A report suggesting the dragon is no longer a suitable Chinese
symbol has aroused strong objections since Monday.
A report claimed Professor Wu Youfu, Deputy President of the
Shanghai Public Relations Association, said the dragon is seen as a
symbol of violence and aggression in some Western cultures. A bias
from westerners knowing little about China's culture may lead to a
negative effect on the country, according to the report.
However, Professor Wu Youfu refuted the report as untrue and
emphasized that the dragon as a Chinese symbol should be
maintained.
In a survey conducted by sina.com, the portal website of China,
90% of 100,000 Internet users firmly believed that the dragon
should remain a Chinese icon.
?
"Dragons in Western countries and in China are different. They
shouldn't be mixed," Pang Jin, the director of China Research
Center on Dragon and Phoenix Culture, said in an interview.
"The dragon in western countries is a combination of several
small animals. It mainly represents evil and is usually seen as a
symbol of arbitrariness and offensiveness. However, dragons in
China are supernatural animals that are always good without
aggression. What's more, the dragon in Western culture enjoys a low
cultural rank, but in China, it is a spiritual and cultural symbol
representing prosperity and good luck for about 70,000 to 80,000
years," Pang added.
Some experts also have suggested changing the English
translation of dragon to "Loong."
"To some extend, the misunderstanding of the dragon is because
of the translation. The Dragon in western society is an animal
people try to get rid of. I think the person who initially
translated the Chinese "loong" to "dragon" didn't understand it
that much, so it's still used up until now," said Professor Guan
Shijie from Peking University.
Regarding east meeting west, Pang Jin said, "The world is a
diverse one. It doesn't have only one culture. We shouldn't use one
standard to judge all others."
However, it seems that the misunderstanding as to the nature of
dragons works both ways. While in classical Western mythology, the
dragon was occasionally a figure of evil such as that protecting
the 'Golden Fleece' in Greek lore or the beast slain by St. George,
the dragon has also often been hailed a symbol of bravery and of
courage.
Celtic tales speak of the fierce battle between two dragons, one of
them blood red representing the Celts, one white representing the
invading Saxons. The two battled in the skies until the white
dragon chased the red one away to the west. This has been seen as
an image of the Saxons forcing the Celts westwards into Wales,
Cornwall and across Ireland and Scotland. Although the story may
just be legend, the emblem of the Red Dragon adorns the Welsh flag
to this day.
(China.org.cn, CRI.com December 5, 2006)
