The nine sons of the dragon is a traditional name for a set of mythological creatures whose imagery is used in certain types of decorations. The concept was first mentioned by Lu Rong in the Ming Dynasty, although similar set of creatures (not necessarily nine) is recorded even earlier.
List of nine sons The oldest known attestation of the children of the dragon list is found in the Miscellaneous records from the bean garden () by Lu Rong (1436–1494); however, he noted that the list enumerates mere synonyms of various antiques, not children of a dragon., quoting
Several Ming Dynasty texts list what were claimed as the Nine Offspring of the Dragon (), and subsequently these feature prominently in popular Chinese stories and writings. There are four principal versions of the list: Lu Rong's (, 1436–1494) list, which includes 14 creatures Li Dongyang's (, 1447–1516) list, which includes 9 creatures Yang Shen's (, 1488–1559) list, which also includes 9 creatures — this version is the most widely found one Fang Yizhi's (, 1611－1671) list, which combines elements of the previous lists
Below are all the creatures mentioned in these lists: +ImagePlacingShapeNamesFond ofLu RongLi DongyangYang ShenFang Yizhiunder stelesturtleheavy weightstops of stelesdragonliterary talentunder bridgeslizardwaterbronze vesselsbeastfoodsword handlesdemonmurderroof cornersdragongazingroof ridgesfishswallowing fireroof ridgesdragonwind and raindoor knockerslionabsorbing evildoor knockersspiral shellshutting its mouthtower topssmall dragonperilroof cornersphoenixperilincense burnerslionsmokeBuddha throneslionsittingbell topssmall dragonroaringprison gatestigerconfrontingpatrolling routesmermaidbeing awarelutesyellow dragonmusic
As seen in the table, some names are assigned to different creatures by different authors. Aside from these names, there are other variants in use, such as for the dragons depicted on the tops of steles, or for the turtle found beneath the steles. The word "dragon head" () may be applied to some of the mentioned structures.
Some of these creatures are based on earlier mythological beasts, such as pulao or bixi, but most of them have no other mythological background and are merely used as names for decorative structures.
There are other creatures that have features of the dragon, but are not listed among the "nine sons of the dragon", including Kirin, Longma, Pixiu, and Denglong
Modern usage In 2012's year of the Dragon, Shanghai Mint issued two sets of coins featuring nine sons of the dragon, one in silverCCT3564: 2012 7.5 oz silver lunar dragon 9 sons of the dragon 9 coin set and one in brass.CCT4055: 2012 brass lunar dragon 9 sons of the dragon 9 coin set Each coin in the nine-coin sets depicts one of the nine sons. A 10th additional coin was issued depicting the father dragon in silverCCT3563: 2012 600 g silver lunar dragon 9 sons of the dragon father dragon and brass,CCT3610: 2012 brass lunar dragon 9 sons of the dragon father dragon which has iconography of the nine sons on the reverse, for a total of 20 coins in the series.CCT4243: 2012 lunar dragon 9 sons of the dragon 20 coin set
See also Chi (mythology) Chinese dragon Chinese mythology Chinese gods Dragon King King of the Gods List of deities Denglong (mythology)
References Citations
Bibliography
External links
The Nine Dragon Scroll | Dragon History | The Circle of the Dragon Legends of the 9 Sons of the Dragon The Lascivious Dragon and Its Nine Sons with Pictures | MildChina.com The 9 Sons of the Dragon on Vimeo