| Stories and myths about dragons run through most | | | | The dragon in the culture of the orient is quite |
| cultures, ancient and modern. Was there ever a | | | | different. Instead of a beast to be feared, the |
| beast that walked the earth that could account for | | | | dragon is a positive symbol that represents many |
| these stories and myths? Some say that the | | | | things, some of which are intelligence, persistence, |
| ancients may have found fossils of dinosaurs, and by | | | | optimism and energy. Most oriental dragons are |
| the use of their imaginations 'created' a beast from | | | | creatures of beauty and wisdom. They are loved, |
| this evidence. Another theory is that dragons were | | | | and in some areas worshipped. They have been |
| merely the creative embellishments of large snakes | | | | called the angels of the orient. |
| and reptiles. We will never know precisely what | | | | Dragons have been represented in all forms of art, |
| triggered ancient peoples to come up with these | | | | and been used to decorate pagodas, temples, |
| myths. The first references to dragons can be traced | | | | shrines, palaces and private homes for millennia in |
| to approximately 4000 B.C. and probably began | | | | China. The Emperors of Japan traced their ancestry |
| before that. So the notion of dragons is very old | | | | back to a daughter of a dragon king of the sea. |
| In Western culture, the dragon was usually seen as a | | | | Many Emperors of other Asian countries also claimed |
| beast to be feared. Dragons lived in the sea waiting | | | | lineage from dragons. In China, many people think |
| to devour ships that sailed too far. They lived in | | | | that the entire Chinese people are descendants of |
| caves, protecting treasure with their breaths of fire. | | | | the dragons. Many things associated with oriental |
| In the Middle Ages, the story of St. George fighting a | | | | royalty involved depictions of dragons. To call an |
| dragon to save a princess entered the mythology of | | | | Emperor 'Dragon Faced' was a very high compliment. |
| the west, and has been retold and depicted in art for | | | | Everything connected with the dragons of the east |
| centuries. | | | | are blessed. |