The figure of a dragon personifies all the power and unsurpassed strength of the Chinese state: from ancient centuries to the present. The dragon is one of the oldest symbols of the country's culture, where it appears to be the most revered animal of all.
In no country in the world do they bow down before this mythical creature - the Dragon, as they do in China. The dragon was perceived as a conqueror of all the elements. This sacred animal has been a real calling card of the entire state for many millennia.
Appearance
According to Chinese legend, the dragon has a snake body, a frog’s belly, eyes like a hare’s, as well as tiger legs. In general, the dragon figure in the Chinese tradition consists of numerous animals with which the primitive man was well acquainted. We see that the figure of the dragon is a collective image, which is created on the basis of diverse fauna. Many historians are inclined to believe that the image of the dragon originated from real-life dinosaurs, since visually they are very similar.
Mythology
It should be noted that the dragon in Chinese mythology is more than four thousand years old. The first images of it are fixed on fortunetelling bones, as well as on tortoise shells. The image of the dragon is surrounded by a halo of mystery and contains many puzzles that the Chinese still can not solve.
In ancient times, the dragon symbolized the rebellious forces of nature, as well as the sky itself and imperial power. It is no coincidence that a large number of dragons, which cannot be counted with the naked eye, are decorated with the winter residence of the emperors of the Celestial Empire in Beijing. Only on the imperial throne can you see 590 various dragons, and in the imperial hall there are more than 12 thousand species of these mythical animals.
