Recently, Apple launched a "Year of the Dragon Special Edition" phone case. Some netizens pointed out: In traditional Chinese culture, "five claws are dragons and four claws are pythons", which actually refers to pythons as dragons.
Image source: Apple's official website
Subsequently, the #Apple Year of the Dragon mobile phone case was complained about and accused the python as a dragon# and quickly appeared on the hot search
But there are also voices that say that dragons in traditional Chinese culture
It was not that there were five claws at the beginning, but that they developed from three, four, and five claws.
What is it like?
Image source: Netizen comments
From ancient times to the present day
We believe in and love the totem of our nation -
Chinese Dragon
Our dragon has been flying through history since very early times. The dragon pattern of the past generations is unknown, and its image has become more and more complex with the evolution of the times.
The change of the word "dragon" in the oracle bone inscription can deduce the earliest clues of the image of the dragon. "Chinese Heritage" 2016 No. 11 Drawing / Sun Keyi
In the early days, the ancients could not make reasonable explanations for most natural phenomena, so they hoped that the totems of their people would have the power of wind, rain, thunder and lightning, and that they could swim in the water like a fish and fly in the sky like a bird. Therefore, the characteristics of many animals are concentrated on the dragon, and the dragon gradually became: the camel's head, the snake's neck, the antlers, the turtle's eyes, the fish scales, the tiger's paws, the eagle's claws, the ox's ears, this composite structure, means that the dragon is the head of all beasts, the almighty god. And we call ourselves descendants of the dragon.
Sengoku dragon pattern. "Chinese Heritage" November 2016 Photo Editor/Zhu Hao
Pre-Yuan dragons were basically three-clawed, sometimes with three claws on the front two legs and four claws on the back two legs. Further back in the Zhou Dynasty, the attention was different, the Son of Heaven used a five-clawed dragon, the princes were four-clawed, and the scholars below were three-clawed.
On the lid jar of the dragon and phoenix pattern of the Yuan Dynasty, the three-clawed "dragon" "Chinese Heritage" November 2016 Photo Editor/Zhu Hao
In the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols who entered the Central Plains turned the dragon into a royal ban, completely monopolizing the right to "use the dragon", and those who were not royal wore dragon and phoenix patterns to be sentenced. However, there are policies at the top, and countermeasures at the bottom. The five-clawed and two-horned dragon-like creatures are not "royal dragons", and the people can "exploit loopholes". As a result, we see the three-clawed "dragon" on the famous Yuan blue and white flowers at home and abroad, and the four-clawed "dragon" can also be used as a symbol of resistance in literati paintings, running freely.
As for the saying that we often hear that "five claws are dragons and four claws are pythons", it was formed in the Qing Dynasty. Mainly as the difference between the decoration on the clothing of the emperor and his subordinates, the emperor wears a "dragon robe", and other royal families and ministers wear a "python robe".
In the Qing dragon robe, the emperor's royal "product" shape, nine dragon patterns, twelve chapter patterns and four open robes are the most characteristic of the times.
Eight dragons fly among the colorful auspicious clouds, hovering over the mountains and rivers, full of cultural symbolism. "Chinese Heritage" 2012-02 Photo courtesy of Jia Xizeng
Therefore, the Chinese dragon did not have five claws at the beginning, but developed from three, four, and five claws. With the historical exchanges between China and foreign countries, the Chinese dragon culture also spread outward, and combined with the local culture to derive different images of dragons. Vietnamese dragons, Korean dragons, Japanese dragons, and Indian dragons all have great roots in Chinese dragons. Not only in Asia, but also in Europe, America and even around the world, as long as there are Chinese footprints, you can see the orthodox shadow of the Chinese dragon.
Descendants of the dragon, be proud!
Source: China National Geographic, CCTV4 National Treasure Archives, National Humanities and History