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- The red dragon is ingrained in the Chinese culture for centuries.
- Chinese dragons have many forms but are commonly shown as snake-like creatures with four legs.
- Like all cultures, the Chinese, too, have a story about how this world was created.
- In this story, a dragon helped the creator of the world—Pan Gu—in the early stages of the creation.
- In another legend, a goddess named Nu Gua, who had the torso of a woman and the tail of a dragon, moulded the first humans out of mud, and so, she is seen as a divine being.
- Chinese also believe that after humanity’s creation, dragons lived alongside mankind, providing protection and guidance.
- It is said that some 5000 years back, they had an emperor, Huang Di (credited for so many good things in China), who was a human incarnation of a dragon.
- When tribes in China fought each other to gain more lands in ancient China, Huang Di collaborated with Yan Di to defeat the enemies.
- Yan Di is believed to have been conceived after his mother dreamt of a dragon.
- As Huang Di’s and Yan Di’s tribes united, they picked a dragon as the symbol for their newly-formed tribe’s banner.
- Since those prehistoric times, many Chinese people have considered themselves Huang Di and Yan Di’s descendants, and therefore, the descendants of dragons.
- Dragons, in Chinese culture, symbolise power, strength, and good luck for people who are worthy of it.
Image courtesy of Chris F through Pexesls
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