear clothes with a dragon symbol. The dragons are believed to be the rulers of the seas. They can show themselves as water spouts (tornado or twister over water).

Classical types

Tianlong, The Celestial Dragon
Shenlong, the Spiritual Dragon
Futs-Lung, the Dragon of Hidden Treasures
Dilong, the Underground Dragon
Yinglong (應龍), the Winged Dragon
Qiulong (虯龍), the Horned Dragon
Panlong (蟠龍), the Coiling Dragon: inhabits the waters
Huanglong (黃龍), Yellow Dragon, which emerged from the River Luo to show Fuxi the elements of writing

See also:

In the News

Mothering Sunday
Brief information about this British holiday celebrated on "the fourth Sunday of Lent. ... Traditionally, it was a day when children, mainly daughters, who had gone to work as domestic servants were given a day off to visit their mother and family. Today it is a day when children give presents, flowers, and home made cards to their mothers."From the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Negativland Kicks Out the Culture Jams With 'Our Favorite Things'
The collage barrage continues as the band of thinkers (in)famous for tweaking U2's nose releases a career-spanning DVD retrospective, with a little help from 18 indie filmmakers.

New Look For Portable Printers
Espson's new line features a no-nonsense industrial style. In Gear Factor.

Lack Of HIV Prevention For Male Sex Workers In The Caribbean Could Fue
Male sex tourists, largely from the United States and Europe, may be fueling an HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean, and efforts to stop the epidemic will be severely hampered unless HIV prevention dollars are diverted to help male prostitutes, a new study suggests.

Strokes: Dental X-rays Reveal More Than Cavities
Dental visits usually result in patient recommendations to floss or reschedule more appointments to treat a cavity, however, some patients are learning they may be at risk for a stroke too, according to a case report in the November/December issue of General Dentistry, the Academy of General Dentistry's (AGD) clinical, peer-reviewed journal.

Natural Anti-viral Enzyme Helps Keep Cancer Cells Alive, Researchers F
A molecule that cells normally use to fight viruses is also involved in keeping cancer cells alive, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered.

Surgery Is More Effective Than Other Treatments For Common Back Proble
When it comes to low back pain, physicians generally advise exhausting nonsurgical options before resorting to surgery. But a new study shows that for degenerative spondylolisthesis with spinal stenosis, surgery provides significantly better results than nonsurgical alternatives.

New Imaging Method Shows Early In Treatment If Brain Cancer Therapy Is
A special type of MRI scan that measures the movement of water molecules through the brain can help doctors determine halfway through treatment whether it will successfully shrink the tumor or a patient's cancer will continue to grow, a new study shows.

[Odd] A Romanian couple has named their son Yahoo as a sign of gratitu
Daily Libertatea said on Thursday Cornelia and Nonu Dragoman, both from Transylvania, met and decided they were meant for each other following a three-month relationship over the net.They married and had a baby this Christmas, whom they decided to name after one of the worldwide web's most popular portals."We named him Lucian Yahoo after my father and the net, the main beacon of my life,"Cornelia Dragoman was quoted as saying.

Unraveling A Stomach Cancer Puzzle
A multi-national research team led by the Melbourne Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) has identified a potential new target for stomach cancer therapy, according to a paper published today in Nature Medicine.

MP3 Music Downloads

Preview songs, Download Free Music,Burn CDs at ITunes.com

Chinese dragon

Classical types

In the News

MP3 Music Downloads

Movies