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In The Traditions of Our Ancestors The Year of the Dragon Middlesex County Cultural & Heritage Commission Folklife Program for New Jersey Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders NJ State Council on the Arts/Dept of State a partner agency with National Endowment for the Arts The Year of the Dragon © 2012 County of Middlesex from the series entitled Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders In the Traditions of Our Ancestors 75 Bayard Street, New Brunswick NJ 08901 Written by All Rights Reserved Hongyan Park Wu and Anna M. Aschkenes No portion of this publication may be reproduced, re-published, modified or Dragon Paintings by distributed. Images depict original paintings Hing K. Cheung by master artist Hing K. Cheung who owns the exclusive copyrights. Prohibited uses Photography by include websites, blogs and publications. William Lee Publication Design by Master Artist Hing K. Cheung Anna M. Aschkenes presented by Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission and its Folklife Program for New Jersey Funded by Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders in part with a grant from NJ State Council on the Arts/Dept of State a partner agency of National Endowment for the Arts 2 Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Mr. Hongyan Wu was born and raised in Beijing. Commission and its Folklife Program for New He is a community leader who has spent countless Jersey celebrate the Year of the Dragon in 2012 hours researching and documenting Chinese with the creation of this unique publication. cultural traditions practiced outside of China. He is the President of the Beijing Alliance of New Jersey, To the Chinese people, the dragon represents an 800-member affiliate that furthers cultural auspicious power and is often ascribed divine exchanges among those with an interest in the attributes. The dragon is also a significant cultural culture of Beijing and cultural traditions found symbol for a number of Asian cultures. The throughout China. Hongyan Wu has worked with Japanese style of dragon, for instance, is considered the Commission and our Folklife staff for over 10 a water deity. In Korea the dragons are benevolent years. We owe him a debt of gratitude for sharing beings related to water and agriculture. According his knowledge in the writing of this monograph, translating important text, conducting fieldwork to an ancient creation myth, the Vietnamese people and, in general, believing in the work of the are descended from a dragon and a fairy, and to this Commission. Thank you, Mr. Wu. day, the dragon watches over the people of Vietnam by bringing rain - so essential to agriculture and Mr. Hing K. Cheung, a resident of New Jersey, was good fortune. One important scripture in Tibetan born in Hong Kong. He is a master painter who culture is called Klu or the scripture of one teaches brush painting from time to time in our hundred thousand dragons. It is divided into three Folklife Program. It was a serendipitous discovery parts: colorful dragons, black dragons and white to learn that his life’s work included decades of dragons. The Tibetan dragon is named Druk, Drug dragon paintings. We are honored that his paintings or Zhug (variant spellings). Bhutan, the kingdom grace the pages of this publication. As a special at the southern border of the Himalayas, is called treat to our readers, Mr. Cheung prepared drawing Druk Yul - the land of the peaceful dragon (or the materials which have been photocopied. Each thunder dragon land). person requesting a copy of this book will also receive drawing samples so that you too can sketch Join us as we explore Chinese dragon traditions a dragon in the Chinese tradition, and welcome the and learn more about this ancient and beautiful power, good luck and mythology of the dragon. cultural symbol. Anna M. Aschkenes, Executive Director 3 Middlesex County Cultural & Heritage Commission The Chinese people call the dragon . In ancient times, the dragon symbol was used to denote the emperor of China the divine mythical creature that and was considered divine. During the brings with it ultimate abundance, Yuan Dynasty (1271 to 1368) no civilian prosperity and good fortune. was allowed to associate themselves with the symbol of the dragon or wear Eastern dragons (Chinese) are considered clothing with its image. (The Yuan to be beautiful, friendly, helpful and Dynasty or the Great Yuan Empire was wise, unlike dragons of the Western or established by Kublai Khan who ruled European cultures where the dragon is both China and Mongolia.) However, thought to be an evil creature that must during the Qing Dynasty (1636 to 1911) be destroyed - dragon slaying is common the Chinese dragon symbol appeared on among Western mythology. the national flag and became a common icon used in many aspects of daily life. Cover image is a dragon formed into the shape of a Chinese character that represents the word for spring. It was painted as a spring festival decoration. 4 Dragons are symbols of the natural Even the emperor had to bow before the world, representing adaptability and dragon’s image, as the dragon was treated transformation. They are credited with with reverence and awe. As a result, great powers that allow them to make rain. this unreal animal became the spiritual sustenance for a nation: firstly, as the totem They have the ability to control flooding of a tribe and secondly, as the symbol of (the dragon parts the waters by striking the nation, when the dragon’s image was the river with its tail, thus diverting the placed on the national flag by the last feudal floodwaters). Dragons are believed to dynasty, the Qing Dynasty. transport humans to the celestial realms after death. In the minds of the early Chinese people, In ancient China, no one doubted the the dragon was a god that embodied the existence of dragons. All the people will and ideals of the Chinese people. It is afforded the dragon said that the dragon great respect. It was can become dark custom to prostrate or bright, large or one’s self before the small, long or short. image of a dragon, It can fly into the sky whether part of a in the spring and sculpture, depicted in drawings or seen live under the water in carvings. in the fall. It seems the dragon is This painting by Mr. capable of anything. Cheung shows the dragon once used as the official symbol of the Qing Dynasty. 5 Traditionally, the dragon was attributed with the power to control the weather. The dragon decided when and where to open the heavens and release life-giving rain. The Chinese dragon is a divine creature that was described visually by the Chinese ancients as chimera (a creature whose body is a combination of mismatched animal parts). It is described in appearance as having parts from nine animals: 1. horns of a deer 2. head of a camel 3. eyes of a rabbit 4. neck of a snake 5. abdomen of a large cockle 6. scales of a carp 7. claws of an eagle 8. paws of a tiger 9. ears of an ox and with the powers of the gods – able to form the clouds, mist, thunder, lightning, and the rainbows. This elegant painting is of a sea dragon, shown partially submerged in water and playing with a bead or pearl. It was painted in 2006/2007. Colors in this painting are light and delicate. 6 Chinese scholar Wen Yiduo (1899-1946) Origin of the Dragon proposed the theory that the dragon No one knows the actual origin of the represents the unification of China and its dragon. It is thought, however, that its unique body is a totem of all the Chinese development stems from primitive Asian people. About 2700 B.C., history tells us societies more than 7000 years ago. Some that the Yan and Huang people united when believe the dragon legend comes from the the Huang emperor was victorious in a mist found in the mountains of Sichuan and conflict between the two groups. Together the propensity of the area for earthquakes, they became the largest cultural tribe in which ancient people thought were caused the lands that are now mainland China. by angry dragons. The original or core totem had the body of a snake. Other, smaller tribes joined, The emergence of the dragon in Chinese and each of these cultural groups had an culture during the Neolithic Xinglongwa identifier - a totem or symbol that was cultural period 興隆洼文化 has lead added and the dragon became a composite archaeologists to postulate that the dragon of the totems. is based on Crocodylu Porosus, a breed of giant crocodile whose fossilized remains The formation of the Chinese dragon have been found in rivers throughout the legend historically kept pace with the mountainous regions of Asia. integration of different ethnic nations. Thus Dragons were thought to live in caves deep the dragon symbolizes the ancient cultural in the bowels of mountains. In ancient tribes of China. It is often said, that this China, people building a house on a hill or is the reason why the people of China call mountain were always careful to build their themselves “descendants of the dragon.” house along the slope, so as not to upset the dragon that lived beneath. 7 The dragon is considered very wise. The Imperial Dragon It served as advisor to the royal family. The dragon reflected the deity of the imperial Seeing a dragon meant the ruler was doing throne and was accepted as a symbol of the a good job. Conversely, the dragon was emperor’s divinity. An emperor was said to known to get angry when an emperor did not follow his advice.
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