Shenlong, (, literally "god dragon" or "divine dragon",
Japanese: 神竜 Shinryū) is a spiritual
dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
from
Chinese mythology who is the master of storms and also a bringer of rain. He is of equal significance to other creatures such as
Tianlong
Tianlong (; lit. "heavenly dragon") is a flying dragon in Chinese mythology, a star in Chinese astrology, and a proper name.
Word
The term ''tianlong'' combines ''tian'' "heaven" and ''long'' "dragon". Since ''tian'' literally means "heaven; th ...
, the celestial dragon.
The spiritual dragons are
azure
Azure may refer to:
Colour
* Azure (color), a hue of blue
** Azure (heraldry)
** Shades of azure, shades and variations
Arts and media
* ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987
* Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013
...
-scaled and govern the wind, clouds and rain, on which all
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
life depends.
[Shuker, Karl. (1995). ''Dragons. A Natural History.'' Simon & Schuster, New York 1995, , p. 89][Guter, Josef. (2004). ''Lexikon der Götter und Symbole der Alten Chinesen.'' Marix Verlag, Wiesbaden 2004, , p. 106] Chinese people would take great care to avoid offending them, for if they grew angry or felt neglected, the result was bad weather, drought, flood or thunderstorms.
Despite this, Shenlong appears to signify a special rank in the splendid robes and regalia of Chinese emperors. He was also five-clawed, which was iconic of the
imperial dragon. Chinese empires have admired shenlong for centuries through festivals.
In popular culture
*The
anime and
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
franchise ''
Dragon Ball
is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 individual chapters colle ...
'' features a wish-fulfilling dragon named
Shenlong
Shenlong, (, literally "god dragon" or "divine dragon", Japanese: 神竜 Shinryū) is a spiritual dragon from Chinese mythology who is the master of storms and also a bringer of rain. He is of equal significance to other creatures such as Tianlon ...
(renamed in the English dubbed versions as Shenron).
*Shenlong is the name of one of the five Gundanium mobile suits in the anime series ''
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing''.
*Shenlong is also the name of the IS (Infinite Stratos), a 3rd generation, close combat prototype that belongs to Lingyin Huang in the popular
light novel series ''
Infinite Stratos''.
*There is a dragon named Shenlong in the television series ''
Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat''.
*In the table top miniwargame
Malifaux, in the Ten Thunders faction, there is a Master named Shenlong, who was possessed by "The Dragon".
References
Sources
*Karl Shuker: ''Dragons. A Natural History.'' Simon & Schuster, New York 1995, , p. 89
Chinese dragons
{{China-myth-stub
fr:Dragon oriental#Variétés
ja:神龍
pl:Smok chiński#Rodzaje smoków