The Chinese dragon, also loong, is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture at large. Chinese dragons have many animal-like forms such as turtles and fish, but are most commonly depicted as snake-like with four legs. Academicians have identified four reliable theories on the origin of the Chinese dragon: snakes, Chinese alligators, thunder worship and nature worship. They traditionally symbolize potent and auspicious powers, particularly control over water.
Chinese mythology is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural traditions. Populated with engaging narratives featuring extraordinary individuals and beings endowed with magical powers, these stories often unfold in fantastical mythological realms or historical epochs. Similar to numerous other mythologies, Chinese mythology has historically been regarded, at least partially, as a factual record of the past.
Fenghuang are mythological birds featuring in traditions throughout the Sinosphere. Fenghuang are understood to reign over all other birds: males and females were originally termed feng and huang respectively, but a gender distinction is typically no longer made, and fenghuang are generally considered a feminine entity to be paired with the traditionally masculine Chinese dragon.
A solar symbol is a symbol representing the Sun. Common solar symbols include circles, crosses, and spirals. In religious iconography, personifications of the Sun or solar attributes are often indicated by means of a halo or a radiate crown.
Mon (紋), also called monshō (紋章), mondokoro (紋所), and kamon (家紋), are Japanese emblems used to decorate and identify an individual, a family, or an institution, municipality or business entity. While mon is an encompassing term that may refer to any such device, kamon and mondokoro refer specifically to emblems that are used to identify a family. An authoritative mon reference compiles Japan's 241 general categories of mon based on structural resemblance, with 5,116 distinct individual mon. However, it is well acknowledged that there are a number of lost or obscure mon. Among mon, the mon officially used by the family is called jōmon (定紋). Over time, new mon have been created, such as kaemon (替紋), which is unofficially created by an individual, and onnamon (女紋), which is created by a woman after marriage by modifying part of her original family's mon, so that by 2023 there will be a total of 20,000 to 25,000 mon.
Tomoe, commonly translated as "comma", is a comma-like swirl symbol used in Japanese mon. It closely resembles the usual form of a magatama.
Yatagarasu (八咫烏) is a mythical crow and guiding god in Shinto mythology. He is generally known for his three-legged figure, and his picture has been handed down since ancient times. The word means (八咫烏, "eight-span crow") and the appearance of the great bird is construed as evidence of the will of Heaven or divine intervention in human affairs.
Corvus is a widely distributed genus of passerine birds ranging from medium-sized to large-sized in the family Corvidae. It includes species commonly known as crows, ravens, and rooks. The species commonly encountered in Europe are the carrion crow, hooded crow, common raven, and rook; those discovered later were named "crow" or "raven" chiefly on the basis of their size, crows generally being smaller. The genus name is Latin for "raven".
The winged lion is a mythological creature that resembles a lion with bird-like wings.
Ōmiwa Shrine, also known as Miwa Shrine, is a Shinto shrine located in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The shrine is noted because it contains no sacred images or objects because it is believed to serve Mount Miwa, the mountain on which it stands. For the same reason, it has a worship hall, but no place for the deity to be housed. In this sense, it is a model of what the first Shinto shrines were like. Ōmiwa Shrine is one of the oldest extant Shinto shrines in Japan and the site has been sacred ground for some of the earliest religious practices in Japan. Because of this, it has sometimes been named as Japan's first shrine. Ōmiwa Shrine is a tutelary shrine of the Japanese sake brewers.
The Qingniao were blue or green birds which appear in Chinese mythology, popular stories, poetry, and religion. Qingniao is especially regarded as the messengers or as otherwise serving the Queen Mother of the West Xi Wangmu. In some sources, three-legged Qingniao carry her messages; in other sources, a single one-legged Qingniao fetched her food. In some versions, three, sometimes three-legged, green birds brought her food: these seem to have some similarity with the Three-footed birds believed to reside in the sun. The Qingniao are an important motif and frequently depicted in myths regarding Xi Wangmu and her Western Paradise, which is generally located on the mythical Kunlun Mountain.
The Twelve Ornaments are a group of ancient Chinese symbols and designs that are considered highly auspicious. They were employed in the decoration of textile fabrics in ancient China, which signified authority and power, and were embroidered on vestments of state.
The Twelve Symbols national emblem was the state emblem of the Empire of China and the Republic of China from 1913 to 1928. It was based on the ancient Chinese symbols of the Twelve Ornaments.
Liu Haichan was a Daoist xian who was a patriarch of the Quanzhen School, and a master of neidan "internal alchemy" techniques. Liu Haichan is associated with other Daoist transcendents, especially Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin, two of the Eight Immortals. Traditional Chinese and Japanese art frequently represents Liu with a string of square-holed cash coins and a mythical three-legged chanchu. In the present day, it is called the Jin Chan (金蟾), literally meaning "Money Toad", and Liu Haichan is considered an embodiment of Caishen, the God of Wealth.
There are numerous cultural references to chickens in myth, folklore, religion, and literature. Chickens are a sacred animal in many cultures, being deeply embedded in belief systems and religious worship practices.
