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DragonCultureinChinaOriginofChineseDragon•DragonculturesexitinboththeEasternandWesternworld.However,therearetotallydifferentconnotations内涵underthedifferentculturebackgrounds.•Somescholarsbelievethatdragonoriginatedfromtotemsofdifferenttribes部落inancientChina.•Somesuggestthatitcomesfromastylizeddepiction固定形式ofexistinganimals,suchassnakes,fishorcrocodiles.•Inall,dragondoesn’texistatall;itisanimaginaryanimal.•Chinesedragontraditionallysymbolizesstrengthandauspicious（吉祥）,inthepastpeoplethinkitcontroloverwater,rainfallandfloods.•Itisalsoasymbolofluck.TheChineseevenhaveayearofthedragon,anditissaidthatanyoneborninthisyearwillbehealthy,wealthy,andwise.•InordertodistinguishtheChinesedragon“龙”andtheEnglishdragon,somedictionariescalltheChineseoneas“Chinesedragon”todistinctfromtheEnglishone.•Englishoneisspelledas“dragon”whiletheChineseoneas“loong”.However,theideashavenotbeeninbroadagreementsofar.SuggestionsofLoong:•AstheimageofChinaintheworldisdragon,thewesterners,especiallytheChristians,oftenmisunderstandChinesecharacters.TheymaythinkChineseisabarbarous残暴的peopleforthedifferenceinculture.Thus,thepromotionofadopting“loong”seemsquitenecessaryinmaintainingtheChineseimagewhichisactuallyakindandpersistentpeople.WhydidancientChinesepeoplecreatesuchanimaginaryanimal?•ThedevelopmentofagricultureinancientChina•Dragonsareconsideredasthegovernorsofrain.Theyhavethepowertodecidewhereandwhentohaverainfalls.Thekingsofdragonsliveinthedragonpalacesundertheoceans.ImageofChinesedragon•Nobodyreallyknowswherethedragoncomesfrom.•Thedragonlookslikeacombinationofmanyanimals,isdescribedvisually形象地asacomposite合成体ofpartsfromnineanimals:•Thehornsofadeer;角似鹿•theheadofacamel;头似驼•theeyesofarabbit;眼如兔•theneckofasnake;项似蛇•theabdomenofalargecockle;腹如蜃•thescalesofacarp;鳞如鱼•theclawsofaneagle;爪似鹰•thepawsofatiger;掌似虎•andtheearsofanox.身如牛ThecharacteristicsofthedragonSymbolicValueinChina•Historically,thedragonwasthesymboloftheEmperorofChina,fordragonsareviewedasbeingpotentandauspiciouspowers.•Chineseemperorsthinktheyaretherealdragonsandthesonsofheaven.Thebedstheysleeponarecalledthedragonbeds,thethronecalledthedragonseat,andtheemperor'sceremonial正式的dressescalledthedragonrobes.•1.Rulerofweatherandwater•Chinesedragonsarestronglyassociated使联系withwaterinpopularbelief.Theyarebelievedtobetherulersofmovingbodiesofwater,suchaswaterfalls,rivers,seasorflood.•Intimesofdrought干旱orflooding,itwascustomaryforthelocalpeopleandgovernmentofficialstoleadthecommunityinofferingsacrificesandconducingotherreligiousrites仪式toappease满足thedragon,eithertoaskforrain.•TherearefourmajorDragonKings,representingeachofthefourseas:•TheEastSea,theSouthSea,theWestSea,andtheNorthSea.•Becauseofthisassociation联想,theyareseenas“incharge”ofwater-relatedweatherphenomenon.2.Symbolofimperialauthority皇权•Thedragon,especiallyyelloworgoldendragonswithfiveclaws抓oneachfoot,wasasymbolforemperorinmanyChinesedynasties.•Theimperialthrone王座wascalledtheDragonThrone.DuringthelateQingDynasty,thedragonwasevenadoptedasthenationalflag.Thedragonisfeaturedin体现thecarving雕塑intheimperialpalacesandtombs墓碑.清康熙清乾隆•InsomeChineselegends传奇,anEmperormightbebornwithabirthmark胎记intheshapeofadragon.Andincontrast,theEmpressofChinawasoftenidentifiedwiththeFenghuang,orphoenix.FormsofdragoncultureinChina•1.ThedragonplaysanimportantpartinChineseFestivals.•2.Thedragondancehasalonghistory,whichwasalreadyapopulareventduringtheSongDynasty(960-1279AD).•3.TheDragonBoatFestival,isalmostpurely纯粹地dragon-relatedfestival,whichbecomespopularinternationaleventsnow.•5.Dragonandarchitecturedecoration北京北海公园：九龙壁•承德须弥福寿庙大殿•上海豫园Dragon’sninesons•嘲凤•*螭吻，又叫鸱尾、鸱吻。口润嗓粗而好吞，遂成殿脊两端的吞脊兽，取其灭火消灾。*椒图形状像螺蚌，性好闭，最反感别人进入它的巢穴，将其形象雕在大门的铺首上，或刻画在门板上以求安全.蚣蝮性喜水，被雕成桥柱、建筑上滴水的兽形。螭首嘴大，肚子能容纳很多水，在建筑中多用于排水口装饰•赑屃，貌似龟，有齿，力大，好负重。其背亦负以重物，在石碑下的石龟为其形象。在拆除北京旧城墙时，在东便门和西便门的城墙下各发现半个赑屃，因此有赑屃驮着北京城之说。•睚眦睚眦相貌似豺，好腥杀。常被雕饰在刀柄剑鞘上。睚眦的本意是怒目而视，所谓“一饭之德必偿，睚眦之怨必报”。所以，像豺一样的龙子就出现在刀柄刀鞘上了。•狻猊狻猊本是狮子的别名，所以形状像狮，好烟火，又好坐。庙中佛座及香炉上能见其风采。Assignments:1.鲤鱼跳龙门3.画龙点睛StoriesoridiomsaboutDragonsinChina