Chinese dragon

The Chinese dragon ({{zh-tsp|t=?|s=?|p=lóng}} Cantonese: loong; Hokkien: dieng, leng) is a mythical creature. Long a potent symbol of auspicious power in Chinese folklore and art, it is the embodiment of the concept of yang and associated with the weather and water as the bringer of rain.

Related Topics:
Chinese - Dragon - Cantonese - Hokkien - Mythical creature - Folklore - Art - Yang - Weather - Water - Rain

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The dragon is sometimes in the West viewed as a national emblem of China. However, this usage within both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan is extremely rare, both because the dragon has monarchist connotations which run counter to recent Chinese ideologies and because the dragon has aggressive, warlike connotations which Chinese governments dislike. It is for the latter reason that the giant panda is far more often used within China as a national emblem than the Chinese dragon.

Related Topics:
National emblem - People's Republic of China - Republic of China - Taiwan - Giant panda

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However even though Dragon lost it symbol as China, it is still a respected creature in Chinese cultural daily life. It is a taboo to disfigure a depiction of Dragon, for example when U.S sportswear giant Nike made an advert campaign for their brands, a basketball player is shown slaying a Dragon (amongs beating up an old Kung Fu master) . This advert was banned immediately from the Chinese government after public outcry for disrespect of the Dragon.

Related Topics:
Taboo - U.S - Nike - Basketball - Kung Fu - Chinese government

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Also alot of Chinese proverbs and idioms still use Dragon, one example "Looking forward their child turn to a Dragon".

Related Topics:
Proverbs - Idioms

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