

European dragons are mostly featured as evil creatures, greedily hoarding gold, breathing fire on innocents, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. Asian dragons, however, are benevolent creatures, bringing good luck and prosperity wherever it goes. Both are powerful creatures, but Asian dragons are seen as a figure of authority, often relating to or representing the emperor. Emperors would use the Chinese character for “dragon” to represent items that belong to the emperor. For example, the emperor’s seat or the emperor’s bed would actually read, in English, dragon’s seat or dragon’s bed. Asian dragons are to be respected. Chinese people claim to be descendants of dragons. They are also represented in the Chinese zodiac for certain lunar years. (If you were born in 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, or 2000, your zodiac sign is the dragon and is characterized by the traits: confident, intelligent, and enthusiastic.) Birth rates spike during Years of the Dragon. European dragons are to be feared and defeated by great knights or hobbits with rings of invisibility.

In recent years, a different interpretation of European dragons has entered into media with the possibility of benevolent or helpful European dragons from Daenerys’ dragons in Game of Thrones to the dragon in Shrek to the Luckdragon in The Neverending Story.