Hong (rainbow-dragon)Hong or jiang () is a two-headed dragon in Chinese mythology, comparable with rainbow serpent legends in various cultures and mythologies. Chinese has three "rainbow" words, regular hong 虹, literary didong 蝃蝀, and ni 蜺 "secondary rainbow". Note that all these Chinese characters share a graphic element of hui "insect; worm; reptile; etc." (cf. tripled chong ), known in Chinese as Kangxi radical number 142 and loosely translated in English as the "insect radical".
TianlongTianlong (; lit. "heavenly dragon") is a flying dragon in Chinese mythology, a star in Chinese astrology, and a proper name. The term tianlong combines tian "heaven" and long "dragon". Since tian literally means "heaven; the heavens; sky" or figuratively "Heaven; God; gods", tianlong can denote "heavenly dragon; celestial dragon" or "holy dragon; divine dragon". Tianlong 天龍 is homophonous with another name in Chinese folklore.
Chu CiThe Chu ci, variously translated as Verses of Chu, Songs of Chu, or Elegies of Chu, is an ancient anthology of Chinese poetry including works traditionally attributed mainly to Qu Yuan and Song Yu from the Warring States period (ended 221 BC), and also a large number of works composed several centuries later, during the Han dynasty. The traditional version of the Chu ci contains 17 major sections, anthologized with its current contents by Wang Yi, a 2nd-century AD librarian who served under Emperor Shun of Han.
Zhulong (mythology)Zhulong 'dʒuːlɒŋ or Zhuyin 'dʒuːjɪn, also known in English as the Torch Dragon, was a giant red solar dragon and god in Chinese mythology. It supposedly had a human's face and snake's body, created day and night by opening and closing its eyes, and created seasonal winds by breathing. The key word in the names "Zhuyin" and "Zhulong" is , pronounced zhú in present-day Mandarin.
Chi (mythology)Chi () means either "a hornless dragon" or "a mountain demon" (namely, ) in Chinese mythology. Hornless dragons were a common motif in ancient Chinese art, and the chiwen (lit. "hornless-dragon mouth") was an imperial roof decoration in traditional Chinese architecture. In Modern Standard Chinese usage, "hornless dragon" occurs in words such as: —"hornless dragon"; i.e. making it clear that a dragon and not a demon is being talked about. —"carved dragon handle (esp. on cups)" —"a roof ornament shaped like a dragon".
Teng (mythology)Teng () or Tengshe (; lit. "soaring snake") is a flying dragon in Chinese mythology. This legendary creature's names include teng 螣 "a flying dragon" (or te 螣 "a plant pest") and tengshe 螣蛇 "flying-dragon snake" or 騰蛇 "soaring snake". The Chinese character for teng or te graphically combines a phonetic element of zhen "I, we (only used by emperors)" with the "insect radical" . This radical is typically used in characters for insects, worms, reptiles, and dragons (e.g., shen "a sea-monster dragon" or jiao "an aquatic dragon").
JiaolongJiaolong () or jiao (chiao, kiao) is a dragon in Chinese mythology, often defined as a "scaled dragon"; it is hornless according to certain scholars and said to be aquatic or river-dwelling. It may have referred to a species of crocodile. A number of scholars point to non- southern origins for the legendary creature and ancient texts chronicle that the Yue people once tattooed their bodies to ward against these monsters. In English translations, jiao has been variously rendered as "jiao-dragon", "crocodile", "flood dragon", "scaly dragon", or even "kraken".
Yellow DragonThe Yellow Dragon ( is the zoomorphic incarnation of the Yellow Emperor of the center of the universe in Chinese religion and mythology. The Yellow Emperor or Yellow Deity was conceived by Fubao, who became pregnant after seeing a yellow ray of light turning around the Northern Dipper (in Chinese theology the principal symbol of God). Twenty-four months later, the Yellow Emperor was born and was associated with the color yellow because it is the color of the earth (Dì 地), the material substance in which he incarnated.
FeilongFeilong (; lit. "flying dragon") is a legendary creature that flies among clouds in Chinese mythology. Feilong is a proper name, and is often used as a title for other ideas and objects. The Chinese dragon name feilong combines fei or "fly; flying; hover; flutter" and long or "dragon". This loanword 飛龍 is pronounced as Japanese hiryū (飛竜), Korean biryong (비룡), and Vietnamese philong. The inverted Longfei 龍飛 was an era name (396–399 CE) during the Later Liang Dynasty.
QiulongQiulong (; curling dragon) or qiu was a Chinese dragon that is contradictorily defined as "horned dragon" and "hornless dragon". This Chinese dragon name can be pronounced qiu or jiu and written 虯 or 虬. The variant Chinese characters for the qiu or jiu dragon are and , which combine the "insect radical" with phonetics of jiu "connect" and yin "hidden". This 虫 radical is typically used in Chinese characters for insects, worms, reptiles, and dragons (e.g., shen 蜃, jiao 蛟, and hong 虹).
