If you go to any tattoo parlor to get ideas for the kind of tattoo you might get, its easy to notice the prevalence of dragons in the designs. But if you did some research or inquired a bit more, you would find out that the dragon tattoo designs you are most commonly seeing date back centuries into Chinese culture and come to us from that very old Asian country.
In western lore, the dragon is most commonly associated with King Arthur's times and our popular media has made dragons fun, silly and childlike. But in Chinese culture, dragons bear very deep spiritual and cultural meanings and the diversity and authority of dragons is rich with history and tradition.
While we in western cultures like to think we do not have a lot of mythological icons in our history, we really do. And we are the kind of people that love to observe the reverence and take part in the joy that ancient cultures such as exist in China have for a figure like the dragon. That is one great reason to think about getting a Chinese dragon tattoo. It comes with a lot of history and lore that make for great stories when people get curious about your tattoo.
Interestingly enough, while in our culture dragons are generally enemies for our wizards and knights to slay, in Chinese culture, the opposite is true. In that society, dragons are the protectors of children and those in need of a strong spiritual guardian similarly to how we see guardian angels in our culture. The role of the dragon in Chinese history goes as far back as the very first emperor or China, Huang Di. It is said that when he passed away, he actually became a dragon himself and flew into the heavens to become part of Chinese spiritual life forever. So it's easy to see why the dragon has become so special to the Chinese people and that they love to celebrate that image in many ways in their art and festivals.
There are many different types of Chinese dragons to choose from when you decide to incorporate this powerful image into a tattoo. If the dragon figure has horns, that means it is powerful. A heavenly dragon is a protector where the spiritual dragon controls the rain and weather and the yellow dragon brings knowledge and wisdom. So you can incorporate a value you wish to enshrine in your tattoo with the appropriate Chinese dragon who rules that area of life.
In many cultures, powerful mythical creatures like the Chinese dragon have influence over weather events and freak occurrences in nature. It seems that the Chinese dragon in particular has a strong connection with different aspects of water. So within the context of Chinese culture, the dragon has a lot of control over the seas and rivers and even over waterfalls. Water spouts are often said to represent the surge of the great dragon from his lair. What a wonderful and exciting tattoo image that would make.
You can see that you will have no trouble getting conversations going about your Chinese dragon tattoo and you will get plenty of compliments on your tat because these patterns are so often elegant, classy and beautiful. When you browse the tattoo parlors, you will notice that there are dozens of Chinese dragon patterns in every imaginable situation and position. So you could chose a benevolent dragon enjoying a festival with the people, an angry dragon snarling at an enemy, a playful dragon crouched and ready or a sleeping dragon blessing us with his peace. Whatever design you pick, the chances are it will be a tat that has a special personality of its own and not one you will see duplicated very often if ever.
When considering a Chinese dragon tattoo, it's obvious because they are so artistic and gorgeous that you will want this tattoo to be in a place of honor such as your stomach, your calf, your back or your chest so it can be easily seen an admired. For the men, a Chinese dragon that is the perfect expression of strength and confidence is perfect. For the ladies, an elegant design that is as beautiful and artistic will assure that your dragon tattoo will also fit wonderfully with your fashion choices and give you great colors to coordinate with your outfits and accessories. This variety combined with the rich lore and history is without a doubt the reason that the Chinese dragon tattoo pattern has become one of the most popular forms of body art there is.
In western lore, the dragon is most commonly associated with King Arthur's times and our popular media has made dragons fun, silly and childlike. But in Chinese culture, dragons bear very deep spiritual and cultural meanings and the diversity and authority of dragons is rich with history and tradition.
While we in western cultures like to think we do not have a lot of mythological icons in our history, we really do. And we are the kind of people that love to observe the reverence and take part in the joy that ancient cultures such as exist in China have for a figure like the dragon. That is one great reason to think about getting a Chinese dragon tattoo. It comes with a lot of history and lore that make for great stories when people get curious about your tattoo.
Interestingly enough, while in our culture dragons are generally enemies for our wizards and knights to slay, in Chinese culture, the opposite is true. In that society, dragons are the protectors of children and those in need of a strong spiritual guardian similarly to how we see guardian angels in our culture. The role of the dragon in Chinese history goes as far back as the very first emperor or China, Huang Di. It is said that when he passed away, he actually became a dragon himself and flew into the heavens to become part of Chinese spiritual life forever. So it's easy to see why the dragon has become so special to the Chinese people and that they love to celebrate that image in many ways in their art and festivals.
There are many different types of Chinese dragons to choose from when you decide to incorporate this powerful image into a tattoo. If the dragon figure has horns, that means it is powerful. A heavenly dragon is a protector where the spiritual dragon controls the rain and weather and the yellow dragon brings knowledge and wisdom. So you can incorporate a value you wish to enshrine in your tattoo with the appropriate Chinese dragon who rules that area of life.
In many cultures, powerful mythical creatures like the Chinese dragon have influence over weather events and freak occurrences in nature. It seems that the Chinese dragon in particular has a strong connection with different aspects of water. So within the context of Chinese culture, the dragon has a lot of control over the seas and rivers and even over waterfalls. Water spouts are often said to represent the surge of the great dragon from his lair. What a wonderful and exciting tattoo image that would make.
You can see that you will have no trouble getting conversations going about your Chinese dragon tattoo and you will get plenty of compliments on your tat because these patterns are so often elegant, classy and beautiful. When you browse the tattoo parlors, you will notice that there are dozens of Chinese dragon patterns in every imaginable situation and position. So you could chose a benevolent dragon enjoying a festival with the people, an angry dragon snarling at an enemy, a playful dragon crouched and ready or a sleeping dragon blessing us with his peace. Whatever design you pick, the chances are it will be a tat that has a special personality of its own and not one you will see duplicated very often if ever.
When considering a Chinese dragon tattoo, it's obvious because they are so artistic and gorgeous that you will want this tattoo to be in a place of honor such as your stomach, your calf, your back or your chest so it can be easily seen an admired. For the men, a Chinese dragon that is the perfect expression of strength and confidence is perfect. For the ladies, an elegant design that is as beautiful and artistic will assure that your dragon tattoo will also fit wonderfully with your fashion choices and give you great colors to coordinate with your outfits and accessories. This variety combined with the rich lore and history is without a doubt the reason that the Chinese dragon tattoo pattern has become one of the most popular forms of body art there is.
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