Of all the sisters in my family, Mary is the youngest, most talented and most accomplished. We consider her the person with the highest destiny because she was born under the sign of the dragon; people born during the year “ na(m tuo^?i thi`nh” are supposed to be lucky and to always lead a good life. This article is dedicated to her.
The dragon is a fabulous beast with “ the head of a camel, horns of a deer, the eyes of a fish, the ears of a buffalo, the body and neck of a snake, the scales of a carp, the claws of an eagle, and the feet of a tiger”. . The protuberance on its head is symbolic of the great deal of intelligence it posesses, the versatility of breathing out either fire or water, the ability of flying in the sky , swimming under water, living underground make this animal truly legendary with supernatural characteristics.
Despite its awesome appearance, the dragon does not incarnate the spirit of evil, and the Vietnamese have always considered this animal as a symbol of power and nobility associated with emperors. The five claws of the dragon are embroidered on the official imperial garment whereas the four claws would decorate the official dress of other high royal dignitaries.
This fabulous animal, commonly called “ Con Rô`ng”, or more literarily known as “ Long” leads the pack of the four mythical animals with supernatural powers: The dragon, the unicorn, the tortoise and the phoenix.
There are five types of dragons : the celestial dragons, which guard the abodes of the gods
the dragon spirits, which rule over the natural phenomena, wind and rain but can also cause flooding,
the earth dragons, which keep the rivers clean and deepen the oceans,
the guard dragons, which watch over the treasures of the earth
and the imperial dragons, which have five claws instead of the usual four and are associated with emperors .
The dragon represents the yang principle and is often portrayed surrounded by water or clouds, the man, whereas the woman is symbolized by the phoenix.
It is also regarded as a symbol of fertility and powers of heaven. It marks success, wealth and importance.
In poetry, the dragon and the phoenix are usually represented together as marital bliss and shared happiness.
With the belief they are the direct descendants of the King Dragon, Vietnamese always feel protected by this fabulous creature, which keeps a watchful eye over their imperial city of Hue^’ where all
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