Editing Chinese mythology (section)

===Snakelike and reptilian===
[[File:海外北經-相柳.svg|thumb|Nine-headed Snake, (the [[Xiangliu]]), from a version of [[Shanhaijing]].]]
{{Further|Chinese dragon|Snakes in Chinese mythology}}
Various snakes and reptilians appear in Chinese mythology, folklore, and religion. These range from divine or semi-divine to merely fantastic types of the bestiary sort. Sometimes the dragon is considered part of this category, related to it, or the ruler of all the swimming and crawling folk. This may include the giant marine turtle or tortoise [[Ao (turtle)|Ao]], the [[Bashe]] snake reputed to swallow elephants, a nine-headed snake monster reminiscent of the hydra known as [[Xiangliu]], and the White Serpent from the novel ''[[Legend of the White Snake]]''.

Some ''[[Xian (Taoism)|xian]]'' were thought to have reptile and birdlike features in the [[Han dynasty|Han Dynasty]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wallace |first=Leslie V. |year=2001 |title=BETWIXT AND BETWEEN: Depictions of Immortals (Xian) in Eastern Han Tomb Reliefs |journal=[[Ars Orientalis]] |volume=41 |pages=73, 79}}</ref>