| Dragon, evil in the west, regal in the east | |
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| Jun 18, 2007 04:25 |   |
 | Tomorrow is China's Dragon Boat Festival, which reminds me of the image of dragon. Dragon is considered as a devil in the western culture, wheras in the East, paticularly in China, it is worshipped as the symbol of grandeur and nobility. In ancient times, the emperor is compared to a dragon. The emperor's robe and chair are called " Long Pao" and " Long Yi" repectively. The robe and chair are embellished with the pattern of "Dragon". Now, the dragon is still worshipped as the forefather of Chinese. As a common saying goes among Chinese people, we are the descendents of Dragon. This saying demonstrates the distinguished status of Dragon in chinese culture. In the west , on the contrary, DRAGON symbolizes the evil. Timage of Dragon reflects the cultural difference between East and West. Can some westerners tell me more about what else " Dragon" symbolizes in your country？ I will appreciate. |
| Jun 18, 2007 11:34 | #1 |
| As a child in England, I read myths and legends of dragons needing to be slain by brave Princes to protect people from their cruelty. Dragons were described as living in mountain caves, to be found sleeping upon piles of hoarded gold (presumed stolen from the countryside around during night-time raids breathing fire & destruction). However, to the west of the UK in Wales, the Red Dragon has long been revered as a national symbol, and is not regarded as evil (at least not as evil as the English!). Wales holds closest to the ancient Celtic history (the Celts being driven from much of Europe a long long time ago). Perhaps the poor regard for the Dragon in the European culture is part of the anti-Celtic propaganda of ancient times? More recently, thanks to some wonderful tv cartoon programmes (Noggin the Nog, for any old enough to remember), the evil reputation of the dragon has been balanced by some images of goodly qualities, but even so it is rather difficult to imagine a creature with such an easy tendency towards incineration becoming a welcome house-guest.any time soon in the west! Interestingly I think the reverse situation is true of the Eagle and other hawk-like birds, which tend to be adopted as symbols of freedom and integrity in Western countries (for example the American eagle), but are not well respected in China, where they are, I understand, considered evil creatures (please correct me if I am wrong). |
| Jun 18, 2007 11:39 | #2 |
| Noggin of the Northlands: |
| Jun 18, 2007 11:41 | #3 |
| Groliffe the Dragon, always ready to respond to Noggin's calls for aid, in return for earlier services rendered: |
| Jun 18, 2007 11:45 | #4 |
| The Welsh Flag: |
| Jun 18, 2007 11:47 | #5 |
| mmmmmm... the flag didn't come out correctly - it should have been white over green with the red dragon. Apologies to my Wife (who is Welsh) |
| Jun 18, 2007 19:52 | #6 |
| China also has bad dragon stories, hasn't it? Bad dragons often flooded neighbouring villages and were at last killed or captured under a tower. |
| Jun 18, 2007 22:39 | #7 |
| Yes, you are right, traveldream. Thanks for your description. It is true that China also has some bad dragon stories.However, in most cases, dragon is viewed as the symbol of authority and justice. |
| Sep 14, 2007 04:02 | #8 |
| GUEST36113 | Dragon in China was not a materialized creature in its true meaning - It can fly, can walk, can swim and can dive, it can be as big as the universe and can be as small as a thread- in a word-it don't have it's fixed form. It's a pure culture symbol- a representation of the very spirit of Chinese civilization. In the "Bible of Change (Yi Jing)". Dragon is defined as "Always changing without any constancy, Hide and show without any predictibility". |
| Sep 14, 2007 04:28 | #9 |
| "Dragon in China was not a materialized creature in its true meaning"" It's a pure culture symbol- a representation of the very spirit of Chinese civilization" GUEST36113, I am not sure whether the dragon exist or not. I have never seen it. Probably, it did exist in the past, but now it has become extinct. I wonder why there is such a distinct cultural difference in understanding the image of Dragon between East and West. |
| Sep 14, 2007 06:41 | #10 |
| I think it’s all about politics, Here in the USA, right wing individuals and neo-cons, use the dragon analogy in reference to China in a not so friendly terms. Neo-cons like Mike Savage a radio tall show man, he is a second or third generation Russian emigrated. He refers to China, as the dragon on unfriendly terms. As a myth, in the west, there are nice dragons and bad dragons. |
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