Chinese culture
Chinese dragons are legendary creatures in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and East Asian 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. They traditionally symbolize potent and auspicious powers, particularly control over water, rainfall, typhoons, and floods. The dragon is also a symbol of power, strength, and good luck for people who are worthy of it in East Asian culture. During the days of Imperial China, the Emperor of China usually used the dragon as a symbol of his imperial power and strength. They are also the symbol and representative for the Son of Heaven, the Mandate of Heaven, the Celestial Empire and the Chinese Tributary System during the history of China.
Hong (rainbow-dragon)
"Although many ancient cultures believed rainbows were good omens," Carr (1990:101) explains, "the Chinese saw them as meteorological disasters. Unlike the auspicious ["long"] 龍 dragon symbolizing forthcoming rain, the two-headed ["hong"] 虹 was inauspicious because it appeared after a rain shower." The "Huainanzi" (3, Schindler 1923:322) says both rainbows and comets were warnings from "tian" "heaven; god". Several classic texts (e.g., Liu Xiang's "Shuoyuan" and "Xinxu") use the phrase "baihong guan ri" 白虹貫日 "bright rainbow threads the sun". For example, it is a portent of assassination in the "Zhanguoce" (297, tr. Crump 1979:454) "a white halo pierced the sun." One notable exception is the "Mengzi" (tr. Legge 1895:171) using "yunni" 雲霓 "cloud and rainbow" to describe the legendary Tang of Shang: "the people looked to him, as we look in a time of great drought to the clouds and rainbows."