There is a little dragon inside each one of us. This statement is true in at least two ways, there is both an actual "little dragon" inside each of us, a concrete noun, a living creature, a whole unit, whom you can read Dr. Seuss to, and play Bonnie Tyler to, and feed. There is also a "little dragon essence" in each of us, an abstract noun, an attitude, a fierceness, a spirit that gets fired-up at the sight of pirates.
The Year of the Dragon is coming. January 23 is the first day of the Chinese new year, at which point, we will no longer be in the Year of the Rabbit.
The Chinese dragon is very different from the dragons of western folklore. Western dragons are solitary, sharp, mean, and thick-skinned. They eat people, steal women, collect treasure, and live in all the wrong places. I mean, how is it that almost every adventure to save the world involves at least one tussle with a dragon? Why do they always live in between heros and victory? They're like tonsils: "Oh, you're sick? You've got a bad lung, so it looks like we're gonna have to take out your tonsils to get at the problem." Or, "Oh you snore? Tonsils!" Western dragons are always the problem. All the epics have it: The Hobbit, Chronicles of Narnia, Snow White, Shrek, World of Warcraft, Chocolate. Why?! Y'know!? Because western dragons are monsters; murder, kidnap, greed, and bad real-estate come with the job.* But the dragons in China are different.
Chinese dragons aren't monsters at all, they're inclusive. They are a kind of good luck charm, it's good to have one around -- think Mushu from Mulan. The legend one of my students told me, started the dragon back with an early emperor in China. This emperor was a good ruler, a friendly ruler you might say, and like most good, friendly rulers he wanted more people to experience his incredible leadership so he went to war with them. Empires back then used different animals to represent their clan, sort of like America and the Bald Eagle. The kind emperor used the snake to represent his clan, but as he conquered/united more groups, he wanted to incorporate their totems into the imperial seal. So starting with the snake, he added a lion head, and some fish scales, and bear claws, and a tail. That's why the Chinese dragon is really good, it's a symbol of unity, and China.
The question we all have to ask ourselves as the new year approaches is this: what kinds of dragons are living inside us?
* There's been a recent trend that is changing the face of dragons in the west, more on that in Part 2.
The Year of the Dragon is coming. January 23 is the first day of the Chinese new year, at which point, we will no longer be in the Year of the Rabbit.
The Chinese dragon is very different from the dragons of western folklore. Western dragons are solitary, sharp, mean, and thick-skinned. They eat people, steal women, collect treasure, and live in all the wrong places. I mean, how is it that almost every adventure to save the world involves at least one tussle with a dragon? Why do they always live in between heros and victory? They're like tonsils: "Oh, you're sick? You've got a bad lung, so it looks like we're gonna have to take out your tonsils to get at the problem." Or, "Oh you snore? Tonsils!" Western dragons are always the problem. All the epics have it: The Hobbit, Chronicles of Narnia, Snow White, Shrek, World of Warcraft, Chocolate. Why?! Y'know!? Because western dragons are monsters; murder, kidnap, greed, and bad real-estate come with the job.* But the dragons in China are different.
Chinese dragons aren't monsters at all, they're inclusive. They are a kind of good luck charm, it's good to have one around -- think Mushu from Mulan. The legend one of my students told me, started the dragon back with an early emperor in China. This emperor was a good ruler, a friendly ruler you might say, and like most good, friendly rulers he wanted more people to experience his incredible leadership so he went to war with them. Empires back then used different animals to represent their clan, sort of like America and the Bald Eagle. The kind emperor used the snake to represent his clan, but as he conquered/united more groups, he wanted to incorporate their totems into the imperial seal. So starting with the snake, he added a lion head, and some fish scales, and bear claws, and a tail. That's why the Chinese dragon is really good, it's a symbol of unity, and China.
The question we all have to ask ourselves as the new year approaches is this: what kinds of dragons are living inside us?
* There's been a recent trend that is changing the face of dragons in the west, more on that in Part 2.
You made Mulan a little more clear to me. The big dragon was always enigmatic. Looking forward to part 2!
ReplyDeleteSomeone in Contracts class yesterday asked what the Year of the Dragon is all about. So, I told them what I learned from this post.
ReplyDeleteLogan: You'd be amazed how many people don't understand the underlying currents in Mulan, and even more amazed at how many people don't even try. If this post helped clear air, the next part will be even more of that sort of action, plus, we might even get theological...
ReplyDeleteCody: Good. Just like Confucius said in his latest book, "The most powerful thing in the world is an idea." (Confucius played by Leonardo DiCaprio) TAIC.