Qiulong

Qiulong (; 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). Compare the word jiu or "twist; entangle; unite" that is written with the "silk radical" and the same alternate phonetics as qiu 虯 or 虬. Qiu 虬 or 虯 is also an uncommon Chinese surname. For example, Qiuranke Zhuan 虯髯客傳 "The Legend of the Curly-whiskered Guest" is a story by the Tang dynasty writer Du Guangting 杜光庭 (850–933 CE), and Qiu Zhong 虬仲 was the courtesy name of the Qing dynasty painter Li Fangying. In Japanese, the kanji "Chinese characters" 虬 or 虯 are sometimes used for the mizuchi 蛟 "river dragon". Sinological linguists have proposed several etymologies for the qiu or jiu 虯 dragon. Bernhard Karlgren reconstructed Old Chinese pronunciations of qiu < *g'yŏg or jiu < *kyŏg for 虯 "horned dragon" and "horn-shaped; long and curved". This latter word combines the "horn radical" and 虯's jiu 丩 phonetic. Carr follows Karlgren's reconstructions and suggests qiu < *g'yŏg or jiu < *kyŏg 虯 is "part of a 'twist; coil; wrap' word family" that includes: qiu < *g'yôg "long and curved; curled up horn" jiu < *klyŏg "curving branch; twist" miu < *mlyŏg or jiu < *klyŏg "bind; wind around; wrap; twist" liu < *glyôg or lu < *glyôk "join forces; unite" jiao < *klôg "glue; unite" liao < *glyôg "tie around; strangle" This "twisting; coiling" etymology can explain both the meanings "horned dragon; twisted horns" and "curling; wriggling" below. Schuessler reconstructs Old Chinese qiu < *giu or jiu < *kiu for 觓 or 觩 "horn-shaped; long and curved" and 虯 "horned dragon", and cites Coblin's comparison of "horned dragon" with Written Tibetan klu "Nāga, serpent spirit".