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Reasons why Chinese Dragons are so popular
The dragon has a very special and particular place in the history and
development of religious beliefs in China. Important to note when
starting to gather knowledge about the Chinese dragon is that in China
the dragon has a completely different reputation and symbolism than it
does in Europe. In Europe, dragons have always been portrayed as evil
creatures who wreak havoc and who need to be destroyed, whilst the
absolute opposite is true in China where dragons have always been
considered to be symbols of good fortune and rulers of water and
weather. The dragon has always represented the emperor and the
authority associated with the emperor; this may be largely due to the
fact that according to legend, when the reign of Emperor Huang Di came
to an end he turned into a dragon and ascended to Heaven; this is also
the reason why the Chinese sometimes refer to themselves as being
“descendants of the dragon”. In fact there are some legends that talk
about the true Emperor being born with a dragon-like birthmark somewhere
on his body.
 There are several theories about where and when the
concept of the Chinese dragon spawned from, but there are some scholars
who believe that they started from a common interest that various
Chinese tribes showed towards dragon shaped creatures when creating
totems. On the other hand, there are others who are of the opinion that
the first representations of dragons were in fact stylized ways of
depicting crocodiles which are rather fascinating creatures in the
present so it’s not difficult to see why they would be fascinating to
the Chinese. Crocodiles are known to be able of accurately noticing
changes in air pressure and have the ability to foresee when rain is
about to come and these might as well be the building blocks of the
dragon being lords of the water and weather. Whether it started as a
variety of totems or as a stylized depiction of real creatures, the
dragon evolved into a mythical being seeping into the culture and minds
of the Chinese people for millennia.
The Chinese dragons are perhaps most strongly associated with water in
popular belief. Dragons are considered to be rulers of moving bodies of
water regardless of size whether it’s rivers, waterfalls or seas.
Dragons can take the form of water spouts and in their capacity of
rulers of water and weather, the dragon can gain a more anthropomorphic
form, oftentimes being depicted as a humanoid, dressed in a king's
costume, but still maintaining its dragon head while wearing a king's
headdress.
 There were a couple of very important Dragon Kings which
were associated with the four main seas that the ancient Chinese were
aware of: the East China Sea, the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean and
Lake Baikal. Due to these associations, these Dragon Kings were
considered to be responsible for the water-related phenomenon that
happened in the surrounding areas, as such in pre-modern times most
villages that were close to bodies of water had temples dedicated to
their local dragon king and used to bring sacrificed to their dragon
king in times of need, whether they needed rain to stop a drought or
when they needed for it to stop raining.
In modern China there isn’t that much of a dragon cult still alive,
although there are a few people here or there who still believe that the
dragon is an actual creature. However, the belief in the Dragon Kings as
rulers of bodies of water continues in lots of places with all the
related activities and rituals that go with it.
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