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学院：国际教育交流学院班级：2011级汉硕课程名称：中国文化与跨文化交际任课教师：韩鉴堂姓名：赵晓青学号：11111105中国文化，博大精深，在众多具有代表中华精神意义的事物中，龙的地位尤为彰显。
中国人敬龙，爱龙，把龙奉为图腾，在许多事物上将龙作为装饰，用来表示福祉。
中国有数千年的龙文化，海内外数亿中国同胞称自己为“龙的传人”，将中国文化称为“龙的文化”。
九州大地上，“龙”已经渗透到中国社会的各个方面，称为中国文化的凝聚和沉积，龙成了中华民族的象征，中国文化的象征。
对每一个炎黄子孙来说，“龙的传人”无疑是一种特殊的符号，并且为每个人喜欢，随着世界越来越小，对龙的这样的特殊感情传播到世界各地，在世界各国的华人居住区内，龙是最多并最引起注目的饰物，因而，“龙的传人”，“龙的国度”也得到了世界的认可。
随着全球化进程的推进，人类已经进入了多元文化并存的时代，跨文化交际的地位越来越重要。
未来促进跨文化交际，人们开始对中西方龙文化进行比对，很多人都认为而这之间有很大的差异，虽然它们都是没有考证的传说之物，体积庞大，都能飞翔，能力无边，都是想象中充满传奇色彩的动物，又都在文化中长久的保存下来。
但事实上，中国的龙和西方的dragon是两种完全不同的动物。
Dragon一词与龙的对译正如phoenix与凤凰的强行对译，这样的强行对译对中国文化的理解造成了一定的障碍，所以，笔者试图从中西方文化中dragon和龙的不同起源和发展背景，探索它们在不同文化中的象征和意义。
一、中国龙一）龙的形象关于龙的形象，在中国历史上有很多不同的解释。
《说文》曰：“龙，鳞虫之长，能幽能明，能大能小，能长能短，春分而登天，秋分而入川。
”《广雅》云：“有鳞曰蛟龙，有翼曰应龙，有角曰虬龙，无角月螭（chi）龙。
”宋人罗愿的《尔雅翼·释龙》：“角似鹿、头似驼。
眼似兔、项似蛇、腹似蜃、鳞似鱼、爪似鹰、掌似虎、耳似牛。
”《辞海》解释“龙”为古代传说中的一种有鳞有须，能兴云作雨的神异动物。
中国“龙”与西方“龙”文化对比学习中国和西方都有着龙的文化，但两种文化中的龙在表现形式、象征意义以及文化背景方面存在很大的差异。
首先，中国的龙是一种神秘而神圣的存在，被奉为神像并在神话、传说、历史故事中广泛出现。
中国龙被描绘成一种神兽，通常有爪子、鳞片、长脖子和翅膀，可以控制天气和水的流动，代表着权力、荣耀、力量和好运。
在许多中国传统节日中，龙形象总是出现在游行和表演中，例如中国新年的龙舞等。
此外，龙在中华文化中与皇帝、家族、祖先崇拜有关，常在王宫、寺庙、公园等地方拥有著名的龙雕像，成为中国文化中独具特色的符号之一。
而在西方文化中，龙则是一种凶恶的生物，常异于人世，用树枝、剑或圣水杀死的故事充斥于古代传说中。
西方龙通常是长着翅膀、长尾巴、锋利的爪子和牙齿，有时候也有喷火、毒液等危险的能量特征。
在欧洲的中世纪中，龙一般代表着邪恶、毁灭和死亡的象征，并被英雄、圣徒和神秘魔法师所对抗。
龙在西方文化中常见于珠宝、石雕和艺术品，而且在文学作品和广告中都被使用到。
两种文化中龙的象征意义也存在很大的差异。
在中国文化中，龙是一种吉祥、高贵和权利的象征，被视为唯一能与皇帝的地位相提并论的存在。
在中国传统的文化价值观中，龙代表着勇气、智慧、尊严和容忍等优秀品质，人们常把最尊贵的称号和最高的荣誉赋予龙。
而在西方文化中，龙被看作是一种危险、邪恶和凶猛的生物，是神秘和未知的存在。
此外，西方文化中的龙经常代表着蛮力和进攻性的力量，常常出现在军事领域的衣饰、装备和队旗中。
最后，两种文化中龙的文化背景也存在很大的差异。
在中国文化中，龙被视为神话传说的主要元素之一，可以追溯到五千年前的古代历史时期，伴随着中国文明的发展和演进一直发挥着重要的作用。
在中国的一些古遗址中依然可以发现为数众多的龙文化遗迹，例如陶器、壁画和石刻等。
而在西方文化中，龙的出现可能是从古希腊或古罗马神话中传递下来的，几乎是在中世纪的欧洲中才流行起来的符号。
西方文化中的龙一般以魔法、浪漫、冒险和惊险为主题，多数是传说和故事中的角色。
中国“龙”与西方“龙”文化对比学习“龙”是中国传统文化中的重要符号和象征，它被视为中国人民的象征和灵物，同时在中国古代传说中也扮演着重要的角色。
而在西方文化中，同样也存在着对龙的久远崇拜和神秘。
本文将从各个角度比较分析中国“龙”与西方“龙”文化的异同点。
一、历史渊源中国的“龙”文化最早可以追溯到商代的古文字中，而西方的“龙”文化则可以追溯到古代埃及。
在中国，人们相信“龙”是一种上古生物，具有神秘的力量和神秘的能力，是掌握自然规律和人类命运的神灵。
在西方，龙是一种凶恶的怪物，经常出现在古希腊和古罗马的神话传说中，与中国的“龙”传统文化有着很大的差异。
二、形象特征在中国传统文化中，龙被描述为一种长身蛇尾、龙角凤眼、麒麟须獐足、五彩斑斓的神兽，是中华民族的象征。
在西方文化中，龙被描述为一种巨大的爬行动物，通常有翅膀和长长的尾巴，被描绘为一种有着尖牙和利爪的恶龙。
三、含义解读中国的“龙”文化一直被视为吉祥的象征，它代表着权力、富贵和吉祥的象征，被赋予了崇高的地位。
在中国民间传说中，龙是大自然的主宰，也是带来雨水的神，因此被人们尊崇为神明。
而在西方文化中，龙被视为邪恶力量的象征，经常代表着灾祸和毁灭。
四、文化传承中国的“龙”文化一直被传承至今，无论是在书法、绘画、雕塑、戏曲还是舞蹈中，龙都扮演着不可或缺的角色，成为中国传统文化的重要元素。
而在西方文化中，龙文化也深深植根于西方人民的心中，被运用于建筑、绘画、文学等方面。
五、宗教意义在中国传统宗教中，龙经常被视为神灵和主神，被供奉和祈祷。
而在西方文化中，龙则被视为一种邪恶的生物，被用于宗教故事中的反派角色，代表着邪恶和毁灭的力量。
六、象征意义七、神话故事中国传统文化中，有很多关于龙的神话故事，如《白蛇传》、《龙潭虎穴》等等，这些故事都和中国的历史、文化和宗教有着密切的联系。
而在西方文化中，也有许多关于龙的神话故事，如《圣乔治与龙》、《贝奥武夫》等，这些故事都讲述了西方人民对于龙的神秘崇拜和传说。
中国“龙”与西方“龙”文化对比学习龙是中国传统文化中的一个重要元素，被认为是神话中的神兽，具有神灵的力量和象征意义。
而在西方，龙文化也有着深厚的底蕴，但与中国龙文化有着很大的不同。
下面将对中国“龙”与西方“龙”文化进行对比学习。
1. 龙的形态中国的龙形态多为蛇形，长有鬃毛、长须以及四脚。
它们多为祥云环绕、口吐珠宝，是东方文化中的贵族象征。
而在西方文化中，龙多呈现出类似于巨蜥的形态，大多长有翅膀、坚硬的鳞甲、尖锐的爪子和锐利的牙齿。
2. 龙的象征意义中国的龙自古以来被视为祥瑞吉祥之物，具有祈福、保佑人民平安的象征意义。
龙在中国文化中被视为带来好运和繁荣的代表，也是中国皇帝权力的象征。
而在西方文化中，龙被视为怪物、恶魔等，代表着邪恶、破坏、毁灭。
西方龙所代表的是威胁人类生存的危险形象。
龙的形象在西方文化中常常被用来表现邪恶力量，被勇士们打败。
3. 龙的传说中国文化中有着丰富的龙传说，如“龙生九子”、“龙吟虎啸”等。
其中，最有名的故事是《西游记》中的龙王争宝和龙宫宝库。
龙王争宝中的龙王都是深海中居住的海龙，他们掌管着海洋、天气和水域生物的命运。
而在西方文化中，也有着丰富的龙传说。
例如，希腊神话中的巨龙拉达曼提斯，是所有龙中最有名的一位。
它的身形庞大，能够吐出火焰烧毁一切，代表着人类面临的威胁和障碍。
在英国传说中，圆桌骑士的亚瑟王将会与一只邪恶龙战斗，完成自己作为国王的成就。
4. 龙的艺术表现中国的龙文化在绘画、雕塑、建筑等方面都有着非常重要的表现。
中国画中的龙通常是一种抽象的艺术形式，被视为唯美主义和象征主义的典范。
而在中国古代建筑中，龙被视为一种精神化的设计元素。
而在西方文化中，龙则更多被用来在装饰品、家居用品等领域中进行表现，如盘子、壁挂、雕塑等。
在艺术表现上，西方龙通常更注重形象的真实、生动和具体表现。
总体而言，中国“龙”与西方“龙”在形态、象征意义、传说以及艺术表现方面都有着很大的区别和差异。
中国“龙”与西方“龙”文化对比学习“龙”作为中国传统文化中的一种神秘而庄严的形象，其象征着强大的力量和高尚的品质。
许多中国人把自己视为“龙”的传人，因为“龙”在中国文化中拥有着崇高的地位。
与此不同，西方的“龙”文化则比较古老而神秘，通常被视为邪恶和野蛮。
接下来我们将比较中国“龙”与西方“龙”的文化差异。
首先，中国的“龙”文化与西方的“龙”文化具有完全不同的起源和传承。
中国的“龙”文化可以追溯到公元前4000多年的新石器时代，据考究，人们早期是将与龙相似的动物封建慑或图腾，表示对这种物种的信仰和崇拜。
再加上医药和会书，龙就成为了众人信仰的神话。
而西方的“龙”文化则主要源于希腊文学和北欧神话，其形象多被描绘成勇猛而残暴的怪物。
这种巨大的怪物在西方的文化中代表了恶魔和魔鬼，通常用于描述不可捉摸和难以征服的敌人。
其次，中国的“龙”文化被视为华夏文化的重要象征之一，其形象长期被视为权威和尊崇，有时被视为国家的象征。
许多帝王都在自己的宝座上雕刻个人的龙图案。
例如，中国的皇帝就称为“龙”，在中国的宫廷文化中，龙被视为至高无上的存在。
与之相反，尽管西方也有描绘“龙”的文化，但西方人并没有把“龙”文化作为国家的象征。
相反，西方文化中的“龙”常被描绘成猛烈而野蛮的独立存在。
最后，就“龙”的外表而言，中国人比较喜欢宝石和龙鳞的使用，通常用这些宝石和龙鳞来装饰龙的身体。
中国龙一般都在东方文化中被描述为长长的身体，形似蟒蛇带有爬行虫类的特点，有几只爪子并有鱼鳞。
在中国的艺术作品中，龙被视为一种美丽而和谐的形象，并且通常被用来代表优美的中华文化。
与之相反，在西方的文化中，“龙”通常被描述为残忍和丑陋的怪物，有着翅膀和长长的尾巴，常被用于描绘神话和恐怖的场面。
总的来说，中国的“龙”文化和西方的“龙”文化具有很大的差异。
中国的“龙”文化代表了中华文明的特点和精髓，被视为国家的象征；而西方的“龙”文化则主要是神话和传说中的形象，通常代表着邪恶和野蛮。
中国“龙”与西方“龙”文化对比学习龙，在中国文化中具有独特的地位和象征意义，被视为吉祥、神秘、权力和力量的象征。
而在西方文化中，龙也是一个重要的符号，但与中国的龙在形象和象征意义上有着明显的不同。
本文将对中国“龙”与西方“龙”的文化对比进行学习探讨。
一、中国“龙”的文化意义中国的龙在文化中具有非常重要的地位，被誉为“中国的国宝”，被视为古代神话传说中的至高无上者，常被用来代表中国的国家和民族。
在中国传统文化中，龙是尊贵、神秘、威严和权力的象征，被视为上天赐予的祥瑞之物，也是中国文化中不可或缺的重要元素之一。
龙在中国文化中的形象通常是长身蛇腹，四足鳞甲，云端凤尾，常被描绘成腾云驾雾、昂首挺胸的神态。
在古代，中国皇帝被称为“龙的传人”，政权常以龙命名，如“龙的传人”、“龙椅”等。
龙在中国文化中的地位不仅仅是一个神话传说，更是体现了古代中国人对权力和权威的崇拜。
二、西方“龙”的文化意义在西方文化中，龙也是一个重要的符号，但与中国的龙在形象和象征意义上有所不同。
在西方的传说中，龙通常被描绘为邪恶的、危险的生物，常常被用来代表厄运、破坏和邪恶力量。
在古代欧洲的传说中，英雄经常要面对着各种形态的巨龙，而且龙的形象通常是满身火焰、巨大而凶猛。
龙在西方文化中的形象常常与传说中的骑士、公主、王国和魔法联系在一起，是许多童话故事和魔幻小说中的重要元素。
在基督教文化中，龙更被视为魔鬼的代表，与圣经中的战斗、毁灭和神圣力量联系在一起。
四、两种文化中龙的异同尽管中国的龙和西方的龙在文化意义上有很大的不同，但也有一些共同点。
龙在两种文化中都被视为神秘、神圣和具有特殊能力的生物，都具有非常高的象征意义。
在古代的传说故事中，龙在两种文化中都扮演着重要的角色，被赋予了各种神话传说中的神秘力量。
龙在两种文化中都被广泛运用在艺术表现、民间传说、建筑装饰等方面，是古代文化的重要元素之一。
五、对两种文化中龙的思考通过对中国的龙和西方的龙文化对比的学习，我们可以看到不同文化中对同一符号的不同诠释和理解。
中西方文化中对龙的解读的差异对现代中国人来说，龙的形象更是一种符号、一种意绪、一种血肉相联的情感，“龙的子孙”、“龙的传人"这些称谓，常令人们激动、奋发、自豪。
龙的文化除了在中华大地上传播承继外，还被远渡海外的华人带到了世界各地，在世界各国的华人居住区或中国城内，最多和最引人注目的饰物仍然是龙。
因而，“龙的传人”、“龙的国度”也获得了世界的认同。
龙是中国人的独特文化创造、观念创造、符号创造. “龙的精神"是中华民族的象征，是中国五千年伟大历史的象征，是崛起的伟大中国人们勤劳、勇敢、不屈不挠、大胆创造、诚信和谐的立于世界民族之林的精神。
中国龙的起源,可以追溯到八千年前。
在漫长的远古岁月中，它曾作为先民们与神沟通的工具而存在，担负着村落的兴衰。
它的形象被广泛应用于祭祀器皿，承担起天神代言人的角色。
人们还用泥沙土石在田里制成龙的形象，以此求雨。
姑且把巫术与宗教因素撇开，龙的起源与原始图腾信仰也能找出不少联系.图腾,源于印地安语,原意是“他的亲属”或“标记”.原始氏族，对周遭的自然物象知之甚微,这样,他们就凭借着猜测,认定有那么一种具有超凡主宰能力的物种，它与降雨息息相关，控制着世界的秩序，而他们,又与这种特定的物种有着亲缘关系，因此,他们将这种动物作为本氏族的象征和保护神，并将其取名为龙，遂自称为“龙的传人"。
据古代文献记载，中国是有不少氏族曾以龙为图腾的,从远古时期黄帝、炎帝的子孙到尧、舜、禹的族人，以至再后来的吴国、越国的子民。
这些关于龙的神话虽已经过后人的修改和加工，但仍然涵载了当时的历史背景。
公元前约26世纪，黄帝和蚩尤在涿鹿掀起大战,传说中，黄帝派出了“应龙"参与对战，应龙是一种可以掌管风雨，长有翅膀的巨龙。
在中国神话里,龙到底长一个什么样子，似乎没人能说得清。
在宋代,古人明确提出了一个龙的形象：“角似鹿、头似驼、眼似兔、项似蛇、腹似蜃、鳞似鱼、爪似鹰、掌似虎、耳似牛”.到了当代，龙的形象可塑性更强,在卡通、电影中扮演着不同的角色。
中国“龙”与西方“龙”文化对比学习龙，在中国传统文化中是一种重要的象征和图腾，被视为祥瑞的象征，受到人们的尊敬和崇拜。
而在西方文化中，龙也是一个充满神秘和魔幻色彩的存在，常常被描绘成具有强大力量和恶意的生物。
本文将探讨中国和西方对龙文化的不同理解和表现方式。
让我们来看看中国对龙的文化认知。
在中国传统文化中，龙是一种神秘而强大的存在，被看作是一种至高无上的存在，代表着权力和皇权。
在中国的各种文化创作中，龙的形象被广泛应用，如绘画、书法、雕塑、节庆、建筑等领域。
龙在中国文化中还被认为是一种可以呈现出各种形态的生物，它既可以是天空中飞翔的巨龙，也可以是水中游弋的蛟龙，还可能是地下潜行的地龙。
龙在中国文化中也与自然界的一些象征相联系，被认为是农业、水灾、风暴等天气现象的主宰者。
龙在中国文化中既是一种超自然的存在，也是一种与人类生活息息相关的自然象征。
与此不同的是，西方对龙文化的理解完全不同。
在西方文化中，龙常常被描绘成一种凶恶的生物，它有着巨大的身躯和锋利的爪齿，常常被认为是一种邪恶的象征。
在西方的神话传说中，龙常常被认为是一种无法征服的怪物，它不但可以呼风唤雨，还可以吐火喷水，给人们带来极大的危害。
在西方的文学、电影、游戏等作品中，龙常常被描绘成一个邪恶的存在，被英雄们所追杀和征服。
从以上分析可以看出，中国和西方对龙文化的认知存在着明显的差异。
在中国文化中，龙被视为一种祥瑞的象征，是人们心中崇高的存在，而在西方文化中，龙常常被视为一种邪恶的生物，是人们深恶痛绝的对象。
这种差异不仅反映了东西方文化的不同价值观和审美观，也反映了两种文化对待自然和神秘事物的态度的差异。
除了文化认知上的差异，中国和西方对龙的表现方式也存在很大的不同。
在中国文化中，龙的形象常常被用以祝福和崇拜的目的，常常被绘制在建筑物、器物和服饰之上，代表着吉祥如意、权威和尊贵。
在中国的传统绘画和雕塑中，龙的形象也经常出现，代表着力量和神秘。
中西方龙文化差异对比研究A Contrastive Study on the Differences between Chinese andWestern Dragon Culture摘要上下数千年，龙已渗透了中国社会的各个方面，成为一种文化的凝聚和积淀。
现如今，龙文化已是中华民族文化的象征，中国人也因身为“龙的传人”而骄傲。
龙文化在中国传统文化中占有重要的地位，每一个致力于学习和传播中国文化的人都要对中国龙文化有一定的了解。
然而，在西方的文化中，龙却是邪恶的代表，是撒旦的化身。
尤其在二十世纪九十年代，西方人对于龙形象的误解。
但是由于中国的国际地位的提升，中西方文化的交流变得更多，使得西方人对于中国龙的形象有了更加深入的认识。
随着时间的变化，通过对于文学甚至电影中龙形象的了解，对于西方龙的认识也发生了改变。
因此本文从东西方龙的起源、形象及其象征意义入手，对东西方龙文化进行对比。
加强东西方文化的深入了解和探讨。
关键词：龙;起源;形象;象征意义AbstractUp and down for thousands of years, the Chinese dragon which penetrated all aspects of society has become a culture of accumulation and cohesion. And nowadays, dragon culture is a symbol of Chinese culture, what`s more, Chinese around the world, proudly proclaim themselves “the offspring of the dragon”. On the contrary, dragon in western culture is the representative of evil and the incarnation of Satan. What`s worse, westerner thinks that defeating the dragon is their mission. However, due to the promotion of China’s international status, there are more and more communication between Chinese and western culture. These interactions give western people opportunities to deeply understanding images of Chinese dragon. With the time goes by, Chinese people also have new recognition of western dragon through literature and movies. Because of these differences, this thesis tries to make a contrastive study on the differences between Chinese and western dragon culture from their origins, images and symbolic meanings. It also introduces the different recognition of different dragon cultures.Key words: Dragon;Origin;Image;Symbolic MeaningOutlineI. IntroductionII. Origins of DragonA. The DefinitionB. The ImageC. Different Symbolic Meanings of Dragon III. Different symbolize meanings of dragonA. Dragon in Proverbs and idioms1. Chinese dragon2. Western dragonB. Dragon in Myths and Legends1.Chinese dragon2.Western dragonC. Dragon in Movies1.Dragon in Chinese Movies2.Dragon in western MoviesD. The reasons for different dragon cultures Ⅳ. Different recognition of dragon cultureA. The western recognition of Chinese dragonB. The recognition of western dragon in China Ⅳ. ConclusionA Contrastive Study on the Differences between Chinese and WesternDragon CultureI. IntroductionFor thousands of years, the dragon has infiltrated all aspects of Chinese society and become a kind of culture and heritage. Dragon culture as an important part of Chinese traditional culture has deeply roots in Chinese culture. In the entire history of Chinese civilization, Dragon culture has been an integral part of its continuous development and improvement. Dragon, involved in the process of accumulation of western civilization, however, formed a distinctive dragon culture.Because of cultural differences, western people are different from Chinese people in understanding and using dragon images. Therefore, this thesis tries to compare and contrast the differences between western and Chinese dragon culture with an aim to allow people to truly understand the meaning of dragon culture in cross-culture communication.What’s more, the dragon culture still influences many aspects of western and Chinese society, such as literature, film and television works, clothing. Therefore, understanding the differences between Chinese and Western dragon culture contributes to understanding the different cultural backgrounds and knowing more implied meaning of the dragon. In addition, it’s better to exchange and communicate in cross-culture communication.II. Origins of DragonAs the most common animal in the legends, dragon does not actually exist, even none ever did exist; it is an imaginary animal. However, few people know the origins of both Chinese and western dragon accurately. This part tries to introduce the different origins of dragon through their different definitions and images.A. The DefinitionA dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that features in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragons and Chinese dragon.The word dragon entered the English language in the early 13th century from Old French dragon, which in turn comes from Latin draconem (nominative draco) meaning “huge serpent, dragon” from the Greek word, drakon (genitive drakontos) “serpent, giant seafish” .Western dragon also means a fiercely vigilant or intractable person or something dangerous.In Chinese culture, the dragon is the combination of many animals, a symbol of the totem worship in the primitive society. In ancient times, people could not have a reasonable explanation of most natural phenomena so they use natural animals as totems. And Chinese dragons traditionally symbolize potent and auspicious powers, particularly control water, rainfall, hurricane, 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.B. The ImageFor Chinese dragons or western dragons, they have varied appearances. The paper will show their most representative images. As for western dragon, a mythical monster traditionally represented as a gigantic reptile having a lion claws and the tail of a serpent, wings, and a scaly skin. The earliest record of western dragon is William Tyndale’s The New Testament. It is a great red dragon with the image as that it has seven heads and ten horns and on its heads seven diadems; and its tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven; and cast them to the earth. It has a strong power that can breathe out fire. However, dragon in the Chinese history is a totem image. In Beijing, Beihai Park, there is a wall called “Nine-dragon Wall”. The dragon has 27 meters long,5 meters high, 1.2 meters thick. The Chinese dragon’s image combine camel’s or horse’s head, deer’s horns, rabbit’s eyes, bull’s ears, snake’s neck, clam’s belly, fish’s scales, hawk’s claws and tiger’s palms together. In addition, its mouth looks like an alligator’s mouth, horse’s manes and fish’s tail. All in all, its image most like a snake but has four claws. Dragon, an omnipotent animal, both in the air and underground can make clouds and bring them rain. The greatest difference between Chinese and western dragon image is that one has wings, but the other does not.III. Differences between Chinese and Western dragon cultureThousands years ago, western and Chinese ancestors respectively gave the dragon different symbolic meanings. The different symbolic meanings caused a lot of misunderstandings. Chinese introduced themselves “the descendants of the dragon”, however, the western dragon has different understanding of Chinese dragon and their own dragon images. Therefore, this part will describe the differences between Chinese and western dragon culture from proverbs, idioms, myths and legends and movies. Also, I will analysis the causes of different dragon cultures.A. Dragon in Proverbs and Idioms1.Chinese dragonThere are varied proverbs and idioms about Chinese dragon and western dragon. In China, most of dragon`s meanings are positive and inspiring. If a couple get married, Chinese will say “lóngfèngchéngxiáng (龙凤呈祥)” to bless them. Lóngfèngchéngxiáng is a phrase which means dragon and phoenix could bring bliss and auspiciousness. It can also be used as an adjective to describe the love between couples. If they have baby, people would like to bless the baby “shēnglónghuóhǔ (生龙活虎)” and “lóngmǎjīngshén (龙马精神)”. These two phrases exhibit that baby will be like the dragon and tiger full of energy and vigor. Also, in our country, most parents look forward their children to having successful career and life. This situationshould be called “wàngzǐchénglóng (望子成龙)”. What`s more, if their children find a good job or pass in university entrance examination, people call this situation “lǐyǘtiàolóngmén (鲤鱼跳龙门)”. It means a carp could finally be a dragon after its insistent efforts of leaping into the dragon gate. After their daughter grows up, they hope to find a son-in-law of high rank. To describe a respectable son-in-law, people usually use “chénglóngkuaìxǜ (乘龙快婿)” whose literal meaning is that a well-content son-in-law is just like riding a dragon and bringing happiness. If the son-in-law has an elegant handwriting, then the elegant handwriting can be called “Lóngfēifèngwǔ (龙飞凤舞)”. This phrase also means the generous mountains. Although the dragon always means auspicious and blissful things in Chinese culture, sometimes it is still not amiable and approachable to civilians. For example, when people encounter a hazardous places or situation, they often use the phrase “lóngtánhǔxuè (龙潭虎穴)” which means the deep pond and cave where a dragon and a tiger live can be easily used to describe.2.Western dragonOn the contrary, western dragon is regarded as evil, and its symbolic meaning are all derogative and negative. For example, if someone has got the “dragon”, he needs to brush his teeth, because here “dragon” just means bad breath. In another case, when you find a man wearing a pink skirt and blue heels with purple highs, you may want to “dragon” his outfit, or say, “That guy’s outfit is so ‘dragon’.” which means the outfit makes you feel sick. It is so disgusting. Dragon can refer to those impenetrable women vividly. For instance, “She is a real dragon. You`d better keep away from her.” “Dragon” in this sentence has a metaphor meaning of shrew. If you call a woman “dragon”, you mean that she is unpleasant and fierce. For example, “She is a bit of dragon around this place.” A “dragon lady” can be paraphrased as a woman behind the ruler. It means a woman whose identity is the wife of the ruler, and she has much great power just like a female dictator. In Chinese history, there are many descriptions of the “dragon lady”. And it would be really funny if someone takes its translation forgranted as “xiǎolóngnǚ (小龙女)” because they are completely different. In English slang, the phrase “chasing the dragon” means smoking heroin and inhaling the fumes. This slang derives from the description about dragon of ancient legends. Since a dragon can breathe out fire and smoke, someone taking the heroin is like chasing the dragon. Another phrase “dragon teeth” originated from the Greek tale of hero Cadmus. Cadmus killed a fierce dragon and sowed its teeth into a land. Soon after, the dragon`s teeth became some warriors and jumped out from the land to attack Cadmus. Cadmus cast a huge rock among the warriors and these warriors began to kill each other. Therefore, “dragon’s teeth” has a connotation of killing each other and “sowing dragon’s teeth” has a metaphor of disharmony or conflicts .B.Dragon in Myths and Legends1. In Chinese mythologyIn Chinese mythology, dragon is a magical animal which is changeable, and specializes in control over water, rainfall, hurricane, and floods and benefits the crops. According to Dadailiji(大戴礼记), the body of dragon can be changeable, either short or long, slim or huge, dark or bright. In spring, dragon flies in the sky; in autumn, dragon swims in the deep. In Ciyuan(Etymology), there are four patron saints---dragon, phoenix, kylin, tortoise. Dragon is the head of the scale insects. Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns (三皇五帝) in the legend and Shennong（神农）, Nvwa, according to ancient records are related with the dragon. Therefore, dragon became the symbol of the imperial power. Emperors always regard themselves as son of dragon and their clothes is decorated with dragons which are called dragon robe. In the book of Chuqiuhechengtu(春秋合诚图), it was recorded that Rao(Chinese emperor) was born by his mother QingDou with his father “a dragon”. What’s more, the Yu(禹)’s father was said to be Huang Dragon. And the dragon helped him to dredge river, so that he could be an emperor. In Han Dynasty, Liu Bang(刘邦) in order to strength his regime and imperial power, coined a legend “His mother dreamed a dragon when she gave birth to LiuBang”, putting himself on the sacred aura. In ourfamous traditional novel Journey to the West to, there are four dragons to make seasonable weather for crop raising. When Sun Wukong(孙悟空), the monkey who protect his master Tang Seng(唐僧) needed water to put out a fire, he asked the king of dragon who control rain to help. So, the dragon also means the kind-hearted and upright which is positive.2. In western mythologyIn western mythology, dragon is the incarnation of evil and its symbolic meaning is negative and ugly. Dragon is sexual and has a hundred sons. But in China, dragon can only give birth to nine sons. In Western culture, dragon always lives in caves and likes collecting treasures especially the gold coins or diamonds so that dragon sometimes symbolize greedy. In Beowulf, dragon is burner and the treasure guard. Once a person stole a gold cup, the dragon breathed out fire to burnout the houses and crops. Finally, Beowulf duelled with dragon and perished together. In Bible, there is a red dragon made flood to pushing away the woman in order to eat her baby. It even agitated other monsters to conquer human and custody. Dragon can breathe out the fire and has a strong body and invulnerability. In German mythology, Siegfried killed a dragon named Fafnir. He took a shower with the dragon’s blood. He ate the dragon`s heart and after that he could understand the birds’ language. So the dragon symbolizes war and strong power. If the king publicize them as the dragon, they are always considered as a king who is bad and not respected. However, in England, dragon can be kind. In the story of King Arthur, the white dragon means Uther Pen-dragon, it is charity and kindness. The red dragon symbolizes V ortigern, it is evil and sinful. Fortunately, the white dragon killed the red dragon and appeared a baby named King Arthur. So, there are two dragons on the hat of English King.C.Dragon in Movies1. Dragon in Chinese MoviesDragons are often used in movies, especially in Chinese. Although dragon is notthe protagonist, its name and figure is widely used in the movies. Chinese directors like using the word dragon to name videos, such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon(卧虎藏龙)、Enter the Dragon(龙争虎斗)、Dragon Travels around the World(龙游天下). Actually, these videos are not talking about the dragon, but why the directors named that? The name of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a Chinese idiom referring to hidden or unsuspected forces or powers. While traditional Chinese martial arts films usually place female characters in secondary roles. In Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, there are three powerful women as highlights, each of whom plays a distinct gender role. Traditionally given to men, the most intense fighting scenes are all performed by women, with one exception. Lee uses combat scenes not only to showcase the intricate martial arts but also to emphasize the will, agility, and physical strength of the female leads. It tells people that the ordinary people may have strong powers, and the dragon here refers to the ability and physical strength. The Enter the Dragon does not mean there are fights between dragon and tiger. Here the dragon and the tiger refers to two people who both have the comparable ability. Lee and Han were taught by a teacher, however, Han betrayed his teacher. Commissioned by the master, Lee attended the competition to defeated and cleaned up Han who is traitor in this story. And their battle was so called Enter the Dragon. Dragon Travels around the World describes an emperor Sima Yulong(司马玉龙)travels around his territory to looking for his mother incognito while checking the character of an official. As dragon is the symbol of emperor, people prefer to call him real dragon and the son of god rather than emperor. All in all, most dragon in Chinese videos on behalf of the person whose characters are kind, bright, powerful and honest.2.Dragon in western MoviesIn most western movies, dragon appeared to be killed and the dragonslayer was the hero respected by the masses. For example, George and the Dragon directed by Tom Reeve is a film describing a story of George and dragon. George is a lad whose father wants to kill a dragon. The father once speared into the dragon`s body unfortunately, the dragon was still alive and ate his feet. Therefore, the father insistedasking George to kill the dragon. Finally, George used his father`s lance killing the dragon and became the sage in the eye of human. Actually, the dragon never hurt others. This shows that the entire dragon is evil in their mind and necessary to be killed. Reign of Fire is a film directed by Rob Bowman. It described a boy called Quine who awakened a dragon by accident, and the dragon breathed out fire to burn everything. Finally, his mother was killed and the dragon and its descendants occupied the world. It was a war between dragon and human. However, few of movies described the bright image of dragon. In the film of Dragon Heart, a dragon shared his heart to injured prince. When the prince became a brutal king, his warrior thought it was the fault of dragon. So he decided to revenge and kill that dragon. At last, he found that it was not the fault of dragon but the prince. The dragon sacrificed himself to help overthrow the prince`s tyranny and became a star to guard the land. Therefore, the dragon here symbolized selflessness and protection.D. The reasons for different dragon culturesThe reasons for different dragon cultures are various. First, Chinese and western people have different customs and history. From the description of Chinese dragon’s definition and image, it is easy to find that dragon`s appearance is a combination of bull, deer, tiger, fish and snakes. In their views, snake is a beautiful animal. Because, in Chinese history, people were made by Nv Wa(A goddess in Chinese mythology) whose figure was human’s head with snake’s body. And in history, the ancients thought that the camel’s head symbolizes wisdom; antlers symbolize longevity; bull’s ears mean the brightest and best; the tiger’s eyes symbolize dignity; eagle symbolizes bravery; lion’s nose symbolizes wealth; horse’s teeth mean hard-working; fish’s tail symbolizes flexible, etc. All these contents are auspicious symbol. So, in Chinese, the dragon culture is full of positive energy. But it is totally different in western culture. It is negative and evil. In western culture, the dragon’s image is based on viper, and integrates many different animal characteristics which feel horror and disgust, such as crocodile, lizard, bat, toads and so forth.These animals are mostly living in deep forestand volcano which are cunning and grotesque. Therefore, the dragon in western was not welcomed and loathed by ancients. For a long time, it becomes a sign of the violence and evil.Second, Chinese and western have different mode of thinking. In ancient Chinese, people reverence nature. An important feature of Chinese traditional culture is to emphasize the harmony between man and nature, rather than men conquer nature. Even the emperor also dares to call themselves “the son of nature”, but not has the courage to overcome nature. Dragon is the creation based on the nature and the real life which ancestors put into their fear, dependent, doubts, imagination and worship of nature. In their mode of thinking, dragon can fly in the sky and swim in the ocean, make clouds and bring them rain. People worship and pray it to bring good weather, have a harvest and bless mankind. Therefore, dragon becomes a totem that people hope to get help and have strong power. On the contrary, western believe that “Men conquer nature”. Dragon as the creation of nature was the symbol of monster. It has strong power such as breathe out of fire, toxic teeth. It can kill human, damage the harvest and ruin a country. In order to protect the country, people control it and prevent it from unscrupulous, indiscriminate killing of innocent people. So, western dragon also means war.Third, Chinese and western have different religion. Before the rise of Christian civilization, the dragon in western was kind. But in 1st century AD, the Christian becomes the main denomination; the image of western dragon became evil. As the classic book of Christianity, Bible described a story in the New Testament that Archangel Michael killed the red dragon. In Bible, dragon appeared as the incarnation of the Christian enemy Satan, so in the long spirit reign of Christianity, dragon`s image had been vilified and worse. Hereafter, dragon was been defined as the incarnation of evil. Meanwhile, in the culture of Taoism which was Chinese bishop, they worshiped nature and animals. They thought that dragon can communicate with god and ghosts. Later, Buddhism was introduced into China. And they regarded dragon as a symbol of faith. After that, a lot of Dragon Temples were built in both north and south of China that become an important part of Chinese dragon image.Because of these different national history, religion, customs and ways of thinking, the understanding of Chinese and western culture, the dragon exhibit great differences. What’s worse, during the cross-cultural communication, it is easy to make misunderstanding with each other, especially the dragon’s symbolism.Ⅳ.Different recognition of dragon cultureBecause of the different culture, western people and Chinese have different understanding of their dragon cultures. Also, with the time goes by, people have new recognition of dragon culture. Chinese dragon is regarded as a god controlling the rain and water. However, western dragon is the symbol of monster and flood. They have different definitions, and images. The image of western dragon is widely acquainted and accepted by the world as evil and monster. This part will introduce the different recognition of dragon culture.A.The western recognition of Chinese dragonBecause there are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragons and the Chinese dragon. So, this part will introduce the changes of the Chinese dragon image in Europe. According to European historical documents, Mendoza’s Historia del Gran Reino de la China was the most influential Chinese monograph for Europe which published in1585. In this book, dragon was written as Serpents, so until the end of 16th century, the Europe did not have the dedicated translation of dragon. But, as the decorative patterns, beautiful dragon pattern had been used for Church’s decoration. During 17 to 18centuries, European were longing and yearning for Chinese culture. At that time, they were interested in dragon and its symbolic meaning---imperial power. They used the words “elegant, great, noble” to praise the dragon patterns. In 1735, Jean Baptiste du Halde upgraded the definition “national symbol of the Chinese”. At this time, Chinese dragon image was objectively reported, and not be deliberately vilified. On the contrary, they described the dragonimage was closely accompanied with magnificent royal style.After 18th century, European countries were competing for overseas expansion. And the negative image of Chinese bureaucracy occupied the main impression. All these bad impressions influenced the image of Chinese dragon. What`s worse, in 1860, comics named “conquer Chinese dragon” were popular in Europe. They draw a classic scene “St. George slays Dragon”, the angel handed with a lance to spear the so-called Chinese dragon which symbolizes the forces of backwardness. During this time, many western countries issued a large number of such commemorative postcards. For example, in Germany postcard “Western powers conquer China”, western soldiers were draw like St. George riding white horses, wearing silk, taking lance and spearing the huge dragon. These actions leaded to the vilification of Chinese dragon image.With the development of Chinese economy and politics, more and more people choose to study, work and live abroad. Also, there are many foreigners choose to study and work in China. From 1978-2012, the number of study abroad has increase nearly 400 thousand. And the population of American of Chinese ancestry has occupied 12% of the American total population. The population of Chinese in England and France is nearly 430 thousand. Since these people brought Chinese culture to the west, the image of Chinese dragon became bright and positive. And the foreigners who live in China has already experiencing the Chinese dragon culture. They may bring their new thoughts back to their countries. In addition, there are some famous Chinese people who are well known around the world. Li Xiaolong who studied and worked in America. His Chinese kung fu was famous for the world. Because of his name, the Chinese dragon was aware by the west. Cheng Long, another famous star was also known to the world. He was also named dragon and famous for his kung fu. Thus, the west became to know the real meaning of Chinese dragon. What’s more, 2000 was the year which meets the turn of millennium and a century, coincided with the Chinese traditional culture of Dragon Year. At this year, China held the first Chinese dragon culture and art festival. Chinese vice premier Qian Qichen published a paper to declare that Chinese dragon is the symbol of nationalstrength because of its spirit of unity and cohesion. Meanwhile, Chinese who lived in other countries also held the party to celebrate the dragon year. They brought the bright and positive dragon image to the world. In 2005, an academic exchange activity named “Chinese dragon image rectification” was held in Chinese Culture Park. This activity aimed to promote the Chinese dragon image in international level and it suggested naming the Chinese dragon as Chinese pinyin “Long”. Because of improvement of China’s international status and these different activities, more and more western people eliminate their misunderstanding and have new recognition of Chinese dragon.B. The recognition of western dragon in ChinaFrom another point of view, the Chinese people always get the information about western dragon from their movies and literature. In western culture, dragon as a symbol of evil and monster. And the strongest evidence of western dragon comes from the Bible’s Apocalypse. In fact, there are also some positive images of dragon in Bible. For example, the holy mighty angel leader, the crutch in Moses hands that save the tribe for many times, the brass snake that Jesus think could represent himself and so on. Nowadays, we can still find these content in the official bible. For the stories that already talked about many times, such as dragon rob princess, knight hero story, only could be found in the medieval European literature. Prior to this, the Celtic who were throughout the most of Western Europe and the Nordic Vikings were also worship the dragon totem like Chinese people. They consider the dragon as their national symbol and the patron saint. The Celtic descendants even put dragon on their flags today. With the development of technology, the communication throughout world becomes convenient. More and more Chinese people read both ancient and modern literature which have content of dragon image.Good and bad, good and evil, may both appears on anything. And the judgment of good and bad is often related to the position of the people themselves. This is the dialectical thought. Although there is no clear evidence that the dragon is real in theobjective world, it still leaves many imaginations in the myth and legend. People in different culture should widely absorb the knowledge of each other. With the development of our society and world, people will have new recognition of different dragon cultures.Ⅳ. ConclusionBecause of different national histories, religions, customs, ways of thinking and geographies, western dragon and Chinese dragon have many differences in definition, image and symbolic meaning. Compared with the evil and formidable western dragon, Chinese dragon is auspicious and noble. The western people misunderstand the Chinese dragon decades years ago. However, with the development of Chinese economy and politics, there are more and more people study, work and live abroad. These people are helpful to eliminating the misunderstanding of Chinese dragon. Also, many foreigners are willing to come to China and experience the Chinese culture. Therefore, on one hand, China should develop the economy first, so that Chinese international status can upgrade. Chinese should do better to show the real spirit of dragon---unity, selflessness, integrity, so that the world can realize the connotation of Chinese dragon. On the other hand, Chinese people also need to learn more about the knowledge of western dragon before the judgment.。
