Dragon 龍 / 龙
The only one that isn't real
- Bold
- Generous
- Ambitious
- Unbiddable
Eleven of the twelve animals you could meet. The Dragon you cannot, and it is the one everybody wants. It came fifth in the race despite being able to fly, because it stopped to make rain for a village that needed it — the story exists to establish the Dragon's character before anything else does.
Chinese dragons are water, not fire: they live in rivers and seas, they bring the rain, and they were the emperor's own emblem for two thousand years. The pearl the dragon chases through every painting of this kind is variously the moon, thunder, wisdom or the thing itself — nobody agrees, and the chase is the point.
Dragon years produce measurable baby booms across the Chinese-speaking world. The next one is 2036.
See also the studio's longer history of the Chinese dragon, dynasty by dynasty, at /dragons/.
The name in the corner
Right-hand edge, in black: the old form of 龍 — a crested head above a coiling body, one of the most immediately recognizable characters in the oracle-bone corpus.
Why oracle-bone script →Give the Year of the Dragon
Canvas prints, scarves, puzzles and more — from $14.
Two full-color hardcovers — 217 empresses, 413 painted characters.
Questions? Write to xiangliart@gmail.com