2. Three Questions
• What are Chinese dragons?
• What do Chinese dragons do?
• Why are Chinese dragons important?
3. Physical Features
All Chinese dragons
have:
•The head of a camel.
•The neck and tail of a
snake.
•The scales of a fish.
•The paws of a tiger.
•The claws of an eagle.
•
•
•
•
The ears of an ox.
The horns of a deer.
The eyes of a hare.
The belly of a clam.
4. The Pearl/Ball
A symbol of wisdom and yang
(positive) energy, the pearl has
many meanings; one of the most
common is that it represents the
moon, which is “born anew”
every month.
5. What Do Dragons Do?
• Guardians
– Control water, rainfall, floods, and hurricanes
– Often placed on the tops of buildings to ward
off fires
6. Legend of the Four Dragons
As an ultimate act of guardianship, the
dragons became rivers:
•Heilongjian (Black Dragon)
•Huanghe (Yellow Dragon)
•Changjiang (Long Dragon)
•Zhujiang (Pearl Dragon)
7. Royalty Symbols
– The emperors are said to be
descendants of dragons
– Only emperors can wear or display fivefingered dragons. Important people can
use four-fingered dragons, and
commoners used three.
8. Cultural Symbols
Western Dragons
Eastern Dragons
Associated with fear, evil,
kidnapping princesses, and
even the devil
Associated with
wisdom, protection,
and good luck
Remember that different cultures often view things in new
ways!
9. Pulao, the bell dragon
(likes to roar)
Chiwen, the roof dragon
(likes to swallow evil
influences)
Chao Feng, the precipice dragon
(likes to take risks)
Qiuniu, the
instrument dragon
(likes music)
Yazi, the
sword
dragon
(likes to
kill)
10. Bixi and Baxia, the grave
dragons (like literature
and carrying heavy
loads)
Bian, the prison
dragon (likes
justice)
Suanni, the incense
dragon (likes sitting,
especially near
smoke)
11. Why are Dragons Important?
• Part of creation story
– Dragons hold the weight of the sky
– The creator is part dragon
• Taught humanity many important things
– Art
– Music
• Emperors are the descendants of dragons
• The lucky number 9
– Nine is strongly associated with the Chinese dragon, a symbol of magic and
power. There are nine forms of the dragon, it is described in terms of nine
attributes, and it has nine children. It has 117 scales; 81 yang (masculine,
heavenly) and 36 yin (feminine, earthly). All three numbers are multiples of 9
(9x13=117, 9x9=81, 9x4=36) and add up individually to 9 (1+1+7=9, 8+1=9,
3+6=9).
12. Resources
Sources
Additional Cool Stuff:
•http://www.ninedragonbaguazhang.com/dragons.htm Legend of the Four Dragons:
Read the
http://www.fourdragonskwc.com/id22.html
•http://www.lifepaths360.com/index.php/dr
agons-mythical-creature-chinese-legends13696/
•http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/soc
ial_customs/dragon_lion.htm
•http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215373/
Watch a video retelling of the dragon
legend: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=01UQ0IWxC6E
