"To attract good fortune, spend a new penny on an old friend, share an old pleasure with a new friend and lift up the heart of a true friend by writing his name on the wings of a dragon."
Chinese proverb

Oriental Dragons
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The oriental dragon is very different in appearance to the Occidental dragon. The tales differ just as much. In China the dragon is a creature to be worshipped and respected. Although they can still be fierce, they are mainly called to for help in times of need, by the people of China. The Japanese dragons are very different in personality, sharing traits with the western dragons. However they are still known to be both benevolent on occasion and certainly respected by the Japanese people. Where ever you go in the east you will find the dragon has played a large part in history, with temples and areas of interest named after them and stories told of them.

Chinese Dragon Appearance
The Chinese dragon generally has a long serpentine body, both flexible and smooth. Its legs are short and small, similar to that of a lizards. At the end of these legs are between three and five sharp talons not so dissimilar from those you would find on a bird of prey. The quite often large head is equipped with an equally large snout. Within the snout are rows of small sharp teeth. The head also often has whiskers or   a moustach and a tufted beard. Often the fore head will have stag like horns or large ears. Like the Western dragon it can breath fire, though there are tales of the Chinese dragon breathing mist instead. The dragon rarely has wings though it can fly through the clouds and heavens with ease. They are often more magical and less real then the western dragons and the appearance is one such example.

The Japanese dragon is similar to the Chinese dragon in many ways. Its body is perhaps a little thinner, to look even more serpentine and often the head is smaller. They usually only have three clawsor talons. They tend to be much more ambivilent towards human beings than the Chinese dragons.

Chinese Dragons in China
The Chinese dragon is normally classified under the term "Lung" or "Long". It is hard to give them a definitive description because there are so many sub-classes and each has its own characteristics.  
In Chinese myth the dragon is normally associated with the elements water or fire. The dragons were generally benevolent to humans and the five toed dragon even became associated with the position of emperor and was found on the imperial garments and robes. One of the Emperor's (Yaou) was said to be sired by a dragon, therefore garantying a prestigious heritage.
The Chinese dragon is also known to be one of the four celestial beings along with the Feng Hwang, Ch'i Lin and the tortoise. Each of these were greatly revered in China.
Another tale of the dragon's benevolence is the story stating a dragon was responsable for giving the Pa Kwa Spiritual Trigrams to the emperor in the 4th century BC
Of course the dragon is also   one of the beings of the Chinese zodiac. It is also said that the preporations of dragons bones were commonly used in many medical concoctions.

And so you can see that the dragon played a very prominent part in Chinese Culture and history. It is hard though to describe in exact detail, the traits of the dragon because there are so many sub divisions. For instance in the Sung period 1101AD the dragons were split as follows.

  • The black dragons were in charge of the mysterious lakes
  • The blue dragons dwelt in the realms of compassion and courage
  • The southern red dragons were in charge of fresh water lakes and the pleasures of summer
  • It was the yellow dragon that taught people to read and write and they would also convey prayer to the gods
  • The white dragon was associated with virtue, though at times could indicate a coming famine.

However over time the dragons became numerous and therefore harder to generalise.

They all had important jobs and responsabilities though. One legend tells of Xi He, the wife of the god Di Jun. She had ten sons and every day, while it was still dark, she would take one of her sons in her chariot which ws pulled by a dragon. The sons were in fact suns and she would take them to where they could walk across the sky.

One group of dragons seem to have maintained their position in Chinese myths remarkably well. The dragonkings. Their names were Ao Chin, Ao Kuang, Ao Shun and Ao Jun. They controlled the water and rains and when the people needed help with floods they would seek the assistance of the local regions dragonking. The dragon dance is still performed at Chinese new years festivals as a ritual to encourage rain.   It is said that all four dragon kings inhabited great palaces of crystal or pearl at the bottom of the ocean depth. Their leader was Ao Kuang who in turn answered to the August Personage of Jade. According to legend though, Ao Kuang was later succeeded by his son Ao Ping. And it was Ao Ping who was said to have fought for the last emperor of the shang dynasty, Chou Wang (Chou Tsin) in 1154 - 1121BC In some legends the dragonkings also answered to the dragon Lung Wang though i currently know very little about this king of dragonkings.

There were many dragons commanded by the dragon kings. To name a few their names were T'ien Lung, Ti Lung, Yu Lung, Ying Lung, Gao Mang, Rou Shou, Chang Lung, Chi Lung Wang, Lung Wang, Pai Lung and Shen Lung. Their duties range from control of springs, wells, marshes, lakes, rivers, seas, rainfall, storms, fires and floods. I will give as much detail as i can on these dragons in to A - Z section when that is up.

There are many legends in China associated with the dragon. One such legend is the tale of Chang Lung. He was a successful magistrate in the reign Chung Tsung684AD. He was respected by all, including his sons and wife for his peity. His sons one day noticed he spent longer hours in the temple each night and decided to question him on it. Chang Lung confessed that he was metamorphosing into a dragon protector but another dragon was challenging him. He asked his sons to help him and they agreed saying they would recognise him by a red ribbon he would wear. That night the sons went to the temple armed with bows. As the two dragons fought they managed to shoot down the rival dragon. From that day Chang became the protector of the community. In AD707 the temple was apparently dedicated to Chang Lung and then enlarged in 894 and 1091AD.

The myths also have also shown dragons as being foolish as this particular tale describes. It tells of an ocean dragon whose wife was very sick. He asked her what she would like to eat, in order to feel better. After some pursuading she admitted she would like a monkeys heart. Not wanting her to suffer the dragon made his way to the shore where he spied a monkey in a tree. To get the monkey down the dragon offered to carry it to a land where fruit grew on every branch. The monkey climbed down from its perch and got onto the dragons back and the dragon dived down into the ocean depth. Panic stricken the monkey asked where they were going to which the dragon apologetically told him of his wifes request. The monkey told the dragon that it had infact left its heart at the top of the tree and that they would need to go for it. The foolish dragon agreed and once they reached the shore the monkey climbed quickly back into the safety of the tree tops. The lucky monkey thought to itself "What simpletons the dragons must be to fall for a story like that"

The story seems to me to have a morale. The Chinese history has been rich with wise men, interesting proverbs and words of wisdom and this story could quite easily be one of them. To me it means that although the dragon is mighty and revered, even the mighty can be foolish and outsmarted. However this may not have been its meaning at all.

In the Forbidden city there are several animal symbols such as the crane , lion, turtle and various other beasts. One symbol, however, dominates the forbidden city. That of the dragon. It is said to be the symbol for many things including authority, fertility, goodness, strength and it is the benevolent bringer of wealth and good fortune. As mentioned earlier the emperor wore dragon robes, sat in the dragon throne and even slept in the dragon bed. The peopel of China would often refer to themselves as the children of the dragon, such was the dragons influence.

Chinese Dragon
One of the dragons at the Forbidden City

Japanese dragons appearance.& traits
The Japanese dragons are far more warlike than the Chinese. Their tales are often similar in structure to the western myths. That is not to say that all Japanese dragons were evil. Far from it. In appearence they are similar to the Chinese dragon and it can be easy to confuse the two. However Japanese dragons tend to onky have three claws or talons on each leg. They tend to be sleeker in appearence with a smaller head but many of the facial features remain the same.

Japanese dragons in Japan
It is most likely the Japanese dragon is derrived directly from the Chinese dragon. The similarities are great but of course through time differences did evolve. Mainly in the type of Myths associated with the dragon. The dragon was still a mythical creature to be looked apon with awe but they were more often than not, warlike creatures. However some tales show almost human qualities to the large beast.

Such as in the Legend of Hi-ko-hoho-da-mi no mikito, a god who went fishing using his brothers best hook. During the fishing trip he lost the hook to the ocean, and not wanting to be responsible for losing his brothers best hook, he went in search of it. He swam to the depth of the ocean where he met Toyotama, the beautiful daughter of the sea god. It was this same sea god that helped Hi-ko-hoho-da-mi no mikito find his brothers hook. He married the daughter and for a while lived happily in the ocean. However Hi-ko-hoho-da-mi no mikito wanted to return to the surface. His wife agreed as long as he promised never to look at her at night. With that agreement they both moved to the surface. When a child was born in the middle of the night Hi-ko-hoho-da-mi no mikito could not wait until the morning to see it. He pulled back the curtains and there infront of him was not his wife but a black dragon coiled around the new born child. The dragon fled to the bottom of the sea never to be seen or heard from again.

However as i mentioned earlier their tales often revolve around the dragon being evil or destructive. Such as one of the tales of the storm god Takehaya Susanowo. He heard a young beautiful woman crying. The storm god aproached her parents and asked them why she wept. They told him that their daughter Kusiada shed her tears because she was the last of eight daughters, all who had been devoured by a dragon. The dragon was said to have had eight tails, eight legs each with eight claws and was pure evil. Its eyes were said to shoot fire and it was so large it made hills look small in comparison. Kusiada was expecting to be the dragons next victim. Takehaya said he would save the girl if she was given to him as his wife. The parents accepted and so the god turned her into a comb which he wore in his hair. He then waited with a vat of sake which he proceeded to offer to the dragon. Being unused to alcahol the dragon got drunk, which enabled the storm god to kill it. One thing of note about this tale is the similarity it shares with so many other dragon tales across the globe. The similarity being the use of alcahol to kill the dragon. One other tale that uses alcahol in this way is the tale of Lludd and Llefelys.

It is said that the Japanese used to believe that a female dragon would give birth to nine young, each of which would have a different attribute.

  1. The first likes to sing. This may be the reason that Japanese bells have dragon like tops.
  2. The second likes music. Possibly why the Koto and Suzumi instruments are decorated with dragons.
  3. The third is fond of drinking and thus drinking vessels are so adorned.
  4. The fourth likes dangerous and steep places and so the beams of temples and pagodas are provided with dragons.
  5. The fifth likes killing and is warlike which maybe why swords are decorated with dragons.
  6. The sixth likes learning and so book covers are decorated with dragons.
  7. The seventh is known for its hearing abilities and so drumheads, gongs and chimes wear its mark.
  8. The eighth likes to sit and is lazy hence chairs have carved dragon ornaments.
  9. The ninth is strong and likes to bear heavy weights and so table legs and hibachi have dragon like feet.

Like the Chinese the Japanese tales told of dragon kings. For instance the dragon king associated with fire (i have also heard tale of Ryujin being in control of the sea tides. At this time i am unsure as to which is true.) in Japan is called Ryujin. He is described as an enourmous being with a vast mouth. Ryujin inhabits a magical jewelled palace beneath the seas. His grandson was said to be the first emperor which is again, very similar to the Chinese myths.

Having said that i have also read that the Japanese have four dragonkings, none of which are called Ryujin. According to a few sources their names are:

  • Sui Riu - The dragon that produces reddish rain when it is suffering.
  • Ban Riu - A Multistriped dragon, about fourty feet long.
  • Ka Riu - Fiery red but only about seven feet long.
  • Ri Riu - Able to see far more than one hundred miles.

Currently i am unsure as to which one is correct.

Japanese Dragon
A Japanese dragon by Kano Mitsunobu from the 16th century

There are some tales which are very similar to the Chinese myths. One such tale is the story of the hero Hidesato. The hero was travelling when he came across a dragon sleeping on his path. Instead of turning back Hidesato decided to step around the dragon to continue on his way. The dragon was not infact asleep but was waiting and once the hero had stepped around him, took on a human form and aproached the man. He explained that he had been waiting for a brave man who would not turn away at the sight of a dragon. When asked why the dragon said he needed a hero to kill a monstrous centipede which had been causing him trouble. The dragon was infact the dragonking of lake Bawa. Hidesao killed the centipede and became the savour of the dragonkings people.

Then there are tales which have far more in common with the western dragon. The Japanese serpents represented dark forces beneath the earth and the sea. They are connected with the destructive god Susanoo. One of these serpents was Uwambami, who could swallow a man on horseback whole. Uwambami represented the dangers that lurked beneath the waters and according to legend was eventually slain by the hero Yegara-no-Heida.

 

Bibliography

  1. A Natural History, Dragons and Unicorns - Paul and Karin Johnsgard
  2. Encyclopedia of World Mythology - Arthur Cotterell
  3. Giants, Monsters & Dragons - Carol Rose
  4. History of Mythology - Veronica Ions
  5. Myths and Lengends from around the world - Sandy Shepherd
  6. Mythology - C. Scott Littleton
  7. The Dragon - Francis Huxley

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