The Red Dragon

The Welsh Dragon or "the Red Dragon" or "Y Ddraig Goch" in Welsh, is the symbol of Wales and adorns its national flag. This dragon was featured on the legendary battle standards of King Arthur, the heathen Celtic gods and historic chieftains and kings. In the treasured ancient Mabinogion legends the red dragon fights an invading White Dragon. For centuries their castle walls were demolished nightly by these spirit beings. The legendary fight was said to symbolize the struggle between the Welsh and English and prophesied that after years of tyranny the Welsh would drive the English from their homeland. The Chinese Dragon The Chinese dragon is made up of nine entities. The head of camel, the eyes of a demon, the ears of a cow, the horns of a stag, the neck of a snake, it's belly a clam's, it's claws that of an eagle, while the soles of his feet are that of a tiger, and the 117 scales that cover it's body are that of a carp. The Chinese dragon has four claws as standard, but the Imperial dragon has five, this is to identify it above the lesser classes. Anyone other than the emperor using the 5 claw motif was put to death. The Chinese dragon (Lung) was a divine bringer of rain, necessary for the good of the people. Throughout Chinese history the dragon has been equated with weather. It is said that some of the worst floodings were caused when a mortal has upset a dragon.

Chinese dragons of myth could make themselves as large as the universe or as small as a silkworm. They rise to the skies in the spring and plunge into the waters in autumn. They could also change color and disappear in a flash. 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 claimed to have descended from the dragon. According to legend the Dragon had nine sons, and each had a strong personality. There is no general agreement as to what the Dragon's sons are called. However, to most people, they are: 1.Haoxian A reckless and adventurous dragon whose image can be found decorating the eaves of palaces. 2.Yazi Valiant and bellicose; his image is seen on sword-hilts and knife hilts. 3.Chiwen Chiwen likes to gaze into the distance and his appearance is often carved on pinnacles. 4.Baxia Baxia is a good swimmer and his image decorates many bridge piers and archways. 5.Pulao Pulao is fond of roaring and his figure is carved on bells. 6.Bixi Bixi is an excellent pack-animal whose image appears on panniers. 7.Qiuniu Qiuniu loves music and his figure is a common decoration on the bridge of stringed musical instruments. 8.Suanmi Suanmi is fond of smoke and fire; his likeness can be seen on the legs of incense-burners. 9.Jiaotu Jiaotu is as tight-lipped as a mussel or a snail. His image is carved on doors. Nine Dragon Wall A very popular tourist site in Beijing is this Nine-Dragon Wall in BaiHai Park. After hundreds of years, the colours of the ceramic tiles are just as brilliant. The wall was built in 1756. It is 21m long, about 15m high and i.2m thick. It is faced with 424 7-colour ceramic tiles. At the centre of the wall, there is a giant dragon, flanged by four

dragons on each side. In addition to these nine large dragons, the wall is covered from edge to edge with many smaller dragons. In all, there are 635 dragons. THE NORSE DRAGON "The Dragon Nhggr" (nd'hg-arr) is the second illustration based on the prose and poetic Edda of Norse mythology, compiled and written in the 13th century from surviving traditional sources by Snorri Sturluson. Here the serpent is shown in an icy subterranean cavern roaring in defiance before returning to gnawing at the root of the world tree, named Yggdrasill. In Norse myth, Nidhoggr or"the tearer of corpses" is a gigantic and monstrous serpent-like creature that gnaws continually and persistently at the deepest root of the World Tree, threatening to destroy it. The serpent is always bickering with the eagle that resides near the highest part of the tree. Nidhoggr lies on Nastrond in Miflhiem and eats corpses to sustain itself. It is not the only serpent whose mission it is to destroy the World Tree; the other dragons include Grafvolluth, Graback, Goin and Moin.