{"id":10502,"date":"2024-02-04T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-04T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/?p=10502"},"modified":"2024-02-03T11:04:06","modified_gmt":"2024-02-03T19:04:06","slug":"eleven-animals-and-a-dragon-why-a-dragon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/china\/eleven-animals-and-a-dragon-why-a-dragon\/","title":{"rendered":"Eleven Animals and a Dragon. Why a Dragon?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"moon
Photo by Th\u1eafng-Nh\u1eadt Tr\u1ea7n on Pexels.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Year of the Dragon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s still the Year of the Rabbit, a real animal. But come February 10, 2024, we will be in the Year of the Dragon. <\/strong>Have you ever wondered how a mythical creature got into the Chinese zodiac\u2019s list of twelve \u201canimals\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the years in order: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon,<\/mark> snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I say \u201cin order\u201d because there\u2019s a legend about a Great Race <\/strong>held by the Jade Emperor, and this is the order in which the animals finished the race. The rat was first, then the ox, tiger rabbit, and so on. For us cat lovers, there are also several stories about why the cat didn\u2019t make the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why a Dragon Theories<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve read various theories of why the dragon was included. One of the least plausible to me: Dragons look a lot like dinosaurs, and when a Chinese person digs up new dinosaur bones, they call them dragon bones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more plausible theories all center around the part dragons have played in Chinese myths over the centuries. For example, there\u2019s a famous Chinese folk tale about the four benevolent dragons that gave China its four major rivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there\u2019s the Azure Dragon who is part of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations: The Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermillion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Turtle of the North. Once again, we have three animals and a dragon. Hmm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also the Yellow Dragon that\u2019s the symbol of the emperor and the treasure dragons that live deep underground, and the flying dragons that fly through the clouds although they have no wings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, obviously, dragons, real or mythical, are too important to be left out of the twelve-animal zodiac.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
image by pikisuperstar on Freepik<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another question: Why are there dragon myths all over the world? Interesting, but that\u2019s a topic for another time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the Year of the Dragon just around the corner, I\u2019m wondering what we can expect from the coming year. (Even if you don\u2019t really<\/em> believe in astrology, aren\u2019t you interested?) First of all, remember, this is a Chinese dragon. In the West, dragons are bad. You need someone like Saint George or Siegfried or Beowulf to slay the evil dragon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In China, though, dragons are good, which is why Chinese around the world will be having more babies than usual this year. Planned babies. Everyone wants a child who is strong, determined, charismatic, and lucky, the supposed characteristics of a person born in the Year of the Dragon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Predictions for the Year of the Wood Dragon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Who knows how the year will turn out, but here are a couple of the more positive predictions. No one seems to be predicting a slow, quiet year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jill Dearman<\/a> says a \u201cWood Dragon year has the potential to usher in good fortune, action and expansion, and you\u2019d better brace yourself, because things will be happening quickly!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonathan H. X. Lee<\/a>, a professor of Chinese folklore and religion at San Francisco State University, sees it as \u201ca year of unlimited potential in terms of prosperity. Long-term, it could also be the year in which major conflict can be resolved, if people can focus on empathy \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dragon
Dragon in my patio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Do you know your birth year? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve observed that the Chinese are all keenly aware of theirs. My late husband was always proud of having been born in the Year of the Tiger, a strong symbol for a man. I, on the other hand, was born in the more peaceful year of the sheep (or goat).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Year of the Dragon It\u2019s still the Year of the Rabbit, a real animal. But come February 10, 2024, we will be in the Year of the Dragon. Have you ever wondered how a mythical creature got into the Chinese zodiac\u2019s list of twelve \u201canimals\u201d? Here are the years in order: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,680,755,1261],"tags":[2410,2411,2409,2407,2408,2412,2406],"class_list":["post-10502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-china","category-chinese-new-year","category-holidays","category-myths","tag-azure-dragon-of-the-east","tag-chinese-astrology","tag-dinosauar-bones-and-dragons","tag-eleven-animals-and-a-dragon","tag-the-jade-emperors-great-race","tag-wood-dragon","tag-year-of-the-dragon"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Kn1e-2Jo","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11395,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/culture\/asian-art-on-a-rainy-afternoon\/","url_meta":{"origin":10502,"position":0},"title":"Asian Art on a Rainy Afternoon","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"March 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"looking at a bodhisattva It was raining. 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