The Year of the Loong? China’s dragons ‘are not’ the West’s ‘giant reptiles with wings’
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In a commentary published on Friday, state news agency Xinhua said loong was gaining currency over “dragon” among Chinese people because the two words had different, cultural-specific associations.
It argued that loong had positive connotations and Chinese people saw dragons as sacred and mythical creatures. However, in Western culture, dragons were “giant reptiles with wings”.
Along with their own good wishes, a few commenters suggested “Year of the Loong” was more appropriate.
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It also echoed the theme of an article in Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily at the start of the week.
The article said Western portrayals of dragons as “fire-breathing treasure hoarders” were inspired by literature such as Beowulf – the Old English epic about a Scandinavian hero who slays monsters as well as a dragon, whose venom later kills him.
It said Greek mythology also depicted dragons as vicious sea monsters or guardians of valuable possessions.
“By contrast, the Chinese dragon is an auspicious creature, symbolising strength, wisdom, good luck, and power over the elements of wind and water,” the article said, citing the story of Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Western Han dynasty (02BC – 9AD).
In Shiji, a 2,000-year-old history book also known as Records of the Grand Historian, the emperor’s mother dreamed of a dragon lying on her body, foretelling the birth of a future emperor.
“As such, Chinese people proudly claim they are the descendants of the dragon,” the People’s Daily article said.
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China Global Television Network, the state-run English-language news channel, similarly posted a mini-documentary, mentioning the “very different understandings” of loong in Eastern and Western cultures.
“In Eastern culture … loong is the symbol of benevolence, confidence and energy, but in Western culture, it is more a fire-breathing winged creature,” host Tian Wei said.
Nevertheless, Western cartoons have presented a wider range of dragons in recent decades.
Disney, for example, has created Chinese-style dragons, like Mushu in Mulan (1998), and heroic ones, like Sisu in Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), as well as villains like Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty (1959) and Jabberwocky in Alice in Wonderland (2010).
The 2021 animation Wish Dragon – a China-US co-production – used Eastern and Western ideas of the creature, and was released to generally positive reviews in both countries.
