Chinese Dragon

The Chinese dragon 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.

Welcome to our world of beautiful chinese dragon figurine designs from the middle ages! The oldest culture in the world to utilize chinese dragon decor in their mythology and beliefs are the Chinese. For them, the dragon figurine is a divine, mythical creature that brings good fortune, prosperity and bounty.

The chinese 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 Chinese dragon has monarchist connotations which run counter to recent Chinese ideologies and because the Chinese 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.

However even though the Chinese 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 a Chinese Dragon, for example when U.S. sportswear giant Nike made an advert campaign for their brands, a basketball player is shown slaying a Chinese Dragon. This advert was banned immediately from the Chinese government after public outcry for disrespect of the Dragon.

Chinese or Korean Imperial dragons have five toes on each foot; Indonesian dragons have four and Japanese dragons have three. To explain this phenomenon, Chinese legend states that although dragons originated in China, the further away from China a dragon went the fewer toes it had, and dragons only exist in China, Korea, Indonesia, and Japan because if they travelled further they would have no toes to continue. Japanese legend has an opposing story, namely that dragons originated in Japan, and the further they traveled the more toes they grew and as a result, if they went too far they would have too many toes to continue to walk properly. These theories are rejected in Korea and Indonesia.

Another interpretation: according to several sources, including historical official documents, a ordinary Chinese dragon had four toes - but the Imperial Chinese Dragon had five. It was a capital offense for anyone other than the emperor to use the five-clawed dragon motif.

Korean sources seem to disagree with this theory, as the Imperial dragon in Gyeongbok Palace has seven claws, implying its superiority over the Chinese Dragon; of course, this dragon image is hidden in the rafters of the palace and is not entirely in view, even to those who know it is there, suggesting that while the ancient Koreans viewed it as superior, they also knew that it would be offensive to the Imperial Chinese Court.