What do dragons represent in Chinese mythology?
145957#93
The Chinese dragon is one of the most important mythical creatures in Chinese mythology, considered to be the most powerful and divine creature and the controller of all waters who could create clouds with their breath. The dragon symbolized great power and was very supportive of heroes and gods. The conventional dragon has a certain description, however there are other dragons or dragon-like beings that vary from this description. For example, the Chi of mythology lacks horns. Dragons often chase or play with a mystical or flaming pearl. A dragon-fenghuang pairing is a common motif in art, the fenghuang often being called a "phoenix".
Chinese mythology
156154#45
Chinese dragons are legendary creatures in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and East Asian culture at large. Chinese dragons have many animal-like forms such as turtles and fish, but are most commonly depicted as snake-like with four legs. They traditionally symbolize potent and auspicious powers, particularly control over water, rainfall, typhoons, and floods. The dragon is also a symbol of power, strength, and good luck for people who are worthy of it in East Asian culture. During the days of Imperial China, the Emperor of China usually used the dragon as a symbol of his imperial power and strength. They are also the symbol and representative for the Son of Heaven, the Mandate of Heaven, the Celestial Empire and the Chinese Tributary System during the history of China.
Chinese culture
32414739#36
The Chinese mythological symbols of the Dragon and the Phoenix have been used to represent Jason and Sam individually as well as their union as a married couple. Throughout their relationship Jason and Sam have had an affinity for Chinese food. When they went to escape the stress of their wedding, they ended up in the Asian Quarter of town at a little Chinese restaurant. The couple’s wedding was infused with a lot of Chinese tradition. During their wedding ceremony in the garden, Jason stood under the symbol of the Dragon and Sam stood under the symbol of the Phoenix. In Chinese mythology, the Phoenix symbolizes luck, success, beauty and prosperity. The Phoenix was considered the goddess of all winged creatures and was often the symbol of the Empress. The Dragon symbolizes protection, strength, wealth, good fortune and vigilance. It is regarded as the ultimate being amongst all creatures and was often the symbol of the Emperor. Together, the dragon and the phoenix represent the ultimate union of yin and yang. They represent wedded bliss, harmony, happiness in marriage, people who are "meant to be," success and prosperity, as well as many offspring, and the beginning of a dynastic family. For Christmas on December 23, 2011, Jason and Sam exchanged dragon and phoenix figurines. The couple's son, Daniel, was born in the year of the dragon and their daughter, Emily, was born in the year of the phoenix (fire rooster). During their wedding ceremony the minister, Robert Yi recited these words on the dragon and the phoenix:
Jason Morgan and Sam McCall
19150987#20
""Hong" < *"g'ung" 虹 'rainbow' has always represented a dragon to the Chinese," says Carr (1990:103), "from Shang oracle pictographs of dicephalous sky-serpents to the modern 虹 graph with the 'wug' radical." The mythic Chinese "hong" "rainbow" dragon has a few parallels in the natural world (two-headed snake, Rainbow Snake Farancia erytrogramma, and Rainbow Boa Epicrates cenchria) and many in comparative mythology (see rainbows in mythology and snakes in mythology).
Hong (rainbow-dragon)
24765622#12
Another hypothesis on why star, moon, cloud and dragon symbols started appearing on Chinese cash coins is that they represent Yin and Yang and the Wu Xing, or more specifically the element of water (水), this hypothesis claims that the appearance of these symbols wasn't accidental but a manifestation of the fundamental belief of the ancient Chinese people of the time in Yin Yang energy and the elements of the Wu Xing. The Hanzi character for a "spring" (泉), which in this context refers to the underground source of water also meant "coin" in ancient China. In Chinese mythology the moon was an envoy or messenger from the heavens and water was cold air of Yin energy that was being accumulated and had their origins on the moon. As the moon was the spirit in charge of water in Chinese mythology and was in fact its essence the alleged meaning of crescent symbols representing "the moon" on cash coins could indicate that cash coins have to circulate just like water which flows, gushes, and rises. The symbolism of "clouds" or "auspicious clouds" in this context may then refer to the fact that clouds cause rain, in the Book of Changes the second trigram is mentioned to be representative of the element water which appear in the heavens as clouds, this would also imply that like flowing water cash coins should circulate freely. The appearance of wiggly-lines that represent Chinese dragons happened around this time as well and may have also been based on the Wu Xing element of water as dragons were thought to be water animals that were the bringers of both the winds and the rain, this would also confirm that dragons represented the nation that the circulation of cash coins should be free akin to how water flows. In later Chinese charms, amulets, and talismans the dragon became a symbol of the Chinese emperor as well as the central government of China and its power.
Chinese numismatic charm
19781494#23
In Chinese folklore and art, most dragons, including the "long" 龍, are represented with two horns. Besides the "chi" 螭, only a few dragons supposedly lacked horns, for instance, "jiaolong" 蛟龍 "aquatic dragon; hornless dragon; crocodile" or "qiulong" 虯龍 "horned dragon; hornless dragon".
Chi (mythology)
145957#8
The Four Symbols of Chinese cosmology were the Azure Dragon of the East, the Black Tortoise of the North, the White Tiger of the West, and the 
Vermillion Bird of the South. These totem animals represented the four cardinal directions, with a lot of associated symbolism and beliefs. A fifth cardinal direction was also postulated: the center, represented by the emperor of China, located in the middle of his Middle Kingdom (Zhong Guo, or China). The real or mythological inhabitants making their dwellings at these cardinal points were numerous, as is associated mythology.
Chinese mythology
145957#94
One of the most famous dragons in Chinese mythology is Yinglong, the god of rain. Many people in different places pray to Yinglong to receive rain. Chinese people use the term 龍的傳人 ("Descendants of the Dragon") as a sign of their ethnic identity. Shenlong is a master of storms and bringer of rain. Zhulong the Torch Dragon is a giant red solar deity. Sometimes he appears in composite snake-like, human-dragon form. There were various dragon kings. They mostly lived undersea and were of the Ao family, such as Ao Guang.
Chinese mythology
20300524#4
Some bilingual Chinese dictionaries translate "teng" as "wingless dragon", but this apparent ghost meaning is not found in monolingual Chinese sources. For instance, the Wiktionary and the Unihan Database translation equivalent for "teng" 螣 is "mythological wingless dragon of" . This dangling "of" appears to be copied from Robert Henry Mathews (1931:894) "Mathews' Chinese-English Dictionary" "A wingless dragon of the clouds", which adapted Herbert Giles's (1892:1352) dictionary "A wingless dragon which inhabits the clouds and is regarded as a creature of evil omen." While dragons are depicted as both winged and wingless (e.g., the lindworm "a bipedal wingless dragon"), Chinese dictionaries note "teng" "flying serpents" are "wuzu" 無足 "footless; legless" (see the "Xunzi" below) not "wingless".
Teng (mythology)
23700077#8
One exception to the age preference for younger men is shown by the dragon, a powerful mythological beast, and a phallic symbol of male potency. According to Xiaomingxiong, Chinese dragons "consistently enjoy sexual relationships with older men", one example being in the tale of "Old Farmer and a Dragon", in which a sixty-year-old farmer is forcibly sodomised by a passing dragon, resulting in wounds from penetration and bites that require medical attention.
LGBT themes in Chinese mythology