The Myths
The dragon of the Orient is the supreme being of all mythical creatures of the Orient. The dragon of the east is the most important creature of the Four Intelligent Creatures too. It was in control of all of the waterways, streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, oceans, and rainfall of the Orient. He was responsible for not letting rivers flood and making crops grow. There were many types of dragons. If certain things went wrong, people could pinpoint what dragon was responsible. If a dragon did not do it's job people would hang it's picture at their town jail and scold and beat it. Dragons of the Orient were rich, just like the European Dragon.
Appearance
Seeing a Dragon of the East would be an incredible sight. They were a mixture of many types of creatures. A dragon of the East would have a camel's head, the horns of a deer, and rabbit's eyes. He has cow's ears and a snake's neck, and that's just his head! The dragon of the East also has a frog's belly, the scales of a carp, hawk's claws, and tiger's palms. Dragons of different rank have a different amount of claws. The color of a dragon also varied. Dragons were always azure (blue) , green, red, black, white, or yellow. However, They can be invisible, dark, or bright whenever they choose. Dragons of the Orient can also become a man or a bird. They are deaf and have a voice like the jingling of coins. In most pictures the dragon is reaching out for a round ball that is in front of him. The ball is thought to be a combined symbol for the moon and a pearl.
Other Facts
Full-grown dragons like to eat swallows and will sometimes also eat humans who have recently eaten swallows.
Dragons live in up in the sky.
They are very easily scared by centipedes and pieces of silk dyed 5 different colors.
Dragons have been told about in myths even before 2,700 BC
Back to Home page