CHINESE DRAGONS
There are many ways to organize all of the Chinese dragons. In the oriental tradition of opposites, the dragon is correlated with the masculine yang power while the phoenix, the bird of rebirth, is associated with the feminine yin force.
The Chinese dragon like the Indian Naga's, are often associated with water and rain and lakes and rivers. And so dragons are not as the European model of destruction but are instead life-giving, honored and very powerful.
Most often these dragons are associated with royalty and the emperors are closely aligned with the image of dragon. Before history began, China's first emperor, Fu Hsi was said to have a dragons tail and his successor, Shen Nung, was said to have a dragon as father. The Imperial Dragon or lung has five claws instead of four. The ordinary dragon or mang depicts temporal power instead of spiritual prowess. The lung, or Dragon King issued orders for the Emperor by moving in four directions simultaneously. The fifth direction (in connection with the fifth claw) is the center where he remains.
Even into recent times dragons pervade within the body and movements of the emperor. There is the Dragon Throne, Dragons pace (the Emperors stately stride), Dragon face (his visage), and Dragons Pearl (the Emperors words). When an Emperor died it was said that he had ascended to heaven on the back of a Dragon.
The T'ien Lung, or Celestial Dragon lives in the sky and guards the gods to keep them from falling out of the clouds. The Fu-tsang guards hidden treasure.
