Azure Dragon
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| Azure Dragon | |||||||||||||||||
Depiction of the Qīng Lóng on a tile
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 青龍 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 青龙 | ||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Blue Dragon | ||||||||||||||||
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| Vietnamese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Vietnamese alphabet | Thanh Long | ||||||||||||||||
| Korean name | |||||||||||||||||
| Hangul | 청룡 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Japanese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Kanji | 青竜 | ||||||||||||||||
| Hiragana | せいりゅう | ||||||||||||||||
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The Azure Dragon is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. It represents the east and the spring season. It should not be confused with the mythological yellow dragon that is associated with the Emperor of China. It is also referred to in media, feng shui, other cultures, and in various venues as the Green Dragon and the Avalon Dragon.[1]
It is known as Qing Long in Chinese, Seiryū in Japanese, Cheongnyong in Korean, and Thanh Long in Vietnamese. It is sometimes called the Azure Dragon of the East (simplified Chinese: 东方青龙; traditional Chinese: 東方青龍; pinyin: Dōng Fāng Qīng Lóng, or sometimes simplified Chinese: 东方苍龙; traditional Chinese: 東方蒼龍; pinyin: Dōng Fāng Cāng Lóng).
Contents
The Seven Mansions of the Azure Dragon
As the other three Symbols, there are seven "mansions", or positions, of the moon within Azure Dragon. The names and determinative stars are:[2][3]
| Mansion no. | Name (pinyin) | Translation | Determinative star |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 角 (Jiăo) | Horn | Spica |
| 2 | 亢 (Kàng) | Neck | κ Vir |
| 3 | 氐 (Dĭ) | Root | α Lib |
| 4 | 房 (Fáng) | Room | π Sco |
| 5 | 心 (Xīn) | Heart | σ Sco |
| 6 | 尾 (Wěi) | Tail | μ Sco |
| 7 | 箕 (Jī) | Winnowing Basket | γ Sgr |
Cultural depictions
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In the novel Shuo Tang Yanyi (Tales of the Tang dynasty), the White Tiger's star is reincarnated as General Luo Cheng (羅成 / 罗成), who serves Li Shimin. The Azure Dragon's Star is reincarnated as General Shan Xiongxin (單雄信 / 单雄信), who serves Wang Shichong. The two generals are sworn brothers of Qin Shubao (秦叔寶 / 秦叔宝), Cheng Zhijie (程知節 / 程知节) and Yuchi Jingde (尉遲敬德 / 尉迟敬德). After death, their souls are said to possess heroes of the Tang dynasty and Goguryeo, such as Xue Rengui (薛仁貴 / 薛仁贵) and Yeon Gaesomun (渊盖苏文).
As an example, the Azure Dragon is represented on the tomb of Wang Hui (stone coffin, east side), Hsi-k'ang (extension of Szechwan during Han), Lu-shan. A Chinese rubbing of this was collected by David Crockett Graham and is in the Field Museum of Natural History.[4][5]
The dragon featured on the Chinese national flag in 1862-1912.
Influence
In Japan, the Azure Dragon is one of the four guardian spirits of cities and is said to protect the city of Kyoto on the east. The west is protected by the White Tiger, the north is protected by the Black Tortoise, the south is protected by the Vermilion Bird, and the center is protected by the Yellow Dragon. In Kyoto there are temples dedicated to each of these guardian spirits. The Azure Dragon is represented in the Kiyomizu Temple in eastern Kyoto. Before the entrance of the temple there is a statue of the dragon which is said to drink from the waterfall within the temple complex at nighttime. Therefore, each year a ceremony is held to worship the dragon of the east. In 1983, the Kitora Tomb was found in the village of Asuka. All four guardians were painted on the walls (in the corresponding directions) and a system of the constellations was painted on the ceiling. This is one of the few ancient records of the four guardians. In Korea, the murals of the Goguryeo Tombs found at Uhyon-ni in South Pyongan province features the Azure Dragon and the other mythological creatures of the four symbols.[6]
See also
- Chinese dragon
- Korean dragon
- Japanese dragon
- Vietnamese dragon
- Four Symbols of China
- Four Benevolent Animals of China
- Four Holy Beasts of Vietnam
In popular culture
- In the mobile game Puzzle & Dragons, the Azure Dragon is known as "Incarnation of Seiryuu, Karin" with a woman who appears to be a kunoichi with a blue dragon tail.
- In the first 3 Beyblade series from Japan, the Azure Dragon is known as Dragoon, and belongs to the protagonist Tyson Granger.
- In the Digimon series, Azulongmon is designed after the Azure Dragon.
- in the Fushigi Yugi series Yui Hongko journey in to Universe of Four Gods she became Priestess of Seiryu.
- In the video game Final Fantasy Type-0 the Azure Dragon is the name of one of the four Crystals of Orience, representing the Kingdom of Concordia.
- In the video game World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria the character of Yulon, the Jade Serpent, is heavily inspired by the Azure Dragon.
References
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Azure Dragon. |
- Articles containing traditional Chinese-language text
- Articles containing simplified Chinese-language text
- Articles containing Korean-language text
- Articles containing Japanese-language text
- Articles containing Chinese-language text
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- Chinese constellations
- Chinese mythology
- Chinese dragons
- Chinese legendary creatures
