Seeking Kung Fu Knowledge
December 19, 2005 5:30 PM Subscribe
What can you tell me about sheng hun kung fu?
I'd also appreciate some info on the role of dragons in Chinese history (e.g. are Chinese dragons generally considered benevolent?)
Response by poster: I don't think they played much of a part in Chinese 'history'
To clarify: History in terms of how dragons are traditionally represented in, say, Chinese architecture, folk art, folk tales, symbolism, literature, etc.
Thank you for your insight.
posted by iced_borsch at 8:15 PM on December 19, 2005
To clarify: History in terms of how dragons are traditionally represented in, say, Chinese architecture, folk art, folk tales, symbolism, literature, etc.
Thank you for your insight.
posted by iced_borsch at 8:15 PM on December 19, 2005
Best answer: http://www.theserenedragon.net/Tales/china.html
http://www.chinapage.com/dragon1.html
http://www.cic.sfu.ca/cchf/dragonInChina.html
posted by tangerine at 9:45 PM on December 19, 2005
http://www.chinapage.com/dragon1.html
http://www.cic.sfu.ca/cchf/dragonInChina.html
posted by tangerine at 9:45 PM on December 19, 2005
If I may tie things together prematurely, I know a little bit about the role of the dragon in martial arts. The dragon was the only mythical member of the five Shaolin animal archetypes. The Shaolin monks studies the movements of animals and derived offensive and defensive techniques from observation. Needless to say, they could not observe dragons, but developed dragon based techniques based on imagination. The dragon was the only animal who could fight in air, water, or on land, making it a very special creature indeed. You may recall that Chinese dragons are represented as very long, flowing, and almost spiral in their movements. Shaolin dragon movements often use spinning motions. This is impressive looking, and sometimes is necessary for taking on multiple opponents, but is risky against a single opponent.
posted by ilsa at 10:23 PM on December 19, 2005
posted by ilsa at 10:23 PM on December 19, 2005
This is probably already explained in the links above, but my personal and not terribly comprehensive knowledge says that dragons in chinese culture seem to combine three facets:
(1) ritualistic forces--less like real creatures, but more like an idea of order itself, for example with regards to cyclical patterns of rainfall.
(2) symbols--five fingers = emperor?
(3) civilized dudes. If you look at the stories, dragons are usually encountered in their mode as humans.
posted by kensanway at 10:28 PM on December 19, 2005
(1) ritualistic forces--less like real creatures, but more like an idea of order itself, for example with regards to cyclical patterns of rainfall.
(2) symbols--five fingers = emperor?
(3) civilized dudes. If you look at the stories, dragons are usually encountered in their mode as humans.
posted by kensanway at 10:28 PM on December 19, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by delmoi at 7:34 PM on December 19, 2005