On Sat, 26 Oct 1996, Cynewulf wrote:
You know, that makes me wonder... _why_ is dragon's blood
infinitely more powerful that a human's? It's a tradition, sure, but I
don't buy it. I see no reason why human blood, in a fantasy sense,
should be as powerful, if not more so, than some overgrown flying lizard's.
I believe it is because asian dragons are thought to be creatures of
incredible wisdom and power. Wisdom and power that exceeds all human
levels, including Cologne's.
Guess I can buy that... I've just had a problem associating that
with the fantasy-European dragons, and whatever qualities are associated
with them. Oriental dragons only bear a superficial resemblance to them
anyway. BTW, aren't oriental ones divine creatures or something, or
spokecreatures for the gods? I'm not too familiar with the myths... (and
don't consider my AD&D Legends and Lore a terribly reliable source...)
As I understand it, asian dragons have varying statuses. The lower level
ones, if you can even call them that, are primarily elementalists. The
higher level ones are up in the diety range. Heck, there is even a Dragon
God, or king depending on how you translate the symbols.
I think dragons symbolize harmony. This would fit with various martial
arts that utilize the tiger and dragon symbols for 'strength' and
'strength and wisdom' respectively. In many chinese restaraunts, you may
see a picture of a dragon paired with a phoenix. It symbolizes harmony
and longevity, ie peace and long life.
I can't think of anymore at the moment...
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