The Red Dragon in the Chinese New Year

Sunday, January 22, 2012

CHINA identified herself as the “Red Dragon” of the East. The dragon is an ancient symbol of supernatural power, justice, fertility, well-being, responsiveness and dignity of the Chinese people and their culture. The color red is customarily a propitious color in Chinese culture and represents happiness or good luck or prosperity. Ancient China was ruled by emperors and they recognized themselves as the dragons, the dragon being a symbol of imperial authority.

An emperor was believed to be the heavenly son of a real dragon who rules the world in righteous path. The Chinese dragon evolved to become a mythical creature revered in Chinese culture. Its physical form is a combination of many animals, including the horns of a stag, ears of a bull, eyes of a rabbit, claws of a tiger and the scales of a fish, all on a long serpent’s body. With these traits, it was believed dragons were amphibious with the ability to move on land, fly through the air and swim in the sea, bestowing them roles as governors of cloud and rain in weather.

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Dragons are legendary creatures in Chinese mythology and folklore, with mystic counterparts among Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Bhutanese, Western and Turks. Dragons own a very special spot in Chinese mythology present in Chinese arts, literature, architecture songs, and in all areas of Chinese life. Its origin is unknown but it goes back to their ancient history. According to Chinese folk generation, before the dawn of history, the Chinese live in a difficult life, they believed that totem, any natural or mythical animal will protect their lives until came a time that an image of a dragon appeared, they believed the dragon was their guardian, and as time goes by, the dragon can be seen everywhere.

Images of two pairs of dragons were designed in Chinese ceramics during the Wine Jar, Ming Dynasty in early 16-th century. In the Vase, Chia,Ching reign (1532-1455), porcelains were decorated with five –color enameled imperial five clawed dragons sporting in the middle of the waves. Dragons were painted on the robes of the emperors during the Tang, Chuba QIng and Chia Ching period (1796-18200). The famous 100 boys “jacket of Empress Xiao Jing which was embellished with figures of dragons, bamboo, flowers and displayed 100 boys playing games, flying kites, catching birds, and pretending to be officials. In the Ming Dynasty, pair of dragons was painted on varnish brush pots. There is a popular saying in China “the dragon has nine sons with different abilities, appearance and interest” represented in the amazing “Nine Dragon Wall” built in 1756 in Beijing Baihai Park. It is a 21 long, about 15m high and 1.2 thick. It is faced with 424 7 color –color ceramic tiles, at the core is a giant dragon ,flanged ,by four dragons on each side and the wall is covered from edge to edge with many smaller dragons, a total of 635 dragons in all..

Dragons are depicted in Chinese Dragon Dance .The Chinese celebrates the Chinese New year with a Dragon Dance. Known as the Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year starts from the beginning of spring. It's a very significant holiday in Chinese culture and the festivities extend over a period of two weeks.

According to Beijinger, “Dragon dance is a form of traditional dance and performance in Chinese culture, like the lion dance it is most often seen in festive celebrations.” Chinese people often use the term “Descendants of the Dragon,” in the dance, a team of Chinese people carry the dragon — which is an image of the Chinese dragon on poles. He added, “The Chinese Dragon dance started during the Han Dynasty where the Chinese people believed to have respect and enormous belief towards the dragons.” Beijinger said, “It is believed to have begun as part of the farming and harvest culture, also with origins as a method of healing and preventing sickness. It was already a popular event during the Sung Dynasty where it had become a folk activity and like the lion dance, was most often seen in festive celebrations, from its origins in combining stylized depictions of natural animals.”

As the dragon gives people a feeling of great respect, it is often called the Sacred Dragon. The red dragon is a traditional symbol for every Chinese New Year .Celebration of Chinese New Year would mean new life, new beginning, and a bountiful living.” Kung heifat choy to everybody.(Source: chinapage.com/dragon, squidoo.comchefinyou.com)