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Chinese Dragons |
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In the west, dragon is a greedy, fire-breathing, cave-dwelling, and fear-inspiring creature that jealously guards its hoard of gold. In the east, however, Asian dragons are portrayed as good, kind, and intelligent.
Oriental Dragons have the most recorded history in the world, especially in China going back thousands of years. In history they have a very close link to the weather. It is said that some of the worst flooding in Asia's History were caused when a mortal has upset a dragon.
The Chinese dragon is said to have the head of a camel, the horns of a deer, the eyes of a rabbit, the ears of a cow, the neck of a snake, the belly of a fog , the scales of a carp ,the claws of a hawk, and the palm of a tiger .it has whiskers and a beard, and it Is deaf, it is generally regarded as benevolent but is also the source of thunder and lightning.
In Chinese history, the 5 toed dragon is the symbol of power, and are considered "Imperial Dragons".In Imperial China era, it became law in China that only the Emperor could have a five-clawed dragon displayed on his robes or illustrated on anything the Emperor owned. It was usually a Yellow dragon, thought to be the most superior of all the colored dragons. In fact, the Chinese imperial dragon was the emblem of the emperor himself, symbolizing his power and authority to intercede between heaven and earth. Like the dragon, the ideal emperor embodied wisdom and strength, manipulating the very forces of the universe for the benefit of the people. Often times in Oriental designs the dragon is seen wielding the pearl of wisdom, essentially the essence of the universe, in order to control the winds, rains, and even the planets.
As early as the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E. – C. E. 220) the phrase “dragon’s pearl” referred to the perfect thoughts and commands of the emperor while “dragon’s face” was used to refer to the emperor’s face. But the face of the oriental dragon is not actually the face of one creature but rather many. The eyes are those of a demon while the ears are those of a cow. Although the neck is that of a snake, the dragon wears the horns of a stag. Finally, it has the overall head of a camel but with a sort of lump on the top, without which it could not fly. With saliva that was like perfume and a voice like the musical ringing of a copper basin, the Oriental dragon was the bearer of profound blessings. Like other Oriental tattoo designs, the choice of a dragon is sometimes an aspiration to these same qualities of great goodness, wisdom, and power. |
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