www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

US EUROPE AFRICA ASIA 中文
Opinion / Op-Ed Contributors

Much ado about new stamps and dragons

By Fei Erzi (China Daily) Updated: 2012-01-07 07:54

Astamp is a stamp is a stamp. But this is not true of all stamps. For us, the stamp that heralds the beginning of the Chinese lunar new year means a lot, though symbolically.

China Post issues a stamp with one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac - the rat comes first, followed by ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig - at the beginning of each lunar year.

The dragon on the stamp issued for the Year of the Dragon, which begins on Jan 23, has upset many people. It looks ferocious with its fierce stare and wide-open mouth, and doesn't appeal to the eye or the mind.

Such an image of the dragon is thought to be frightening and aggressive, not in accord with the perception of a dragon that Chinese people have.

But why are we making a fuss over a legendary creature like a dragon? Simply because the animal is highly respected and revered by Chinese who, be they in or outside China, call themselves the "descendants of the dragon".

Typically, people born in the Year of the Dragon consider themselves lucky. Even those who are born in the Year of the Snake prefer to call themselves "small dragons".

The dragon is often portrayed as having aspects of other animals such as deer's antlers, carp's scales, tiger's eyes and eagle's claws. In folklore, dragons are viewed as godlike figures because they control the weather, especially rain and floods. That's why ancient Chinese society depended on the dragon to open the skies for a good harvest.

Chinese people as well as foreigners see the dragon as a traditional Chinese icon.

Searching for "dragon and China" in the books section of American online retailer Amazon's website, I got 2,854 results. In many books authored by foreign writers, China is referred to as the dragon. A lot of times we dislike the dragon tag that Western scholars use to refer to China because they see it as evil.

In total contrast, Chinese think the dragon gives life. Hence, its breath is called sheng qi, or divine energy. It is essentially friendly, benevolent and wise, and associated with abundance and blessing.

Our dragon is believed to be capable of performing almost any feat. No wonder, ancient Chinese emperors called themselves the "avatar (reincarnation) of the dragon" to facilitate their rule over the people. Their bodies were known as "dragon bodies" and their children were called "dragon babies". Their formal dress was the "dragon robe" with golden dragons embroidered on the front and back. And people they ruled over worshiped them as heavenly dragons.

Though a mythical creature, the dragon is still revered by the Chinese. Among the events that still honor the dragon is the Dragon Dance, which was originally performed as a ceremonial offering to please the "Dragon King" to help bring rain to the fields. The Dragon Dance today is a popular form of entertainment. But it illustrates the importance of the dragon to us.

Previous Page 1 2 Next Page

Most Viewed Today's Top News
New type of urbanization is in the details
...
主站蜘蛛池模板: 免费国产成人18在线观看 | 九九视频精品全部免费播放 | 亚洲免费网站在线观看 | 国产资源精品一区二区免费 | 国产精品久久久免费视频 | 日本特黄特色高清免费视频 | 亚洲免费三级 | 亚洲精品一区二区三区在线观看 | 亚洲日本激情 | 久久精品亚洲精品一区 | 欧美色老头oldvideo | 精品久久久久久久久久香蕉 | 国产剧情一区二区 | 久久综合丁香 | 久久99国产精品久久99无号码 | 久久草在线观看 | 在线视频观看国产 | 国内精品久久久久久久影视麻豆 | 欧美日韩精品一区二区三区视频播放 | 亚洲视频精选 | 99亚洲视频| 精品国产午夜肉伦伦影院 | 欧美一级特黄aaaaaa在线看片 | 成年免费观看 | 在线免费观看成年人视频 | 免费99视频有精品视频高清 | 国产高清在线免费视频 | 中文字幕乱码视频32 | 美国毛片在线观看 | 奇米四色综合久久天天爱 | 美女张开腿让男人桶的动态图 | 欧美日韩一区二区高清视 | 中文字幕亚洲精品 | 中国a级毛片免费 | 一级视频在线观看 | 91久久青草精品38国产 | 一区二三区国产 | 欧美成人午夜片一一在线观看 | 两性免费视频 | 99视频国产在线 | 永久免费毛片手机版在线看 |