Neko

Trivia time… Since it’s the start of the Chinese New Year, commonly known in the West as the Lunar New Year.. I’d like to share some facts about the Dragon we always see at the streets during these times..

Legend of the Yellow Emperor Some scholars report the first emperor of China Huang Di (Yellow Emperor) used a snake for his coat of arms. Every time he conquered another tribe, he incorporated his defeated enemy’s emblem into his own. Huang Di was immortalized into a dragon that looks like his emblem. That explains why the Chinese dragon has a body of a snake; the scales and tail of a fish; the antlers of a deer; the face of a qilin (a deer-like mythical creature with fire all over its body); and two pairs of talons of eagles; and the eyes of a tiger-lion.

They fly in the sky among the clouds. Almost all pictures of Chinese dragons show them playing with a flaming pearl. Supposedly it is the pearl that gives them their power and allows them to ascend to heaven. Chinese dragons are occasionally depicted with bat-like wings grown out of the front limbs, but most do not have wings.

Chinese dragons are strongly associated with water in popular belief. They are believed to be the rulers of moving bodies of water, such as waterfalls, rivers, or seas. They can show themselves as water spouts

Also, since the Chinese consider Huang Di as their ancestor, they sometimes refer to themselves as “the descendants of the dragons”.

So to our Chinese friends and Pinoy friends having Chinese friends.. (lol)…

Kong Hei Fat Choi!
Happy New Year!