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Dragon Pictures Our collection of hundreds of free dragon pictures. Dragons are one of the most beautiful mythological beasts known to man. Dragon pictures can be seen in both Eastern and Western mythology. The Chinese dragon is a mythical creature. Long a potent symbol of auspicious power in Chinese folklore and art and pictures, it is the embodiment of the concept of yang and associated with the weather and water as the bringer of rain.
Chinese or Korean Imperial dragon pictures have five toes on each foot; Indonesian dragon pictures have four and Japanese dragon pictures have three. To explain this phenomenon, Chinese legend states that although dragons originated in China, the further away from China a dragon went the fewer toes it had, and dragons only exist in China, Korea, Indonesia, and Japan because if they travelled further they would have no toes to continue. Japanese legend has an opposing story, namely that dragons originated in Japan, and the further they travelled the more toes they grew and as a result if they went too far they would have too many toes to continue to walk properly. These theories are rejected in Korea and Indonesia. Another interpretation: according to several sources, including historical official documents, ordinary Chinese dragons had four toes - but the Imperial Dragon had five. It was a capital offense for anyone other than the emperor to use the five-clawed dragon motif. Korean sources seem to disagree with this theory, as the Imperial dragon in Gyeongbok Palace has seven claws, implying its superiority over the Chinese Dragon.
The dragon of the modern period is typically depicted in pictures as a huge, scaly and horned dinosaur-like creature, with leathery wings and the ability to breathe fire. It is sometimes shown in pictures with feathered wings, crests, fiery manes, and various exotic colorations. Iconically it has at last combined the Chinese dragon with the western one. Many modern artists and writers represent dragon in their pictures and writing as extremely intelligent creatures who can talk, associated with (and sometimes in control of) powerful magic. Dragon's blood often has magical properties: for example it let Siegfried understand the language of the Forest Bird. The typical dragon protects a cavern filled with gold and treasure and is often associated with a great hero who tries to slay it, but dragons can be written in to a story in as many ways as a human character.
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