Editing Chinese dragon (section)

== Depictions ==

=== Neolithic ===
[[File:C-shaped jade dragon.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|The C-shaped jade totem of [[Hongshan culture]] (c. 4700–2920 BC)]]
[[File:Jade dragon.jpg|thumb|[[Warring States]] era dragon jade pendant.]]
Dragons or dragon-like depictions have been found extensively in [[Neolithic]]-period archaeological sites throughout China. Some of earliest depictions of dragons were found at [[Xinglongwa culture]] sites. [[Yangshao culture]] sites in [[Xi'an]] have produced clay pots with dragon motifs. A burial site [[Xishuipo]] in [[Puyang]] which is associated with the Yangshao culture shows a large dragon mosaic made out of clam shells.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vMfOCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA83 |title=The Dragon in the Cockpit: How Western Aviation Concepts Conflict with Chinese Value Systems |author=Hung-Sying Jing |author2=Allen Batteau |page=83 |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-317-03529-9}}</ref> The [[Liangzhu culture]] also produced dragon-like patterns. The [[Hongshan culture]] sites in present-day [[Inner Mongolia]] produced jade dragon objects in the form of [[pig dragon]]s which are the first 3-dimensional representations of Chinese dragons.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O3h2KfXoOPYC&pg=PA46 |title=Atlas of World Art |author=John Onians |page=46 |publisher=Laurence King Publishing |date=26 April 2004 |isbn=978-1-85669-377-6}}</ref>

One such early form was the pig dragon. It is a coiled, elongated creature with a head resembling a [[boar]].<ref>[http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/china1999/037_010.htm "Jade coiled dragon, Hongshan Culture (c. 4700–2920 B.C.)"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313003502/http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/china1999/037_010.htm |date=13 March 2007}}, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Retrieved 23 February 2007.</ref> The character for "dragon" in the earliest [[Chinese character|Chinese writing]] has a similar coiled form, as do later jade dragon amulets from the [[Shang dynasty]]. A snake-like dragon body painted on red pottery wares was discovered at Taosi (Shanxi) from the second phase of the Longshan Culture, and a dragon-like object coated with approximately 2000 pieces of turquoise and jade was discovered at Erlitou.{{sfn|Meccarelli|2021|pp=123–142}}

=== Classical era ===
[[File:Qin State Warring States-Qin Dynasty Bronze Dragon (46740307754).jpg|thumb|[[Qin dynasty]] twin bronze dragons, found near the [[Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor]].]]
[[File:Tomb tile with dragon and warrior.jpg|thumb|[[Western Han dynasty]] tomb mural of a warrior on a dragon, found in Luoyang.]]
[[File:邓县南朝画像砖青龙.jpg|thumb|Dragon on a tomb brick relief from the [[Northern and Southern dynasties]].]]
[[File:20230923 Gilded Walking Dragon of Tang Dynasty.jpg|thumb|Gilded Walking Dragon of [[Tang dynasty]]]]
Chinese literature and myths refer to many dragons besides the famous ''long''. The linguist Michael Carr analyzed over 100 ancient dragon names attested in [[Chinese classic texts]].<ref name="Carr">Carr, Michael. 1990. [http://sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf4/carr1990chinese.pdf "Chinese Dragon Names"], ''Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area'' 13.2:87–189. He classified them into seven categories: Rain-dragons, Flying-dragons, Snake-dragons, Wug-dragons [''wug'' refers to "worms, bugs, and small reptiles"], Crocodile-dragons, Hill-dragons, and Miscellaneous dragons.</ref>
*''[[Tianlong]]'', celestial dragon that guards heavenly palaces and pulls divine chariots; also a name for the constellation [[Draco (constellation)|Draco]]
*''[[Shenlong]]'', thunder god that controls the weather, appearance of a human head, dragon's body, and drum-like stomach
*''[[Fuzanglong]]'', underworld guardian of precious metals and jewels, associated with volcanoes
*''[[Dilong]]'', controller of rivers and seas
*''[[Yinglong]]'', winged dragon associated with rains and floods, used by [[Yellow Emperor]] to kill [[Chi You]]
*''[[Jiaolong]]'', hornless or scaled dragon, leader of all aquatic animals
*''[[Panlong (mythology)|Panlong]]'', lake dragon that has not ascended to heaven
*''[[Huanglong (mythology)|Huanglong]]'', hornless dragon symbolizing the emperor
*''[[Feilong (mythology)|Feilong]]'', winged dragon that rides on clouds and mist; also a name for [[Feilongus|a genus of pterosaur]] (compare [[Feilong]] kick and [[Fei Long]] character)
*''Azure Dragon'', the animal associated with the East in the Chinese [[Four Symbols (Chinese constellation)|Four Symbols]], mythological creatures in the [[Chinese constellations]]
*''[[Qiulong]]'', contradictorily defined as both "horned dragon" and "hornless dragon"
*''[[Zhulong (mythology)|Zhulong]]'' was a giant red draconic [[solar deity]] in Chinese mythology. It supposedly had a human's face and snake's body, created day and night by opening and closing its eyes, and created seasonal winds by breathing. (Note that this ''zhulong'' is different from the similarly named Vermilion Dragon or the Pig dragon)
*''[[Chi (mythology)|Chilong]]'', a hornless dragon or mountain demon
Fewer Chinese dragon names derive from the word ''long'' {{lang|zh|龍}}:
*''[[Longwang]]'', divine rulers of the Four Seas
*''[[Longma]]'', emerged from the Luo River and revealed ''[[bagua]]'' to [[Fu Xi]]

Some additional Chinese dragons are not named ''long'', for instance,
*[[Hong (rainbow-dragon)|Hong]], a two-headed dragon or [[rainbow serpent]]
*[[Shen (clam-monster)|Shen]], a [[shapeshifting]] dragon or [[sea monster]] believed to create [[mirage]]s
*''[[Bashe]]'' was a giant python-like dragon that ate elephants
*''[[Teng (mythology)|Teng]]'' is a flying dragon without legs

Chinese scholars have classified dragons in diverse systems. For instance, [[Emperor Huizong of Song]] canonized five colored dragons as "kings".
*The Azure Dragon &#91;''Qinglong'' {{lang|zh|青龍}}&#93; spirits, most compassionate kings.
*The Vermilion Dragon &#91;''Zhulong'' {{lang|zh|朱龍}} or ''Chilong'' {{lang|zh|赤龍}}&#93; spirits, kings that bestow blessings on lakes.
*The Yellow Dragon &#91;''Huanglong'' {{lang|zh|黃龍}}&#93; spirits, kings that favorably hear all petitions.
*The White Dragon &#91;''Bailong'' {{lang|zh|白龍}}&#93; spirits, virtuous and pure kings.
*The Black Dragon &#91;''Xuanlong'' {{lang|zh|玄龍}} or ''Heilong'' {{lang|zh|黑龍}}&#93; spirits, kings dwelling in the depths of the mystic waters.<ref>Adapted from {{harvnb|Doré|1917}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Xr4sAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA682 p. 682].</ref>
With the addition of the Yellow Dragon of the center to Azure Dragon of the East, these Vermilion, White, and Black Dragons coordinate with the Four Symbols, including the [[Vermilion Bird]] of the South, [[White Tiger (Chinese constellation)|White Tiger]] of the West, and [[Black Tortoise]] of the North.

Dragons were varyingly thought to be able to control and embody various natural elements in their "mythic form" such as "[[water]], air, earth, [[fire]], light, wind, storm, [and] electricity".<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last1=Carlson |first1=Kathie |title=The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images |last2=Flanagin |first2=Michael N. |last3=Martin |first3=Kathleen |last4=Martin |first4=Mary E. |last5=Mendelsohn |first5=John |last6=Rodgers |first6=Priscilla Young |last7=Ronnberg |first7=Ami |last8=Salman |first8=Sherry |last9=Wesley |first9=Deborah A. |publisher=[[Taschen]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-3-8365-1448-4 |editor-last=Arm |editor-first=Karen |location=Köln |page=704 |editor-last2=Ueda |editor-first2=Kako |editor-last3=Thulin |editor-first3=Anne |editor-last4=Langerak |editor-first4=Allison |editor-last5=Kiley |editor-first5=Timothy Gus |editor-last6=Wolff |editor-first6=Mary}}</ref> Some dragons who were able to breathe fire were thought to be exiled from ''tiān'' and banished to Earth.

=== Nine sons of the dragon ===
{{Main|Nine sons of the dragon}}

Several [[Ming dynasty]] texts list what were claimed as the Nine Offspring of the Dragon ({{lang|zh|龍生九子}}), and subsequently these feature prominently in popular Chinese stories and writings. The scholar {{ill|Xie Zhaozhe|zh|謝肇淛}} (1567–1624) in his work ''Wu Za Zu'' {{ill|Wuzazu|zh|五雜俎}} (c. 1592) gives the following listing, as rendered by M. W. de Visser:
<blockquote>A well-known work of the end of the sixteenth century, the ''Wuzazu'' {{lang|zh|五雜俎}}, informs us about the nine different young of the dragon, whose shapes are used as ornaments according to their nature.
*The ''[[pulao (dragon)|Pulao]]'', four leg small form dragon class which like to scream, are represented on the tops of bells, serving as handles.
*The ''qiú niú'' {{lang|zh|{{linktext|囚牛}}}}, which like music, are used to adorn musical instruments.
*The ''[[Chiwen]]'', which like swallowing, are placed on both ends of the ridgepoles of roofs (to swallow all evil influences).
*The ''cháo fēng'' {{lang|zh|{{linktext|嘲風}}}}, beasts-like dragon which like adventure, are placed on the four corners of roofs.
*The ''yá zì'' {{lang|zh|{{linktext|睚眦}}}}, which like to kill, are engraved on sword guards.
*The ''xì xì'' {{lang|zh|{{linktext|屓屭}}}}, which have the shape of the ''chī hǔ'' {{lang|zh|{{linktext|螭虎}}}} (One kind small form dragon), and are fond of literature, are represented on the sides of grave-monuments.
*The ''bì àn'' {{lang|zh|{{linktext|狴犴}}}}, which like litigation, are placed over prison gates (to keep guard).
*The ''suān ní'' {{lang|zh|{{linktext|狻猊}}}}, which like to sit down, are represented upon the bases of Buddhist idols (under the Buddhas' or Bodhisattvas' feet).
*The ''[[Bixi (mythology)|Bixi]]'', also known as ''bà xià'' {{lang|zh|{{linktext|霸下}}}}, finally, big tortoises which like to carry heavy objects, are placed under grave-monuments.

Further, the same author enumerates nine other kinds of dragons, which are represented as ornaments of different objects or buildings according to their liking prisons, water, the rank smell of newly caught fish or newly killed meat, wind and rain, ornaments, smoke, shutting the mouth (used for adorning key-holes), standing on steep places (placed on roofs), and fire.<ref name="Visser101">{{harvnb|Visser|1913|pp=101–102}}. The primary source is [[:zh:s:五雜俎/卷09|Wu Za Zu, chapter 9]], beginning with "{{lang|zh|龍生九子...}}". The title of Xie Zhaozhe's work, ''Wu Za Zu'', has been variously translated into English as ''Five Assorted Offerings'' (in {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20020126162753/http://www.renditions.org/renditions/authors/xiezz.html Xie Zhaozhe]}}), ''Five Sundry Bands'' (in "[https://archive.today/20130415163750/http://jhmas.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/pdf_extract/57/2/177?ck=nck Disease and Its Impact on Politics, Diplomacy, and the Military ...]")
or ''Five Miscellanies'' (in [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ju3N4VeiQ28C&pg=PA48 Changing clothes in China: fashion, history, nation], p. 48).</ref>
</blockquote>

The ''Sheng'an waiji'' ({{lang|zh|升庵外集}}) collection by the poet [[Yang Shen]] (1488–1559) gives different 5th and 9th names for the dragon's nine children: the ''[[taotie]]'', form of beasts, which loves to eat and is found on food-related wares, and the ''jiāo tú'' ({{lang|zh|{{linktext|椒圖}}}}), which looks like a conch or clam, does not like to be disturbed, and is used on the front door or the doorstep. Yang's list is ''bì xì'', ''chī wěn'' or ''cháo fēng'', ''pú láo'', ''bì àn'', ''tāo tiè'', ''qiú niú'', ''yá zì'', ''suān ní'', and ''jiāo tú''. In addition, there are some sayings including ''bā xià'' {{lang|zh|{{linktext|𧈢𧏡}}}}, Hybrid of reptilia animal and dragon, a creature that likes to drink water, and is typically used on bridge structures.<ref>{{cite book |isbn=962-07-1846-1 |author={{lang|zh|吾三省}} (Wu Sanxing) |script-title=zh:中國文化背景八千詞 (Eight thousand words and expressions viewed against the background of Chinese culture) |publisher=Commercial Press |year=2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQJ_tIU1ixoC&pg=PA345 |page=345 |language=zh}}</ref>

The oldest known attestation of the "children of the dragon" list is found in the ''Shuyuan zaji'' ({{lang|zh|菽園雜記}}, ''Miscellaneous records from the bean garden'') by [[Lu Rong]] (1436–1494); however, he noted that the list enumerates mere synonyms of various antiques, not children of a dragon.<ref>[http://vip.book.sina.com.cn/book/chapter_69989_55313.html {{lang{{!}}zh{{!}}九、龙的繁衍与附会 – 龙生九子}} (1)] ("Chapter 9, Dragon's derived and associated creatures: Nine children of the dragon (1)"), in [[#yang2008|Yang Jingrong and Liu Zhixiong (2008)]]. The full text of ''Shuyuan zaji'', from which Yang and Liu quote, is available in electronic format at a number of sites, e.g. here: [http://xxgblog.tcip.net.cn/index.php/56/viewspace-3024.html {{lang{{!}}zh{{!}}菽園雜記}}] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100306151643/http://xxgblog.tcip.net.cn/index.php/56/viewspace-3024.html |date=6 March 2010}}</ref> The nine sons of the dragon were commemorated by the Shanghai Mint in 2012's year of the dragon with two sets of coins, one in silver, and one in brass. Each coin in the sets depicts one of the 9 sons, including an additional coin for the father dragon, which depicts the nine sons on the reverse.<ref>CCT4243: [https://www.coincompendium.com/w/index.php/CCT4243 2012 lunar dragon nine sons of the dragon 20 coin set] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090039/https://www.coincompendium.com/w/index.php/CCT4243 |date=4 March 2016 }}</ref> It's also a Chinese idiom, which means among brothers each one has his good points.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}

=== Dragon claws ===
[[File:Freer SacklerDSCF8044.JPG|thumb|upright=0.8|Reverse of bronze mirror, 8th century, [[Tang dynasty]], showing a dragon with three toes on each foot]]
Originally, early Chinese dragons are mostly depicted with three claws, but they can range from two to five claws. Different countries that adopted the Chinese dragon have different preferences; in Mongolia and Korea, four-clawed dragons are used, while [[Japanese dragon|in Japan]], three-clawed dragons are common. In China, three-clawed dragons were popularly used on robes during the Tang dynasty.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_CzdICSqnELkC |title=The Arts of China |author=Michael Sullivan |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_CzdICSqnELkC/page/n197 214] |publisher=University of California Press |date=1992 |isbn=978-0-520-04918-5}}</ref> The usage of the dragon motif was codified during the Yuan dynasty, and the five-clawed dragons became reserved for use by the emperor while the princes used four-clawed dragons.<ref name="komaroff">{{cite book |doi=10.1163/9789047418573_018 |chapter=Chinese Motifs in Thirteenth-Century Armenian Art: The Mongol Connection |title=Beyond the Legacy of Genghis Khan |year=2006 |last1=Kouymjian |first1=Dickran |pages=303–324 |isbn=978-90-474-1857-3}}</ref> Phoenixes and five-clawed two-horned dragons may not be used on the robes of officials and other objects such as plates and vessels in the Yuan dynasty.<ref name="komaroff"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=991360 |script-title=zh:《志第二十八 輿服一》 |work=The [[History of Yuan]]}}</ref> It was further stipulated that for commoners, "it is forbidden to wear any cloth with patterns of [[Qilin]], Male [[Fenghuang]] (Chinese phoenix), [[Moon rabbit|White rabbit]], [[Lingzhi mushroom|Lingzhi]], Five-Toe Two-Horn Dragon, Eight Dragons, Nine Dragons, '[[Ten thousand years]]', [[Fu Lu Shou|Fortune-longevity]] character and Golden Yellow etc."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=311790 |script-title=zh:《本紀第三十九 順帝二》 |quote={{lang|zh|禁服麒麟、鸞鳳、白兔、靈芝、雙角五爪龍、八龍、九龍、萬壽、福壽字、赭黃等服}} |work=The [[History of Yuan]], [[Ukhaantu Khan, Emperor Huizong of Yuan|Emperor Shundi]] ({{lang|zh|[[:zh:元史|元史]]·順帝紀)}}, compiled under [[Song Lian]] ({{lang|zh|[[:zh:宋濂|宋濂]]}}), AD 1370}}</ref>

[[File:Qing Porcelain, Qianlong Reign 101.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|18th century five-clawed dragon on porcelain ball, [[Qing dynasty]]]]
The [[Hongwu Emperor]] of the Ming dynasty emulated the Yuan dynasty rules on the use of the dragon motif and decreed that the dragon would be his emblem and that it should have five claws. The four-clawed dragon would be used typically for imperial nobility and certain high-ranking officials. The three-clawed dragon was used by lower ranks and the general public (widely seen on various Chinese goods in the Ming dynasty). The dragon, however, was only for select royalty closely associated with the imperial family, usually in various symbolic colors, and it was a capital offense for anyone—other than the emperor himself—to ever use the completely gold-colored, five-clawed ''Long'' dragon [[motif (art)|motif]]. Improper use of claw number or colors was considered treason, punishable by execution of the offender's entire clan. During the Qing dynasty, the [[Manchus]] initially considered three-clawed dragons the most sacred and used that until 1712 when it was replaced by five-clawed dragons, and portraits of the Qing emperors were usually depicted with five-clawed dragons.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=szcrOWz2gM8C&pg=PA20 |title=All About Chinese Dragons |author=Roy Bates |pages=20–21 |isbn=978-1-4357-0322-3 |year=2007 |publisher=Lulu.com}}</ref>

In works of art that left the imperial collection, either as gifts or through pilfering by court eunuchs (a long-standing problem), where practicable, one claw was removed from each set, as in several pieces of [[carved lacquerware]],<ref>[[Jessica Rawson|Rawson, Jessica]] (ed). ''The British Museum Book of Chinese Art'', p. 177, 2007 (2nd edn), British Museum Press, {{ISBN|978-0-7141-2446-9}}</ref> for example the [[Chinese lacquerware table]] in the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] in London.<ref>[[Craig Clunas|Clunas, Craig]] and Harrison-Hall, Jessica, ''Ming: 50 years that changed China'', p. 107, 2014, British Museum Press, {{ISBN|978-0-7141-2484-1}}</ref>