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Chinese Dragon cultural references
The dragon continues to have a mesmerizing and present influence in
the life of modern-day Chinese just like it used to do to their
ancestors thousands and thousands of years ago. Considering that in
Chinese culture the dragon is seen as a benevolent entity, ruler of
water, weather and good fortune, it’s no wonder why the dragon plays
such an important role in their most important celebrations like the
Chinese New Year and also has an influence on the daily life of Chinese
people through their ancient zodiac.
 The Chinese Zodiac is made up of
twelve animals, each with different personalities and characteristics
which they tend to imprint upon those individuals who are born under
them. Even though it is called a “zodiac” the Chinese Zodiac doesn’t
have any astrological basis like the Western Zodiac does, being based
solely on a twelve year cycle dependent on their lunar calendar, with
each year having assigned one animal in their correct sequence. Dragon
years are some of the most popular years for having children, because of
what the dragon means to the Chinese people.
A person born during a dragon year will oftentimes be good humored and
great company to have around. “Dragons” tend to see the larger picture
and never care much for details despite this they are born leaders and
original thinkers. All of these traits tend make the people who are born
during a dragon year very successful, but they will sometimes have a
tendency to plough on through regardless of some consequences and are
reluctant to admit when they’ve made a mistake.
 People born under the
sign of the Dragon are very active relishing any source of excitement
and find it difficult to relax. They will expend a lot of effort on a
worthwhile project and despite their confident exterior they are quite
sentimental and trusting and this means that they can become depressed
when things don’t go according to their plans.
Besides the more well-known appearance of one or more dragons during the
Chinese New Year celebrations there is another festivity that includes
the dragon as powerful symbol, and that is the dragon boat festival.
This festival is meant to commemorate the death of Qu Yuan, a great
patriotic poet, by racing boats which are adorned as dragons. There are
many versions to Qu Yaun’s death but all of them end with him throwing
himself in the river and drowning, the boat racing reflects the actions
of the villagers in the legend who themselves raced their boats to find
his body which never surfaced. These boats are usually narrow and long
and decorated with dragon heads and tails as part of tradition. In fact
great these decorations are very carefully done in the traditional
manner and even the oars are made up to look like a dragon’s claws. The
crew number can vary but there is one member that is always there, and
that is the drummer. That person is vital to the dragon boat’s rhythmic
movement as it is meant to give the oarsmen their stroke rhythm. The
person who’s in charge of the drum can as a result hasten or mellow the
rate at which the oarsmen are supposed to hit the water as the case
calls for. The Dragon is also associated with the number nine, the
Chinese considering it to be a lucky number and since the dragon is also
linked to good fortune the relationship isn’t hard to see. As such,
dragons are associated with the number nine in a variety of ways for
instance their make-up being described in terms of nine attributes as
well as having multiple of nine elements like 117 scales.
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