Eastern Oriental Dragon Folklore and Dragon Symbolism In China dragons are known as "Lung". There are
four main kinds of Lung: Tien-lung , The Celestial Dragon: who protect the
places of the Gods, Shen-Lung, The Spiritual Dragon: who control the wind
and the rain, Ti-Lung , The Earth Dragon which control rivers, and water
on the Earth, and Fut's-Lung , The Underworld Dragon which guards precious
metals and gems. Separate dragons control the rivers of the North, South,
East and West. The commander of all the River Dragons is Great Chien-Tang
who is blood red, has a firey mane, and is 900 feet long.Eastern
dragons are portrayed as good, kind, and intelligent. Oriental Dragons have
the most recorded history in the world, especially in China going back thousands
of years. In history they have a very close link to the weather. It is said
that some of the worst flooding in Asia's History were caused when a mortal
has upset a dragon. In Chinese history, the 5 toed dragon is the symbol
of power, and are considered "Imperial Dragons". Long ago, it
became law in China that only the Emperor could have a five-clawed dragon
displayed on his robes or illustrated on anything the Emperor owned. It
was usually a Yellow dragon, thought to be the most superior of all the
colored dragons. If someone other than the Emperor was caught wearing the
symbol of the 5-toed dragon, he was put to death. Eastern dragons are still
shown in parades around the world celebrating the Chinese New Year with
the Dragon Dance.