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

Tuesday 8 April 2014

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

Chinese For Dragon Biography

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Dragons are deeply rooted in Chinese culture. The Chinese sign for the dragon first appeared upon turtle shields as a tribal totem way back during the Yin and Shang dynasties, and was eventually emblazed on the national flag during the Qing Dynasty

Chinese mythology is rich with the artwork, tales and depictions of dragons. Dragons are thought to give life, hence their breath is called "sheng chi" or divine energy. They are essentially benevolent and associated with abundance and blessing. They were helpful, wise and generous with their gifts when people encountered them.

Known as the sons of heaven and the governors of rainfall, they symbolise royalty, nobility and good fortune. Some possessed great powers that allowed them to make rain and control floods, hence the dragon is a symbol of the natural world as well.

Wang Fu [Han dynasty 206 BC - AD 220], was the scholar who recorded the anatomy of the Chinese dragon in extensive detail. Chinese dragons have nine characteristics which are a complex combination. They have a camel's head, a demon's eyes, a cow's ears, a deer's horns, a clam's belly, a snake's neck, an eagle's claws, a tiger's paws and 117 carp scales.

Chinese dragons are physically concise. Of the 117 scales, 81 are of the yang essence [positive] while 36 are of the yin essence [negative]. This malevolent influence [which is thankfully the smaller ratio] accounts for their destructive and aggressive side. Just as water destroys, so can the dragons in the form of floods or droughts, tidal waves and storms. Legend has it that they caused the droughts by eclipsing the sun. Some of the worst floods were believed to have been the result of a mortal upsetting a dragon.

Nine Types

There are a total of nine types of classical Chinese dragons.

Chinese scholars categorized the dragons according to their cosmic tasks:

1. The Celestial Dragon [t'ien-Lung/literally "heaven dragon"] is the ruler of the dragons, in charge of protecting the heavens and homes of the deities.

2. The Spiritual dragon [shen-lung/literally "spirit dragon"] controls the weather and had to be appeased, or weather conditions would turn disastrous. A special rank of these dragons is known as Imperial Dragons that have five toes*. The only place they could be depicted on was imperial insignia.

3. The Earth dragon [ti-lung] controls rivers. It spends springtime in heaven and autumn in the sea.

4. The Underworld dragon [fu-ts'ang lung] is the guardian of precious metals and jewels buried in the earth. Volcanoes are said to be created when they burst out of the ground to report to heaven.

Other distinct species include:

5. The Horned Dragon. Considered to be the mightiest.

6. The Winged Dragon. The only dragon with wings. Believed to be a powerful servant of Huang Di, the yellow emperor, who was later immortalized as a dragon. One legend states that Yinglong helped a man named Yu stop the Yellow River from flooding by digging long channels with his tail .

7. The Coiling Dragon. Dwells in the ocean.

8. The Yellow Dragon. A hornless dragon known for its scholarly knowledge. Emerged from the River Luo to show Fuxi the elements of writing.

9. The Dragon King. Really four dragons that were respected and honoured as these were the dragons people approached when there was no rain. Each of these rules over one of the four seas, those of the east, south, west, and north.

The process for Chinese dragons to progress from hatchling to mature dragon is a lengthy one. They could take a whole millennium just to hatch! A millennium was needed for the dragon to grow scales and develop the head of a carp. Transformation of a fishlike nature would continue throughout the next millennium, and in the last 1000 years, the dragon would finally acquire the general appearance of an Oriental dragon.

A detailed description: a dragon is called a kiao, or scaled dragon, after the first five hundred years of its life. After another 1000 years, it is considered a lung, or proper dragon. An additional five hundred years and it becomes a kioh-lung, or horned dragon. Another 1000 years after that, it becomes ying-lung, or a winged dragon.