Dragons are the sacred symbol of ancient China. In past times before the revolutions of the 20th century, each emperor’s clothing was emblazened with depictions of them and their likenessess. Dragons symbolized the highest possible level of attainment in life; they were perfect.

But of course they weren’t the same as the dragons you and I might imagine in our minds today. The dragons of ancient China were yellow creatures with snake-like scaled bodies, goat horns, and short tails.

Roaming the Mother Land in search of evil, the Chinese dragon is said to have often attacked and conquered many evil-doers in ancient China, while defending morality and goodness through its intimidating outer form.

Since they symbolised everything perfect in the world, only objects in the imperial palace were allowed to be colored yellow like the dragon — and that included everything, including clothing, jewellery and food! The punishment for using the color yellow outside of imperial grounds was death.

According to legend, dragons controlled the rain and epitomized luck and auspiciousness. Their image was likely constructed from common animals in ancient China like goats and birds. Many Chinese believe the Western idea of dragons is negatively affecting the traditionally highly-regarded image of dragons.

But so far as today’s traditional Chinese are concerned, dragons remain as always a great symbol of luck, prosperity, and the hard-working Chinese spirit!

Chris P.