Neolithic depictions
Dragons or dragon-like depictions have been found extensively in neolithic-period archaeological sites throughout China. The earliest depiction of dragons was found at Xinglongwa culture sites. Yangshao culture sites in Xi'an have produced clay pots with dragon motifs. The Liangzhu culture also produced dragon-like patterns. The Hongshan culture sites in present-day Inner Mongolia produced jade dragon amulets in the form of pig dragons.
One such early form was the pig dragon. It is a coiled, elongated creature with a head resembling a boar[3]. The character for "dragon" in the earliest Chinese writing has a similar coiled form, as do later jade dragon amulets from the Shang period.
Classical depictions
There are "Nine Classical Types" of dragons as depicted in Chinese art and literature, nine being an auspicious number in Chinese culture.
Chinese scholars categorized the dragons according to their cosmic tasks. These are:
Tianlong (天龍, tiān lóng: literally "heaven dragon"), The Celestial Dragon - the ruler of the dragons.
Shenlong (神龍, shén lóng: literally "spirit dragon"), The Spiritual Dragon - controls the weather and had to be appeased, or weather conditions would turn disastrous.
Fucanglong (伏藏龍), The Dragon of Hidden Treasures - the guardian of precious metals and jewels buried in the earth.
Dilong (地龍), The Earth Dragon - controls rivers. It spends springtime in heaven and autumn in the sea.
Yinglong (應龍), The Winged Dragon - believed to be a powerful servant of Huang Di, the yellow emperor, later immortalized as a dragon.
Jiaolong (虯龍), The Horned Dragon - considered to be the mightiest.
Panlong (蟠龍), The Coiling Dragon - dwells in the lakes of the Orient.
Huanglong (黃龍), Yellow Dragon - a hornless dragon known for its scholarly knowledge.
The Dragon King (龍王) - each rules over one of the four seas, those of the east, south, west, and north.
Besides these, there are Nine Dragon Children, which feature prominently in architectural and monumental decorations:
The first son is called bixi (贔屭 pinyin: bìxì), which looks like a giant tortoise and is good at carrying weight. It is oftenfound as the carved stone base of monumental tablets.
The second son is called chiwen (螭吻 pinyin chǐwěn), which looks like a beast and likes to see very far. It is always found on the roof.
The third son is called pulao (蒲牢 pinyin pǔláo), which looks like a small dragon, and likes to roar. Thus it is always found on bells.
The fourth son is called bi'an (狴犴 pinyin bì'àn), which looks like a tiger, and is powerful. It is often found on prison doors tofrighten the prisoners.
The fifth son is called taotie (饕餮 pinyin tāotiè), which loves to eat and is found on food-related wares.
The sixth son is called baxia (蚣蝮 pinyin gōngfù or bāxià), which likes to be in water, and is found on bridges.
The seventh son is called yazi (睚眥 pinyin yázī), which likes to kill, and is found on swords and knives.
The eighth son is called suanni (狻猊 pinyin suānní), which looks like a lion and likes smoke as well as having an affinity for fireworks. It is usually found on incense burners.
The youngest is called jiaotu (椒圖 pinyin jiāotú), which looks like a conch or clam and does not like to be disturbed. It is used on the front door or the doorstep.
There are two other (inferior) dragon species, the jiao and the li, both hornless. The jiao is sometimes said to be female dragons.
The word is also used to refer to crocodiles and other large reptiles. The li is said to be a yellow version of the jiao. Whereas the dragon is mostly seen as auscpicious or holy, the jiao and the li are often depicted as evil or malicious.
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| bixi (贔屭 pinyin: bìxì) | chiwen (螭吻 pinyin chǐwěn) |
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| bi'an (狴犴 pinyin bì'àn) | taotie (饕餮 pinyin tāotiè) |
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| baxia (蚣蝮 pinyin gōngfù or bāxià) | yazi (睚眥 pinyin yázī) |
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| suanni (狻猊 pinyin suānní) | jiaotu (椒圖 pinyin jiāotú) |
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| pulao (蒲牢 pinyin pǔláo) | |
Dragon toes
The Chinese dragons have five toes on each foot, Indonesian or Korean dragons have four, and the Japanese dragons have three. To explain this phenomenon, Chinese legend states that all Imperial dragons originated in China, and the further away from China a dragon went the fewer toes it had. Dragons only exist in China, Korea, Indonesia, and Japan because if they traveled further they would have no toes to continue. The Japanese legend has a story similar to the Chinese one, namely that dragons originated in Japan, and the further they traveled the more toes they grew and as a result, if they went too far they would have too many toes to continue to walk properly.
Official interpretation back in the dynasty period: Five claws dragons are reserved for the emperors (five is the holy number in Five elements (Chinese philosophy), four claws dragon is reserved for kings, princes and certain high rank officials, three claws dragon are used by the general public (which is widely seen on China and other Chinese goods back in Ming dynasty). Since Korea and other nations only held the title of king (with respect to the emperor in china), they are only allowed to use four claw dragon.
Inproper use of claw number is considered as a sign of rebellion, and will be punished heavily such as executions of whole clan.
Another interpretation: according to several sources, including historical official documents, ordinary Chinese dragons had four toes - but the Imperial Dragon had five. It was a capital offense for anyone - other than the emperor, his blood relatives, and the very few officials who were granted such an extraordinary privilege by the emperor - to use the five-clawed dragon motif.
Korean sources seem to oppose this theory, as the Imperial dragon in Gyeongbok Palace has seven claws, implying its superiority over the inferior Chinese Dragon; of course, this dragon image is hidden in the rafters of the palace and is not entirely in view, even to those who know it is there, suggesting that while the ancient Koreans viewed it as superior, they also knew that it would be offensive to the Imperial Chinese Court.
The Han style dragon is also 3 clawed, which explains how the 3 clawed dragon went to Japan in the Tang or pre-Tang period.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Chinese dragon".