Assignment
Part 1:
Read through the listing of Chinese gods and goddesses. Be sure to have a basic idea of who they are and what they are known for in mythology.
Part 2:
Read through the Chinese creation stories. Then choose a creation myth from around the world and compare it to some aspect of the Chinese creation stories. Write your comparison and contrast on a Google doc and share with me before the end of the period. It should follow MLA format and be set up in essay form.
Part 1:
Read through the listing of Chinese gods and goddesses. Be sure to have a basic idea of who they are and what they are known for in mythology.
Part 2:
Read through the Chinese creation stories. Then choose a creation myth from around the world and compare it to some aspect of the Chinese creation stories. Write your comparison and contrast on a Google doc and share with me before the end of the period. It should follow MLA format and be set up in essay form.
Background
Recent archaeological discoveries confirm the dragon’s association with Chinese culture for at least six thousand years. Dragon references occur prominently in early philosophical texts as well as in the images of shamanistic worship.
One legend has it that six to seven thousand years ago when living conditions were extremely harsh, the early Chinese believed that certain species of animals or plants possessed the power to overcome nature’s fury. Different tribes regarded a particular animal or plant as their totem or common ancestor as well and the tribe’s special guardian able to provide food and avert disaster through omens or signs. At that time there were great numbers of tribes scattered all over China each worshiping its own totem. Among them was a tribe located in Central China on the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, which used the snake as its totem. They called the snake “dragon” and owed their victories in battle to the dragon’s protection. Whenever they conquered another totemic tribe, they added part of that totem to the snake to show that they had annexed another tribe. For example, when they annexed the tribe with a deer totem, the deer’s antlers were added to the head of the snake.
In that way, the dragon finally became the creature of Nine Resemblances: Head of a camel, horns of a deer, eyes of a hare, ears of a bull, neck of a snake, belly of a clam, scales of a carp, claws of an eagle, and paws of a tiger. Additional descriptions added whiskers on each side of its mouth, the voice of a copper gong, lethal scales which were reversed under the throat and extended out 12 inches. A later scholar described this dragon of nine resemblances as having nine rows of nine scales or 81 scales. Nine is an important and lucky number in China. A large white pearl, often shown in the dragon’s claws or jaws, was his most precious possession. It gives off a radiant light which never fades and was the source of his power.
MYTH OF THE DRAGON
Before the beginning of time-- at the time before creation--the dragon (Lung or Long) is identified as one of the four primary benevolent spiritual animals, the symbol of all things male as was the sun. The second was the phoenix (feng), the symbol of all things female. The final 2 were the unicorn and the tortoise. After the creation of man, Tien Ti, the Emperor of Heaven, observed the wickedness of man and sent a flood which covered most of the land. Yu, a younger god, took pity and asked for man’s forgiveness. With Tien Ti’s permission Yu descended to earth with a giant black tortoise carrying magic soil to absorb the flood and an emerald scaled dragon whose wings he used to sculpt the land. For thirty years, he traveled the earth scattering the soil and using the dragon’s tail to carve out the steppes, mountains, rivers and valleys of China.
QUALITIES OF THE DRAGON
1. Greatest power was that of transformation. The dragon could become a human, animal or bird, but always retained the nature of a dragon.
2. Dragons is associated with Wisdom-- conferring great blessings on those they favored.
3. Revered and feared because he is most often associated with the weather and is also known as the “rain master” His eyes flashed lightening, wings caused the wind, his breath the rain. The dry season occurred when he was hibernating in the water which was his natural element. Every river and lake in China boasted its own dragon.
4. Dragons took thousands of years to achieve full growth. They mated in the form of snakes, laid eggs near a river or lake. The eggs were huge and round, like beautiful stones or jewels, and often required a millennium to hatch. Lightening and thunder accompanied the hatching. An additional 1500 years were required to achieve full size; 500 more for the horns and another millennium for the wings, though the dragon could fly without them (a fun math problem!).
5. The dragon was the symbol of the Emperor of China (Supreme ruler of all of China who rules by the Mandate of Heaven. The Emperor was supposed to have dragon’s blood in his veins. All of his possessions were given the name of dragon: Dragon Throne, Dragon Robe, Dragon Boat, Dragon Bed, etc. Only the royal dragon had five claws. All others had three or four. It was a crime punishable by death for anyone but the Emperor to possess a dragon with five claws.
6. Dragon is associated with the seasons, He ascended into the sky in the spring to make rain for the crops and returned to his underwater palace in the fall. A farming people, the Chinese peasants prayed to the dragon for good harvests, banging gongs to awaken him in the spring. They brought him offerings and small images in clay.
7. Dragon kingdom is divided into four departments ruled over by the Dragon King: Celestial Dragons (Tien-lung) who guarded and supported the heavens, Spiritual Dragons (Shen-lung) who controlled rain and wind and fed man, Earth Dragons (Ti-lung) who directed the course of rivers and streams safely toward the sea andSubterranean Dragons (Fut’s-lung) who guarded the treasures of the earth, gems, jade, gold. Each dragon type had four categories. probably associated with growth and age: serpentine, clawed, horned and winged.
8. Dragons came in many colors also associated with their powers: Azure dragons were associated with spring, red and black were ferocious, representing storms in clouds, and yellow dragons were the greatest, like the sun, elusive, august and solitary. Types and colors of dragons might make an excellent classification exercise.
9. One legend identified the dragon’s favorite food as swallows, so much so, in fact, that persons who have had swallow for dinner are advised not to cross a bridge or go near water lest the dragon scent swallow on the eater’s breath and gobble him alive. Dragons are easily frightened by the centipede (often poisonous in China) or by a piece of silk dyed with five colors.
10. Dragons came to be associated with all things relating to the Emperor, with two holidays-- the Dragon Boat Festival and Chinese New Year. It is one of the 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac--the year 2000 is the Year of the Dragon.
Botsford, Judy. "Chinese Dragon: A Powerful Metaphor in Chinese Cultural History Tags: China, Chinese Dragon ." Mythology of the Chinese Dragon. Runkle School, 27 May 2015. 03 Dec. 2015. Web.
Recent archaeological discoveries confirm the dragon’s association with Chinese culture for at least six thousand years. Dragon references occur prominently in early philosophical texts as well as in the images of shamanistic worship.
One legend has it that six to seven thousand years ago when living conditions were extremely harsh, the early Chinese believed that certain species of animals or plants possessed the power to overcome nature’s fury. Different tribes regarded a particular animal or plant as their totem or common ancestor as well and the tribe’s special guardian able to provide food and avert disaster through omens or signs. At that time there were great numbers of tribes scattered all over China each worshiping its own totem. Among them was a tribe located in Central China on the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, which used the snake as its totem. They called the snake “dragon” and owed their victories in battle to the dragon’s protection. Whenever they conquered another totemic tribe, they added part of that totem to the snake to show that they had annexed another tribe. For example, when they annexed the tribe with a deer totem, the deer’s antlers were added to the head of the snake.
In that way, the dragon finally became the creature of Nine Resemblances: Head of a camel, horns of a deer, eyes of a hare, ears of a bull, neck of a snake, belly of a clam, scales of a carp, claws of an eagle, and paws of a tiger. Additional descriptions added whiskers on each side of its mouth, the voice of a copper gong, lethal scales which were reversed under the throat and extended out 12 inches. A later scholar described this dragon of nine resemblances as having nine rows of nine scales or 81 scales. Nine is an important and lucky number in China. A large white pearl, often shown in the dragon’s claws or jaws, was his most precious possession. It gives off a radiant light which never fades and was the source of his power.
MYTH OF THE DRAGON
Before the beginning of time-- at the time before creation--the dragon (Lung or Long) is identified as one of the four primary benevolent spiritual animals, the symbol of all things male as was the sun. The second was the phoenix (feng), the symbol of all things female. The final 2 were the unicorn and the tortoise. After the creation of man, Tien Ti, the Emperor of Heaven, observed the wickedness of man and sent a flood which covered most of the land. Yu, a younger god, took pity and asked for man’s forgiveness. With Tien Ti’s permission Yu descended to earth with a giant black tortoise carrying magic soil to absorb the flood and an emerald scaled dragon whose wings he used to sculpt the land. For thirty years, he traveled the earth scattering the soil and using the dragon’s tail to carve out the steppes, mountains, rivers and valleys of China.
QUALITIES OF THE DRAGON
1. Greatest power was that of transformation. The dragon could become a human, animal or bird, but always retained the nature of a dragon.
2. Dragons is associated with Wisdom-- conferring great blessings on those they favored.
3. Revered and feared because he is most often associated with the weather and is also known as the “rain master” His eyes flashed lightening, wings caused the wind, his breath the rain. The dry season occurred when he was hibernating in the water which was his natural element. Every river and lake in China boasted its own dragon.
4. Dragons took thousands of years to achieve full growth. They mated in the form of snakes, laid eggs near a river or lake. The eggs were huge and round, like beautiful stones or jewels, and often required a millennium to hatch. Lightening and thunder accompanied the hatching. An additional 1500 years were required to achieve full size; 500 more for the horns and another millennium for the wings, though the dragon could fly without them (a fun math problem!).
5. The dragon was the symbol of the Emperor of China (Supreme ruler of all of China who rules by the Mandate of Heaven. The Emperor was supposed to have dragon’s blood in his veins. All of his possessions were given the name of dragon: Dragon Throne, Dragon Robe, Dragon Boat, Dragon Bed, etc. Only the royal dragon had five claws. All others had three or four. It was a crime punishable by death for anyone but the Emperor to possess a dragon with five claws.
6. Dragon is associated with the seasons, He ascended into the sky in the spring to make rain for the crops and returned to his underwater palace in the fall. A farming people, the Chinese peasants prayed to the dragon for good harvests, banging gongs to awaken him in the spring. They brought him offerings and small images in clay.
7. Dragon kingdom is divided into four departments ruled over by the Dragon King: Celestial Dragons (Tien-lung) who guarded and supported the heavens, Spiritual Dragons (Shen-lung) who controlled rain and wind and fed man, Earth Dragons (Ti-lung) who directed the course of rivers and streams safely toward the sea andSubterranean Dragons (Fut’s-lung) who guarded the treasures of the earth, gems, jade, gold. Each dragon type had four categories. probably associated with growth and age: serpentine, clawed, horned and winged.
8. Dragons came in many colors also associated with their powers: Azure dragons were associated with spring, red and black were ferocious, representing storms in clouds, and yellow dragons were the greatest, like the sun, elusive, august and solitary. Types and colors of dragons might make an excellent classification exercise.
9. One legend identified the dragon’s favorite food as swallows, so much so, in fact, that persons who have had swallow for dinner are advised not to cross a bridge or go near water lest the dragon scent swallow on the eater’s breath and gobble him alive. Dragons are easily frightened by the centipede (often poisonous in China) or by a piece of silk dyed with five colors.
10. Dragons came to be associated with all things relating to the Emperor, with two holidays-- the Dragon Boat Festival and Chinese New Year. It is one of the 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac--the year 2000 is the Year of the Dragon.
Botsford, Judy. "Chinese Dragon: A Powerful Metaphor in Chinese Cultural History Tags: China, Chinese Dragon ." Mythology of the Chinese Dragon. Runkle School, 27 May 2015. 03 Dec. 2015. Web.