Chinese Dragon Tattoo Head Dance Symbol Drawing Pictures Parade Costume Mask Images: Chinese Dragon Myths Chinese Dragon Tattoo Head Dance Symbol Drawing Pictures Parade Costume Mask Images

Tuesday 8 April 2014

Chinese Dragon Myths Chinese Dragon Tattoo Head Dance Symbol Drawing Pictures Parade Costume Mask Images

Chinese Dragon Myths Biography

Source(google.com.pk)

The dragon is a legendary creature that appears in the myths of many cultures. Dragons are generally shown as reptilian, lizard-like with two pairs of legs and long tail. They are sometimes drawn with huge yellow or red eyes. They sometimes have spines along their back. Centuries ago dragons were drawn as very small, often smaller than people, but as the stories grew, so did the dragons.

Dragons often have a special importance and in some cultures are regarded with reverence and respect. They are often regarded as being very wise, and very long-lived. They are considered to be magic. Most commonly known today are the European and the Asian dragons.

The European dragon generally has huge bat-like wings on its back. They are depicted as ferocious and cruel, and love treasure, which they hoard and guard. They breathe fire. They lived in wild and lonely places and were known to kidnap and devour maidens. In many stories, brave knights rescued these maidens. Because of this association with bravery, the dragon was often used as a symbol on shields, badges, flags and banners. The national flag of Wales has a red dragon on it.

Asian dragons, in contrast, are thought to bring good luck. They live in water or burrow into mountainsides, and spit water rather than fire They are nocturnal, or active at night.

There are about nine main kinds of Chinese dragon.

The most powerful are Horned Dragons.

Some are Winged Dragons, able to fly to heaven.

Some, Celestial Dragons, guard the gods and, in the past, the Emperors. These dragons have five claws on each foot, instead of four like the other dragons.

Spiritual Dragons control rain and wind and protects sacred places from evil spirits.

Earth Dragons control rivers and floods.

Dragons of Hidden Treasures guard sacred treasures such as the Pearl of Wisdom and control earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Chinese dragons get their power from the Pearl of Wisdom, which multiplies anything it touches. The Pearl or other treasure it is guarding is kept under it chin.

There are four Dragon Kings, North, South, East and West.

There are also Yellow and Coiling Dragons.Because they are symbols of good luck, Asian dragons are often used as designs on ceramics, fabric, statues, jewellery, building and boat decorations and small ornaments.

Before the beginning of time-- at the time before creation--the dragon (Lung or Long) is identified as one of the four primary benevolent spiritual animals, the symbol of all things male as was the sun. The second was the phoenix (feng), the symbol of all things female. The final 2 were the unicorn and the tortoise. After the creation of man, Tien Ti, the Emperor of Heaven, observed the wickedness of man and sent a flood which covered most of the land. Yu, a younger god, took pity and asked for man’s forgiveness. With Tien Ti’s permission Yu descended to earth with a giant black tortoise carrying magic soil to absorb the flood and an emerald scaled dragon whose wings he used to sculpt the land. For thirty years, he traveled the earth scattering the soil and using the dragon’s tail to carve out the steppes, mountains, rivers and valleys of China.

QUALITIES OF THE DRAGON

1. Greatest power was that of transformation. The dragon could become a human, animal or bird, but always retained the nature of a dragon.

2. Dragons is associated with Wisdom-- conferring great blessings on those they favored.

3. Revered and feared because he is most often associated with the weather and is also known as the “rain master” His eyes flashed lightening, wings caused the wind, his breath the rain. The dry season occurred when he was hibernating in the water which was his natural element. Every river and lake in China boasted its own dragon.

4. Dragons took thousands of years to achieve full growth. They mated in the form of snakes, laid eggs near a river or lake. The eggs were huge and round, like beautiful stones or jewels, and often required a millennium to hatch. Lightening and thunder accompanied the hatching. An additional 1500 years were required to achieve full size; 500 more for the horns and another millennium for the wings, though the dragon could fly without them (a fun math problem!).

5. The dragon was the symbol of the Emperor of China (Supreme ruler of all of China who rules by the Mandate of Heaven. The Emperor was supposed to have dragon’s blood in his veins. All of his possessions were given the name of dragon: Dragon Throne, Dragon Robe, Dragon Boat, Dragon Bed, etc. Only the royal dragon had five claws. All others had three or four. It was a crime punishable by death for anyone but the Emperor to possess a dragon with five claws.

6. Dragon is associated with the seasons, He ascended into the sky in the spring to make rain for the crops and returned to his underwater palace in the fall. A farming people, the Chinese peasants prayed to the dragon for good harvests, banging gongs to awaken him in the spring. They brought him offerings and small images in clay.

7. Dragon kingdom is divided into four departments ruled over by the Dragon King: Celestial Dragons (Tien-lung) who guarded and supported the heavens, Spiritual Dragons (Shen-lung) who controlled rain and wind and fed man, Earth Dragons (Ti-lung) who directed the course of rivers and streams safely toward the sea and Subterranean Dragons (Fut’s-lung) who guarded the treasures of the earth, gems, jade, gold. Each dragon type had four categories. probably associated with growth and age: serpentine, clawed, horned and winged.

8. Dragons came in many colors also associated with their powers: Azure dragons were associated with spring, red and black were ferocious, representing storms in clouds, and yellow dragons were the greatest, like the sun, elusive, august and solitary. Types and colors of dragons might make an excellent classification exercise.

9. One legend identified the dragon’s favorite food as swallows, so much so, in fact, that persons who have had swallow for dinner are advised not to cross a bridge or go near water lest the dragon scent swallow on the eater’s breath and gobble him alive. Dragons are easily frightened by the centipede (often poisonous in China) or by a piece of silk dyed with five colors.

10. Dragons came to be associated with all things relating to the Emperor, with two holidays-- the Dragon Boat Festival and Chinese New Year. It is one of the 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac--the year 2000 is the Year of the Dragon.