Traditional Chinese 青龍 Literal meaning Bluegreen Dragon Yale Romanization Cheng1 Lung4 | Simplified Chinese 青龙 Hanyu Pinyin Jyutping Ceng1 Lung4 | |
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The Azure Dragon (青龍 Qīnglóng), also known as Bluegreen Dragon or Green Dragon, also called the Blue Dragon (蒼龍 Cānglóng), is one of the Dragon Gods who represent the mount or chthonic forces of the Five Forms of the Highest Deity (五方上帝 Wǔfāng Shàngdì). He is also one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations, which are the astral representations of the Wufang Shangdi. The Bluegreen Dragon represents the east and the spring season. It is also known as Seiryu in Japanese.
Contents
- The Seven Mansions of the Azure Dragon
- Cultural depictions
- Influence in other East Asian cultures
- In popular culture
- References
The Dragon is frequently referred to in media, feng shui, other cultures, and in various venues as the Green Dragon and the Avalon Dragon. His cardinal direction's epithet is "Bluegreen Dragon of the East" (東方青龍 Dōngfāng Qīnglóng or 東方蒼龍 Dōngfāng Cānglóng). His proper name as the "Dragon King of the East Sea" (東海龍王 Dōnghǎi Lóngwáng) is Ao Guang.
The Seven Mansions of the Azure Dragon
As the other three Symbols, there are seven "mansions", or positions, of the moon within Azure Dragon. The names and determinative stars are:
Cultural depictions
In the Romance of the Tales of the Tang (Shuo Tang Yanyi), the White Tiger's star is reincarnated as General Luo Cheng (羅成 / 罗成), who serves Li Shimin. The Azure Dragon's Star is reincarnated as General Shan Xiongxin (單雄信 / 单雄信), who serves Wang Shichong. The two generals are sworn brothers of Qin Shubao (秦叔寶 / 秦叔宝), Cheng Zhijie (程知節 / 程知节) and Yuchi Gong (尉遲恭 / 尉迟恭). After death, their souls are said to possess heroes of the Tang dynasty and Goguryeo, such as Xue Rengui (薛仁貴 / 薛仁贵) and Yeon Gaesomun (淵蓋蘇文).
The Azure Dragon appears as a door god at Taoist temples. He was represented on the tomb of Wang Hui (stone coffin, east side) at Xikang in Lushan. A rubbing of this was collected by David Crockett Graham and is in the Field Museum of Natural History. The dragon featured on the Chinese national flag in 1862-1912, and on the Twelve Symbols national emblem from 1913-1928.
Influence in other East Asian cultures
In Japan, the Bluegreen Dragon is one of the four guardian spirits of cities and is said to protect the city of Kyoto on the east. The west is protected by the White Tiger, the north is protected by the Black Tortoise, the south is protected by the Vermilion Bird, and the center is protected by the Yellow Dragon.
In Kyoto there are temples dedicated to each of these guardian spirits. The Azure Dragon is represented in the Kiyomizu Temple in eastern Kyoto. Before the entrance of the temple there is a statue of the dragon which is said to drink from the waterfall within the temple complex at nighttime. Therefore, each year a ceremony is held to worship the dragon of the east.
In 1983, the Kitora Tomb was found in the village of Asuka. All four guardians were painted on the walls (in the corresponding directions) and a system of the constellations was painted on the ceiling. This is one of the few ancient records of the four guardians.
In Korea, the murals of the Goguryeo tombs found at Uhyon-ni in South Pyongan province features the Azure Dragon and the other mythological creatures of the four symbols.