Do you believe in dragons?
And I hope you do, because you
♫ always have a friend worrying... ♪
Sorry about that. No, not these little cutesy ones,
and no, not these
fire-breathing, princess-kidnapping ones either.
Those are better off not existing at all.
Like these.
If you don't recognize them, they are ancient 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘯 dragons.
I mean, you can tell by their eyes(!)
Nah, that's just, just kidding. That's really racist.
What I mean is, these are the type of dragons from myths and legends across Asia.
In contrast to their Western counterparts,
these dragons are not known to eat people,
or attack a castle,
or chase a bunch of dwarves out of their homes for their gold.
In Western culture, the dragons represents evil and darkness.
Unlike the celestial images of the Eastern dragon,
the Western dragon has sharp teeth and strong legs.
It is said to bring harm, suffering, and fear to humankind.
In China, as well as in most places in Asia,
the dragon, or "lóng" (龍/龙), as said in Chinese,
is commonly the symbol of nobility, solemness, holiness and good fortune.
Throughout the history of China, Korea, and Japan,
the dragon, or the concept of the dragon, has been a part of people's daily lives.
The dragon has existed wherever Chinese culture existed,
and the Chinese eventually began calling themselves
"the Descendants of the Dragon."
The Eastern dragon is portrayed as an auspicious creature,
with magical powers that coexist in heaven with gods.
When Buddhists or Daoists achieved perfection,
they ascend to Heaven by riding on a dragon.
These dragons are believed by the people to be deities.
They are wise, compassionate, and watch over the people.
The presence of dragons within Chinese culture dates back thousands of years,
with the discovery of a dragon statue dating back to the 5th millennium BC, from the Yangshao period.
Chinese dragons are strongly associated with water.
In popular belief, they are believed to be the rulers of moving bodies of water,
such as waterfalls, rivers, or seas.
In traditional Chinese beliefs, there are four major Dragon Kings,
representing each of the four seas:
the East Sea, which is corresponding to the East China Sea;
the South Sea, corresponding to the South China Sea;
the West Sea, sometimes seen as the Indian Ocean and beyond;
and the North Sea, sometimes seen as Lake Baikal.
Because of this association, they are seen as "in charge" of water-related weather phenomena.
In pre-modern times, many Chinese villagers, especially those close to rivers and seas,
had temples dedicated to their local Dragon King.
In times of drought or flooding, it was customary for local officials
to lead the community in offering sacrifices, and conducting other religious rites, to appease the dragon.
According to Chinese literature and myths, there are mainly nine types of Chinese dragons:
the Horned Dragon, which is said to be the most powerful, generalized type of Chinese dragon;
the Winged Dragon, associated with rains and floods.
This dragon is believed to be used by the Yellow Emperor Huangdi to kill Chiyou;
the Celestial Dragon, also called "Tiānlóng" (天龍/天龙),
is the guardian of gods, and a protector of Heaven;
the Spiritual Dragon, the "Shénlóng" (神龍/神龙),
brings rain and controls the weather;
the Dragon of the Rivers and the Seas, what is called "Dìlóng" (地龍/地龙);
"Cáilóng" (財龍/财龙), or the Treasure Dragon
(who is probably a long-lost, distant cousin of Smaug, you know, from the Hobbit),
guards jewels and metals, and is associated with the volcano;
the Quarreling Dragon, a lake dragon that has not ascended to Heaven;
the Yellow Dragon, a hornless dragon symbolizing the emperor;
the last of the nine are the Dragon Kings, and we talked about that before.
They each rule over one of the seas, from East, North, West, and South.
And here's something really cool.
It seems that some of these dragons might have been caught on camera.
Take a look at this.
Here you can vaguely see a dragon-like shadow swimming in the clouds.
And at the same time a guy is yelling,
"It's a dragon, it's a dragon."
"Look, it's a dragon."
Yes, we know. It looks like a dragon.
Here's another one.
Now, if you look closely, you can actually make out two dragons circling each other within the clouds.
[Car beeps] [Crowd murmuring in Mandarin]
[City noise] [Crowd murmuring in Mandarin]
[Long car beep] [Crowd murmuring in Mandarin]
[Crowd murmuring in Mandarin]
[Man, in Mandarin:] It's been swirling like this for a while. [Crowd murmuring in Mandarin]
[Man, in Mandarin:] It's been circling. [Crowd murmuring in Mandarin]
[Man, in Mandarin:] It doesn't even move. [Crowd murmuring in Mandarin]
[Crowd murmuring in Mandarin]
[Long car beep] [Crowd murmuring in Mandarin]
[Crowd murmuring in Mandarin]
But not all dragons roam in the clouds.
Sometimes they can be in your neighborhood, like this one here.
This seems to be a security camera.
Whoa, that was pretty fast.
Let's slow this down, take a look again here.
You see that is pretty transparent, but we can definitely make out the head of the dragon and the thin tail.
Okay, what do you think. Are you convinced?
Or do you believe that these videos were just
a cool cloud,
funny lights,
and maybe a transparent lizard?
Here's what I believe in. Feel free to 𝘯𝘰𝘵 agree with me.
This is just 𝘮𝘺 opinion.
I do believe that dragons exist, not just because I've seen too many Pixar movies,
but I think there are elements of truth to all myths and legends.
Some are very exaggerated,
but some, you know,
they sort of make sense at least to me.
Alright, guys. Thanks for watching.
Now, this is a brand new channel where we will be exploring the awesomeness that is Chinese culture.
We'll be diving into cool Chinese myths and legends and historical stories.
We're also dive into social phenomenas.
Anything that's related to Chinese culture, we'll definitely cover it here for you.
Because it is one of the coolest things that I found.
I want to share with all of you guys out there.
So, we'll have videos for you every single week,
so please subscribe to this channel,
and also let me know if 𝘺𝘰𝘶 believe in dragons.
[English subtitles credits: 雜碎 Chop Suey] [Translation credits: ]