Dragon has always been a mysterious mythical creature which has been a part of life in eastern Asia. Actually it was taken from the Chinese folk lore. Ancient dragon has been described and given a form of serpent with a scaly body except for the fact that unlike a serpent it has four legs and each foot has five claws.
Similar to China Europe too has dragon like mythical creatures though their meaning and physical appearance is quite different especially European dragon has a negative meaning.
The Chinese dragon on the other hand has assumedadopted both roles of good and evil throughout Chinese history. But more than anything else the symbol of the dragon represents divine power according to ancient folklore and art from China.
The Chinese dragon takes on various qualities which the Chinese people have credited to it. It is rarely known that the Chinese dragon is the male symbol representing yang. Then again it is taken as a symbol to bring rain and water where the people are doing agriculture for a living.
Did you know that Chinese dragon has a female counter part? Well it's true and it is called phoenix. But the western people seem to presume that the Chinese have formally adopted Chinese dragon as official symbol. In fact this is totally incorrect.
You will find that in ancient Chinese history the dragon symbol was restricted to be used only by emperors. It is well known that the common people were not allowed to use the Chinese dragon symbol during the reign of Yuan dynasty. Only during the Qing dynasty rule that the Chinese dragon was brought to be used on the national flag.
China has deliberately and badly tried to disassociate itself from the dragon symbol due to the negative political connotations associated with it. Because the image of the dragon had a threatening war like perception in the eyes of the west the Chinese wanted to replace that image with a softer symbol. The alternate was the giant panda which is now taken as the emblem of China.
Chinese Dragon plays an important role in giving ethnic identity to Chinese people even today when some of them feel that they are the descendants of the Dragon and they truly have devotion in the powerful symbol. The identification of a nation with an animal is a trend which started in 1970s when the Mongols felt that they have characteristics of wolf and Tibetans felt that they are descendants of monkeys.
The Chinese people still use the Chinese Dragon symbol a good deal even if it is not for religious purpose. The Chinese Dragon today has a special use in China wholly for decoration. The use of Dragon on T-shirts or posters or tattoos or advertisement is a common sight throughout China.
Similar to China Europe too has dragon like mythical creatures though their meaning and physical appearance is quite different especially European dragon has a negative meaning.
The Chinese dragon on the other hand has assumedadopted both roles of good and evil throughout Chinese history. But more than anything else the symbol of the dragon represents divine power according to ancient folklore and art from China.
The Chinese dragon takes on various qualities which the Chinese people have credited to it. It is rarely known that the Chinese dragon is the male symbol representing yang. Then again it is taken as a symbol to bring rain and water where the people are doing agriculture for a living.
Did you know that Chinese dragon has a female counter part? Well it's true and it is called phoenix. But the western people seem to presume that the Chinese have formally adopted Chinese dragon as official symbol. In fact this is totally incorrect.
You will find that in ancient Chinese history the dragon symbol was restricted to be used only by emperors. It is well known that the common people were not allowed to use the Chinese dragon symbol during the reign of Yuan dynasty. Only during the Qing dynasty rule that the Chinese dragon was brought to be used on the national flag.
China has deliberately and badly tried to disassociate itself from the dragon symbol due to the negative political connotations associated with it. Because the image of the dragon had a threatening war like perception in the eyes of the west the Chinese wanted to replace that image with a softer symbol. The alternate was the giant panda which is now taken as the emblem of China.
Chinese Dragon plays an important role in giving ethnic identity to Chinese people even today when some of them feel that they are the descendants of the Dragon and they truly have devotion in the powerful symbol. The identification of a nation with an animal is a trend which started in 1970s when the Mongols felt that they have characteristics of wolf and Tibetans felt that they are descendants of monkeys.
The Chinese people still use the Chinese Dragon symbol a good deal even if it is not for religious purpose. The Chinese Dragon today has a special use in China wholly for decoration. The use of Dragon on T-shirts or posters or tattoos or advertisement is a common sight throughout China.
About the Author:
Chinese dragon symbols are are thought to bring good luck in Chinese culture. To read more on Chinese kanji characters click on the hyperlinks.