The nine sons of the dragon are

Chinese dragon The Chinese dragon, also known as ''loong'', ''long'' or ''lung'', is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture at large. Chinese dragons have many Outline of life forms, animal-like forms such as Bixi (my ...

s who are the

mythological Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

sons of the

Dragon King The Dragon King, also known as the Dragon God, is a Chinese water and weather god. He is regarded as the dispenser of rain, commanding over all bodies of water. He is the collective personification of the ancient concept of the '' lóng'' in Ch ...

. There are many variations in the different descriptions of the nine sons, including in basic facts like their names, but all versions state that there are nine.

History

The oldest known attestation of the children of the dragon list is found in the ''Shuyuan zaji'' (, ''Miscellaneous records from the bean garden'') by

Lu Rong Lu Rong (; 1436–1494) was a Chinese scholar. He is also known under the courtesy name Wenliang (文量) and the pseudonym Shizhai (式斋). He earned his ''jinshi ''Jinshi'' () was the highest and final degree in the imperial examin ...

(1436–1494); however, he noted that the list enumerates mere synonyms of various antiques, not children of a dragon. Several

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

texts list what were claimed as the Nine Offspring of the Dragon (), and subsequently these feature prominently in popular Chinese stories and writings. , quoting Xie Zhaozhe (, 1567–1624) in his work ''Wu Za Zu'' (, ca. 1592) gives the following listing in order of oldest to youngest:

A well-known work of the end of the sixteenth century, the ''Wuzazu'' , informs us about the nine different young of the dragon, whose shapes are used as ornaments according to their nature. *The ''qiú niú'' , (Form of dragon) a creature that likes music, are used to adorn musical instruments. *The ''yá zì'' , (Hybrid of wolf and dragon) a creature that likes to fight, is aggressive and is normally found on cross-guards on sword as ornaments. *The ''cháo fēng'' , (Resemble a Phoenix and dragon) a creature that likes to adventure. They are typically placed on the four corners of roofs. *The '' pú láo'' , (Four leg small form dragon class) a creature that likes to scream, and are represented on the tops of bells, used as handles. *The ''suān ní'' , (Hybrid of lion and dragon) a creature that likes to sit down, are represented upon the bases of Buddhist idols (under the Buddhas' or Bodhisattvas' feet). *The '' bì xì'' , also known as ''bà xià'' (Hybrid of turtle and dragon) a creature with a large shell able to carry heavy objects, and are normally found on under grave-monuments. *The ''bì àn'' , (Hybrid of tiger and dragon) a creature that likes litigation, are placed over prison gates (in order to keep guard). *The ''bā xià'' , (Hybrid of reptilia animal and dragon) a creature that likes to drink water, and is typically used on bridge structures. *The '' chī wěn'' , (Hybrid of fish and dragon) a creature that likes swallowing, are placed on both ends of the ridgepoles of roofs (to swallow all evil influences). Further, the same author enumerates nine other kinds of dragons, which used as ornamental decoration or as part of classical Chinese architecture. These examples can be found architecture throughout Asia used for adorning key-holes, on roofing, incense burners, door knockers, bridges, etc.

The '' Sheng'an waiji'' () collection by the poet

Yang Shen Yang Shen (; 1488–1559) was a poet in the Chinese Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Yongxiu (); his art names included Sheng'an (), Bonan Shanren () and Diannan Shushi (). Yang Shen was the son of Yang Tinghe and originally lived in Chengdu ...

(, 1488–1559) gives different 5th and 9th names for the dragon's nine children: the '' tāo tiè'' (), form of beasts, which loves to eat and is found on food-related wares, and the ''jiāo tú'' (), which looks like a conch or clam, does not like to be disturbed, and is used on the front door or the doorstep. Yang's list is ''bì xì'', ''chī wěn'' or ''cháo fēng'', ''pú láo'', ''bì àn'', ''tāo tiè'', ''qiú niú'', ''yá zì'', ''suān ní'', and ''jiāo tú''. In addition, there are some sayings including ''xì xì'' (); which have the shape of the ''chī hǔ'' ( One kind small form dragon), and are fond of literature, are represented on the sides of grave-monuments.

Modern names

The 9 sons of the dragon were recognized by the Chinese government's official Shanghai Mint in 2012's year of the Dragon by issuing 2 sets of coins, one in silver and one in brass. Each coin in the 9 coin sets depicts one of the 9 sons. A 10th additional coin was issued depicting the father dragon in silver and brass, which has iconography of the 9 sons on the reverse, for a total of 20 coins in the series. The coins are certified by NGC with the following names: * Bi An *

Bi Xi Bixi, or Bi Xi (), is a figure from Chinese mythology. One of the 9 sons of the Dragon King, he is depicted as a dragon with the shell of a turtle. Stone sculptures of Bixi have been used in Chinese culture for centuries as a decorative plinth ...

* Chao Feng * Chi Wen * Fu Xi (The real name is Xi Xi) * Pu Lao * Qiu Niu * Suan Ni * Ya ZiCCT3605
2012 7.5 oz silver lunar dragon 9 sons of the dragon Ya Zi
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Number nine

The number

nine 9 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 9 or nine may also refer to: Dates * AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era * 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era * 9, numerical symbol for the month of September Places * Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...

is special in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

as it is the largest possible single digit, and Chinese dragons are frequently connected with it. For example, a Chinese dragon is normally described in terms of nine attributes and usually has 117 (9x13) scales - 81 (9x9) Yang and 36 (9x4) Yin. This is also why there are nine forms of the dragon and there are 9 sons of the dragon. The

Nine-Dragon Wall A Nine-Dragon Wall or Nine-Dragon Screen () is a type of screen wall with reliefs of nine different Chinese dragons. Such walls are typically found in imperial Chinese palaces and gardens. Early reference to the tradition of putting a screen wa ...

is a

spirit wall A spirit screen, also called spirit wall or screen wall, ( or ) is used to shield an entrance gate in traditional Chinese architecture. Spirit screens can be positioned either on the outside or the inside of the gate they are protecting. The Chines ...

with images of nine different dragons, and is found in imperial Chinese palaces and gardens. Because nine was considered the number of the emperor, only the most senior officials were allowed to wear nine dragons on their robes — and then only with the robe completely covered with

surcoat A surcoat or surcote is an outer garment that was commonly worn in the Middle Ages by soldiers. It was worn over armor to show insignia and help identify what side the soldier was on. In the battlefield the surcoat was also helpful with keeping ...

s. Lower-ranking officials had eight or five dragons on their robes, again covered with surcoats; even the emperor himself wore his dragon robe with one of its nine dragons hidden from view. There are many places in

with the phrase "Nine Dragons" in their name, the most famous being

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...

(in Cantonese) in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. The part of the

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , ...

in Vietnam is known as ''Cửu Long'', with the same meaning.

References

* *

External links

The Nine Dragon Scroll , Dragon History , The Circle of the Dragon

* ttp://vimeo.com/81350447 The 9 Sons of the Dragon on Vimeo {{DEFAULTSORT:Chinese Dragon Chinese architectural history Chinese iconography Chinese dragons Chinese sculpture

9 Sons Of The Dragon The nine sons of the dragon are Chinese dragons who are the mythological sons of the Dragon King. There are many variations in the different descriptions of the nine sons, including in basic facts like their names, but all versions state that the ...

National personifications

History

Modern names

Number nine

See also

References

External links