DRAGONS OF CHINA


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Dragon Shaped China is a fast short of history of China.

As a storyteller, I want adults and children to know why Dragons enabled culture and history through their respect gained and the use of the dragons by the Emperors to declaring their powers in China. If I misrepresent anything, please let me know.





During the month of April 2017 in the A to Z Blog Challenge, and in NaNoWriCAMP I told a story a day, either a folktale, faerytale, legend, myth, or a cautionary tale that fits the in AtoZ theme for the Asian Stories. This set is of ten stories is about Dragon and how they shaped China.

A2Z BLOG CHALLENGE, AMBITIOUS

 
As a storyteller, I wanted visitors and children at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco and to know why Dragons are important. These verbal stories I told to present a brief, quick summary of the ancient history of the growth of the Chinese Dynasties. These stories tell of the respect the Dragon gained in the Chinese culture. I have as all storytellers do - adapted, fabricated, modified, elaborated, and enhanced the stories.  If I misrepresent anything please let me know. Otherwise, READ and enjoy!

The full stories are on my Wattpad.com site.

twitter - @BobbieTales
writing blog - BlobBlobandBlogging 
website - BobbieKinkead

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DRAGONS SHAPED CHINA. 

The Chinese have told stories of the dragons in the sea, and on land, and in the air for thousands of years. The first drawing of a dragon, without wings, was found on a stone dating back 7,600 years. There are the heavenly celestial Dragons, the weather dragons of the sky, the earth dragons of the rivers, lakes, and mountains and the court dragons. Dragons fly, control the weather, die and are reborn, and change shapes. The bones of the dragons, when found in lakes, rivers and on mountains, were used as powerful medicines. 

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#1 - THE FRIST DRAGON, P’ANGU


READ Pangu, The First Dragon

This is the first dragon's story.
A creation myth told on wide stairs going up a huge white hall into the Chinese Gallery at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. This story is about birth and life ---> the yang and yin - the balance of the male and female within all of us.

At the beginning of time, there were no humans, no seas, no waves, no rain or winds; there was no sand or dirt, no plant or trees, no living animals. The universe was a turning mist swirling around and around.

The First Dragon, P’angu, died after creating China. He left the Dragons, the Phoenix, the Unicorn, and the Tortoise to deliver to the people P’angu’s dreams.

A2Z BLOG CHALLENGE, BOUNDLESS

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#2 - Dragon and Phoenix

Read Dragon and Phoenix
P'angu left his Father the sky; Yang and his Mother the earth, Yin. For centuries, Yin and Yang were serpents with human heads and then Dragons. Today each transformed into humans dressed in the finest gowns of golden silk embroidered with dragons of bright colors. They are Celestial Dragons that hold up the heavens live in the royal temple on a golden mountain that reaches into the middle of the sky. One of P'angu brother draws the Sun God's chariot through the day. During the First Dynasty of the Earth Dragon, the Sun God helped humans; he gave medicine and herbs and the five crop stone to the farmers.

P'angu friends the White Jade Dragon and the Gold Phoenix stayed in the universe, which we call the Milky Way. A dragon lived in a cave in the East and Phoenix lived in a forest to the West of the Fairy Inlet. The Jade Dragon and the Phoenix were neighbors and greeted each other with bows of respect.
 

They create a magic Pearl, which the Queen Mother of the West steals for a 3,000-year party when her peaches ripen for her party. 

AtoZ Blog Challenge, CHERISH

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#3 - The River Dragons conquer China.

READ Dragon Min
Many centuries from ancient times, the pearl shards laid buried in the ground in the mountains. In a village lived a poor boy by the name of Min. By cutting grasses in the valley, he brought rice and tea for his blind mother. This year was exceedingly hot and extremely dry; the grasses died. Min had to travel up the West Mountains to find grass and where he discovers a magic pearl shard from the Pearl created by the Jade Dragon and Golden Phoenix.

For centuries River Kingdoms were in power and used the DRAGONS to fight over for the control of China. Such is the story of Dragon Min, a boy who became a River Dragon and helped the villagers. While becoming a Dragon, Min made mud banks around the river to hold shrimps, crabs, eels, and fish and the river irrigated the crops and vegetables. Thus, Dragon Min, like many other river dragons, is honored and respected for bringing change, good fortune, and wealth to the river, the villagers, and the farmers. And, thus dynasties grew.

AtoZ Blog Challenge, Distinguished 

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# 4 - DRAGON FROM THE SKY

READ Dragons from the Sky

The farmers, fishermen, and villagers feared and loved the power of the dragons from the sky. These dragons are given credit for good fortune and change by providing rain for crops and fishing. About this time the different Emperors, Lords of Rivers and Lakes declared that they were related to the mystical, powerful celestial dragons using the respect and honor of the dragons and to provide themselves power with the people. 
The villages, fishermen, and farmers have great respect for dragons and honor what they created. During this summer while the villagers worked in their fields growing grains, dark clouds covered the sun. A cold wind blew hard and fast. The trees bent. Fog surrounded everything; then a loud thump on the ground.


AtoZ Blog Challenge, Enable

 
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 #5 - THE LONELY DRAGON

READ The Lonely Dragon

The villages respected the dragons because they offered protection, controlled of the weather thus creating good fortune and wealth, now a dragon moans on the hill.

and their village is impoverished. The rain never came and the crops of rice and the vegetables had died. Grandma said, “The villagers are afraid of the anger from the dragon on the mountain top. The village bestows no honor on him, so village not honored by dragons.”

Mei Ling invites the lonely dragon to the village and he brings the festive New Year to a starving village.


AtoZ Blog Challenge, FESTIVE


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#6 - Li Chi, The Serpent Slayer

Read Li Chi, The Dragon Slayer


When the Silk Road opened during and after the Black Dragon, trading brought outside beliefs, warriors, and conquerors into China. The Emperors at that time were many and bidding war against each other. With the start of the Chin Dynasty about 220, heroes helped displace these worms and serpents who threatened the protective wise Dragons. Li Chi is such a heroine who helped start the Golden Dynasty with the Golden Dragons, who gain control of China's prosperity and harmony lasted for generations.



AtoZ Blog Challenge, GENEROUS

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#7 - The Poet and the Peony

Read Poet and Peony
Since Li Chi and other brave warriors kept worms and serpents out of China and after many wars, and the closing of the silk roads, we come to the age of the Golden Dragon, the Song Dynasty 400 to 1400 centuries and the arts they created and we have today.

During the Song Dynasty as the myths, legends, and folktales flourish about dragons, the Dynasties Emperors were sons of the royal heavenly dragons. By mandate, as the celestial dragons predicted the functions of the earth's weather and natural disasters, the Earthly Emperor who ruled Imperial China watching from his throne gave wisdom about the weather.

A Dragon Scholar, a poet Siang Yu paints beauty with words and images. The young scholar, Siang Yu completed his training in the three perfections, poetry, art, and calligraphy. In the beauty of an ancient Taoist garden, Siang Yu creates a lasting love with a peony, a young maiden.


AtoZ Blog Challenge, HONORABLE  

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#8 - LI’ANGE AND THE MAGIC PAINTBRUSH

Read Li'Ange story
Li'Ange is a youth who lived in the mountains. His family killed by the many wars that cross China. He gathered sticks from the woods and sold to the villagers for his food. He longed to become a scholar, to be a court dragon, who learned the three academic skills: painting, poetry, and calligraphy.

For his passion, he is given a magic brush by the Queen Mother of the West, mother or P'angu, to be a great painter of beauty ‘for the good of the people’. Using his paintbrush to give good fortune and abundance. Li'Ange success crosses path with a possessive, greedy Emperor.


AtoZ Blog Challenge, INCISIVE

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#9 - THE DRAGON KEEPER
Read Dragon Keep
Dragons control the weather, honored and respected because they changed dryness and scarcity into richness and prosperity by keeping rain falling. The Golden Emperors declared themselves Dragons of the Golden Dynasty allowing no one to speak the word of 'dragon', expect the royalty. The Emperors were in total control. Alas, an Emperor and his court dishonored the Celestial Dragons.

The Emperors of the Golden Dynasty believed that their birthrights came from the Celestial Dragons. Emperors ruled for what good they achieved or did not achieve.

Alas, an Emperor and his court dishonored the Celestial Dragons. The peoples starved.

In 1911, the new government of China declared all the peoples of China had the status of the Dragon; all work hard to protect the forests, lakes, rivers, and mountains so everyone prospered. In 1948, the next Dynasty changed shape as Dragons do. Still, the Dragon lives within peoples who honored and respected Chinese Dragons since the very beginning of time.


AtoZ Blog Challenge, JUDGEMENT
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SOURCES:

Read on Wattpad.com 

© This re-imaged, enhanced, and adapted version of Dragons Shape China is mine. You may not use my idea, premise, only the plots in the folktales for your stories. Please, honor my version and the ancient folktales and history of Chinese mythology.

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