As the only mythical animal in the Chinese zodiac, the Dragon is seen as an auspicious, powerful and benevolent creature. In ancient China, only emperors were allowed to own images of dragons, as emperors were thought to be the sons of dragons, so these mythical creatures can be seen depicted throughout the Imperial buildings of the Forbidden City (though some don’t actually look like dragons)!
There is a Chinese idiom, made famous by a certain martial arts film made in 2000 – ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’. The saying refers to a situation when people are hiding their talents beneath an unassuming exterior. The moral of this, of course, is to never judge a person’s ability by their seemingly ordinary appearance because you don’t know what surprising skills they may be concealing.
February 10th 2024 begins the year of the Wood Dragon, the Wood element representing resilience. People born in the Year of the Dragon are considered to be natural leaders, confident, pioneering and energetic. So, be full of Dragon spirit this year – get out there and set the world on fire! Show us your hidden talents, but please remember to use yours wisely as not all skills are useful… or even safe!
Gung Hei Fat Choi!
Mo and Dave
If you’d like to know more about dragons, and how to draw them, head over to our friend MP Robertson’s Kickstarter page, where he’s hatching a plan to create a book called Drawing Dragons: www.bit.ly/drawingdragons
2 Responses
Gung hay fat Choy! Happy new year! May your year be auspicious and fantastic.
Thanks May ❤️