The Chinese dragon, Lung, was believed to be necessary for the good of the people, being the bringer of rain. Throughout Chinese history the dragon had been part of weather. It is said that some of the worst floodings were caused when a mortal has upset a dragon. Legend says that they could cause a drought by gathering up all the water of a district in baskets, or they could eclipse the sun. The dragon was also a symbol of the emperor whose wisdom and divine power assured the well-being of his subjects. Many legends draw connections between the dragon and the emperor. Some emperors climed to have descened from the dragon. One of the Chinese legends involving dragons, Zhang Zengyad & The Painting On The Wall, is Here.
Chinese dragons of myth could make themselves as large as the universe or as small as a silkworm. They could also change color and disappear in a flash. They rise to the skies in the spring and plunge into the waters in the autumn.
The Vietnamese dragon, Long, is a fabulous beast with the head of a camel, horns of a deer, eyes of a fish, ears of a buffalo, body and neck of a snake, scales of a carp, claws of an eagle, and feet of a tiger. A long barb hangs on each side of its mouth, and a jewel adorns its tongue. Long has a crest of 81 scales running down the length of its backbone. It can live in the sky, the water, or underground. It is immortal and does not reproduce. The "Giao Long," which are half lizard/half snakes automatically become dragons after 1000 years.
The dragon is a symbol of power and nobility to the Vietnamese. The dragon was the special symbol of the emperors, who were considered to be the sons of Heaven. A five-clawed dragon was found on the official dress of the emperor, and the four-clawed dragon decorated the official dress of high dignitaries of the Royal Court.
The dragon is known in many other parts of the world. Hanoi was once known as the Dragon City. In Iceland, the god Loki has associations with a female dragon. In the British Isles there are dragon caves and dragon haunted lochs. In Hawaii, all the dragons are believed descended from the mother goddess Mo-o-inanea, the "self-reliant dragon."
