Cheenese draigons are legendar craiturs in Cheense meethologie an fowklear. In Cheenese airt, draigons is teepically shawn as lang, scaled, serpentine craiturs wi fower legs. In yin an yang terminologie, a draigon is yang an complements a yin fenghuang ("Cheenese phoenix").

Chinee draigon
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese

Cheenese draigons tradeetionally seembolise potent an auspeecious pouers, in parteecular owerins ower watter, rainfaw, hurricane, an fluids. The draigon is a seembol o pouer, strenth, an sonse. Wi this, the Emperor o Cheenae for ordinar uised the draigon as a seembol o his imperial pouer an maucht.

In Cheenese daily leed, excellent an ootstaundin fowk is compared tae the draigon whiles incapable fowk wi nae achievements is compared wi ither, disesteemit craiturs, sic as the human. A nummer o Cheenae sawes an eedioms featurs references tae the draigon, for ensaumple: "Howpin ane's son will become a draigon" (望子成龍, i.e. be as a draigon).

Seembolic value eedit

 
Statue o the goddess Xihe charioteerin the sun, bein harled bi a draigon, in Hangzhou

Historically, the draigon wis the seembol o the Emperor o Cheenae. In the Zhou Dynasty, the 5-clawed draigon wis assigned tae the Son o Heaven, the 4-clawed draigon tae the nobles (zhuhou, seigneur), an the 3-clawed draigon tae the meenisters (daifu). In the Qin Dynasty, the 5-clawed draigon wis assigned tae represent the Emperor whiles the 4-clawed an 3-clawed draigons wur assigned tae the commoners. The draigon in the Qing Dynasty appeared on naitional banners.[1]

The draigon is whiles uised in the Wast as a naitional emblem o Cheenae. Housomeivver, this uiss athin baith the Fowkrepublic o Cheenae an the Republic o Cheenae on Taiwan as the seembol o naition is no common. Insteid, it is generally uised as the seembol o cultur. In Hong Kong, the draigon is pairt o the design o Brand Hong Kong, a seembol uised tae promote Hong Kong as a internaitional buist name.[2]

In European-influencit culturs, the draigon haes aggressive, warlike connotations an it is conjectured that the Cheenese govrenment wishes tae evite uisin it as a seembol, but maist Cheenese disagree wi this decision.[3] Wastreners anerlie whiles confuise the disposition o the benevolent Cheenese draigon wi the aggressive Wastren draigon.

Cheenese fowk whiles uise the term "Descendants o the Draigon" (simplifeed Cheenese: ; traditeeonal Cheenese: ) as a sign o ethnic identity, as pairt o a trend stairtit in the 1970s when different Asie naitionalities wur leukin for ainimal seembols for representations.[1] The wouf wis uised amang the Mongols, the monkey amang Tibetans.[1]

In Cheenese cultur the day, the draigon is maistly uised for decorative purposes. It is a taboo tae disfigur a depiction o a draigon.

Unner a draigon's neck is a piece o white haund-bouk scales, in crescent shape, that is commonly kent as reverse scale (Cheenese pinyin: ni Lin). Frae anatomy perspective, the bluid frae the hert oot o the main bluid vessels in the white flaucht here dispersion tae the vascular. Even if the draigon haes guid temper, it will get extremely maed as suin as ye touch the inverse scale. Awbody mey hae a "reverse scale" canna no touch an aw.

References eedit

  1. a b c Sleeboom, Margaret. [2004] (2004). Academic Nations in China and Japan: Framed in concepts of Nature, Culture and the Universal. Routledge Publishing. ISBN 0-415-31545-X
  2. "Brand Overview" Archived 2008-12-23 at the Wayback Machine, Brand Hong Kong, 09-2004. Retrieved on 23-02-2007.
  3. BBC Article: Fiery Debate Over China's Dragon, a airticle coverin Cheenae's decision no tae uise a draigon mascot an the resultin disappointment.