
The Dragon: Fear and Power - ascertain
https://literaryreview.co.uk/scaling-up
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forkLding
Thing about dragons in Chinese mythologies (and to a certain point the East
Asian Dragon mythos) is that dragons are neutral to good creatures that are
typically a sign of awe, justice, fortune and wisdom (think Shenron in Dragon
Ball anime) but can also be evil like in the famous Chinese story of Nezha
conquers the dragon king which is a dragon-slaying story.

Dragon is also used as a symbol of respect. Someone you rever to is usually
referred to as a dragon (if you're male) which is known in Chinese as 人中龙凤.
The emperors of China saw themselves as living dragons or dragon emperors and
were referred to as such. Dragons were part of the divine beasts of China and
are considered lucky and are involved in other Chinese aspects like the
Chinese horoscope.

Also the article didn't discuss the feathered serpent or dragon of Aztec
mythologies or the Nagas of Indian mythologies which are lost opportunities of
discussion.

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bfuller
I've heard the Nobility claimed to trace their lineage back to the serpent
gods

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nvader
I recently finished reading "An Instinct for Dragons" by David E Jones, which
goes the route of arguing that the composite image we have of the dragon is
created by unifying the three main predators of early humans: serpents, big
cats and raptors.

This is used to explain common characteristics of the dragon, such as the
scales and serpentine nature, the fangs, claws and cat-eyes, and the wings and
talons. You can even see incomplete composites in other mythological beasts,
such as gryffins, feathered serpents, harpies, sphinxes and manticores.

The dragon image is then used to tell stories about our ideal relationships to
predators, the unknown and to power.

It was a fascinating book, and I'd heartily recommend it to anyone who wants
to learn more about the concept of the dragon.

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superhuzza
What birds were a genuine threat to early humans? As far as I know, birds have
mostly been more of a nuisance (carrion birds) or prey.

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ahje
Havent read that book, but there has been several species of very large birds
living during our time:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_birds#Largest_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_birds#Largest_birds_ever)

I can imagine a 2m tall bird of prey would be a frightening thing to an early
human.

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invalidOrTaken
I'm glad to see this here. What are we to make of our collective fascination
with dragons? What does it say about us, or what does our unconscious know
about the universe that it is struggling to communicate?

A scenic addition from _A Wizard of Earthsea_ :

""You are a very young wizard," the dragon said, "I did not know men came so
young into their power." He spoke, as did Ged, in the Old Speech, for that is
the tongue of dragons still. Although the use of the Old Speech binds a man to
truth, this is not so with dragons. It is their own language, and they can lie
in it, twisting the true words to false ends . . . "

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disease
Something I feel I am seeing more and more lately is the idea of a dragon not
only being benevolent, but heroic as well. There has to be an interesting
anthropological take on that trope as well.

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Jach
My favorite dragon-related thing I saw this year was by far _Miss Kobayashi 's
Dragon Maid_ ([https://myanimelist.net/anime/33206/Kobayashi-
san_Chi_no_Mai...](https://myanimelist.net/anime/33206/Kobayashi-
san_Chi_no_Maid_Dragon) \-- I prefer the JP dub)

> ... with a notorious preference for aristocratic or royal virgins.

#NotAllDragons are those lolicons...

