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Chinese dragons are legendary creatures in Chinese mythology and Chinese folklore. The dragons have many animal-like forms such as turtles, fish, and imaginary creatures, but they are most commonly depicted as snake-like with four legs. In yin and yang terminology, a dragon is ''yang'' and complements a ''yin'' fenghuang ("Chinese phoenix"). Chinese dragons traditionally symbolize potent and auspicious powers, particularly control over water, rainfall, typhoons, and floods. The dragon is also a symbol of power, strength, and good luck for people who are worthy of it. With this, the Emperor of China usually used the dragon as a symbol of his imperial power and strength.〔〕 In Chinese daily language, excellent and outstanding people are compared to a dragon, while incapable people with no achievements are compared with other, disesteemed creatures, such as a worm. A number of Chinese proverbs and idioms feature references to a dragon, for example: "Hoping one's son will become a dragon" (望子成龍,wàng zǐ chéng lóng i.e. Hoping one's son to transform into a dragon). ==Symbolic value== Historically, the dragon was the symbol of the Emperor of China. In the Zhou dynasty, the five-clawed dragon was assigned to the Son of Heaven, the four-clawed dragon to the nobles (''zhuhou'', seigneur), and the three-clawed dragon to the ministers (''dafu''). In the Qin dynasty, the five-clawed foot dragon was assigned to represent the Emperor while the four-clawed and three-clawed dragons were assigned to the commoners. The dragon in the Qing dynasty appeared on national flag.〔Sleeboom, Margaret. () (2004). Academic Nations in China and Japan Framed in concepts of Nature, Culture and the Universal. Routledge publishing. ISBN 0-415-31545-X〕 The dragon is sometimes used in the West as a national emblem of China. However, this usage within both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan as the symbol of nation is not common. Instead, it is generally used as the symbol of culture. In Hong Kong, the dragon is part of the design of Brand Hong Kong, a symbol used to promote Hong Kong as an international brand name.〔("Brand Overview" ), Brand Hong Kong, 09-2004 retrieved on 23-02-2007. 〕 In European-influenced cultures, the dragon has aggressive, warlike connotations and it is conjectured that the Chinese government wishes to avoid using it as a symbol.〔(BBC Article: Fiery Debate Over China's Dragon ), an article covering China's decision not to use a dragon mascot and the resulting disappointment.〕 Sometimes Chinese people use the term "Descendants of the Dragon" () as a sign of ethnic identity, as part of a trend started in the 1970s when different Asian nationalities were looking for animal symbols for representations.〔 The wolf was used among the Mongols, the monkey among Tibetans.〔 In Chinese culture today, the dragon is mostly used for decorative purposes. It is taboo to disfigure a depiction of a dragon. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chinese dragon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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