Dragons Across Cultures - Gift or Curse?

Irrespective of whether you live in Tibet or Texas, Scotland or Thailand; you are sure to have heard of dragons. Interestingly though, how you think of dragons, depends upon where you hail from.

Eastern cultures see dragons as diametrically different from the way Western cultures do from their physical appearance and inherent nature to their symbolism and what they mean to the different societies. Whereas Eastern cultures believe in the goodness of dragons and see them as an epitome of all that is good; Western cultures see dragons as malevolent and vile monsters ready to breathe fire on anyone that crosses their path.

The Eastern Dragon

Eastern cultures value dragons for their beauty and magical qualities. Thought of more as protector rather than a villain, the Eastern dragon symbolizes courage, heroism and steadfast loyalty.

The Chinese especially, hold dragons in high esteem and give them utmost prominence during major celebrations and parades.  During the Chinese New Year the dragon is paraded around in all its glory and splendor. The “Year of the Dragon” is an auspicious one for the people of China as it is thought to bring in prosperity to all Chinese. Those born during this year are especially lucky as they are blessed with bountiful health, wealth and wisdom; those very qualities associated with the dragon of the East.

Dragons of the East are depicted as a montage of several different animals; a dragon could have the head of a camel, scales of a fish, body of a snake, ears of an ox and talons of a hawk. They can be found in different habitats depending upon their nature. The Terrestrial Dragon that regulates the rivers lives along the river banks and diverts the course of the river if need be. The Subterranean Dragon thought of as the Treasure Keeper, stays guard over the precious metals and gems found buried deep underground and the Divine Dragon’s role as weather maker means it lives in the skies and helps form the clouds as well as the rain and wind.

The Western Dragon

Most Western cultures portray dragons as fierce, gigantic bloodthirsty creatures with sharp claws and large wings. Some of them have fringes or crests while others have forked tongues. They are capable of belching out fire and smoke and will immediately flare their nostrils and breathe out fire in an attempt to kill anyone who gets too close to them.

Dragons of the West have scales so thick that it was impossible for any weapons to penetrate. This made them difficult to kill and set the perfect backdrop to show off the heroism and valor of some courageous knight. Even those Western cultures that did not consider them downright evil still depicted them as bad tempered and best left alone.

Whereas the Dragons of the East are symbols of prosperity that shower the people with happiness and wealth, the dragons of the West are symbolic of greed. They tend to live alone in mountains or caves, hidden away from everyone and fiercely guard their secret hoard of gold. They prefer to live in places that are hot, barren and completely isolated.

Because nobody has ever really seen a dragon, different cultures have created their own very different descriptions and stories about this mythical and mysterious creature. Each culture has stood steadfastly behind their own depiction of dragons giving rise to several intriguing legends and myths.