It wasn't until the mother of Liu Pang, the founder of the Han dynasty, dreamed that a dragon fathered her child that it became a totem of the emperor. As a result its stock went up a hundred times. Future generations continually added to its mythical powers and image. By the Sung Dynasty it was a symbol of those with power and prosperity and its look was close to the standard of today.
直到後來漢高祖劉邦自稱身世是由母親劉媼「夢與龍交」之後，龍才變成皇家的圖騰，並因此身價飛漲百倍；後經歷朝歷代不斷添加神話與繁複絢爛的圖像，到宋朝才正式統一形制，成為權貴的極致表徵。