Chen Rong's Nine Dragons: The Origin Of The Chinese Dragon

Chinese dragons are legendary creatures in Chinese mythology.According to legends, the Chinese dragon can breathe fire, call for rain, fly into the clouds and hide at the bottom of the sea; it's also capable of becoming as large as the sky or disguising itself by being as tiny as a pinhead. According to the legends, the Chinese people refer to themselves as the descendants of the dragon. “In Chinese lore, the dragon was a benevolent creature with powers to bring rain, floods, and even hurricanes to a land. Along with this ability, the dragon signified power, strength, and good luck.” as per China highlights. Due to such belief in the goodwill of the dragon, the Chinese people have been including dragons in their paintings and architecture so as to indicate good luck, happiness and power. One such symbolic paintings is the ‘Nine dragons’. According to Wikipedia, Nine Dragons is a hand scroll painting by Chinese artist Chen Rong from 1244. Depicting the apparitions of dragons soaring amidst clouds, mists, whirlpools, rocky mountains and fire, the painting refers to the dynamic forces of nature in Daoism (Within the context of traditional Chinese philosophy and religion, The Dao is the intuitive knowing of "life" that of which cannot be grasped full-heartedly as just a concept but known nonetheless through actual living …show more content…
According to the artist's poem and inscription written at the end of the painting, this work was inspired by a painting Nine Horses by the 8th century painter Can Ba and a Nine Deer attributed to Huichong. Chen Rong's poem recounts how he was able to paint the dragons while he was in an intoxicated state of mind. The creative process recorded in both text and image reflect certain mind-altering experiences and insights long associated with Daoist transcendental