Chinese mythology
The Chinese dragon is one of the most important mythical creatures in Chinese mythology, considered to be the most powerful and divine creature and the controller of all waters who could create clouds with their breath. The dragon symbolized great power and was very supportive of heroes and gods. The conventional dragon has a certain description, however there are other dragons or dragon-like beings that vary from this description. For example, the Chi of mythology lacks horns. Dragons often chase or play with a mystical or flaming pearl. A dragon-fenghuang pairing is a common motif in art, the fenghuang often being called a "phoenix".
Chinese folk religion
The concept 神 ""shén"" (cognate of 申 "shēn", "extending, expanding") is translated as "gods" or "spirits". There are "shén" of nature; gods who were once people, such as the warrior Guan Gong; household gods, such as the Stove God; as well as ancestral gods ("zu" or "zuxian"). In the domain of humanity the "shen" is the "psyche", or the power or agency within humans. They are intimately involved in the life of this world. As spirits of stars, mountains and streams, "shen" exert a direct influence on things, making phenomena appear and things grow or extend themselves. An early Chinese dictionary, the "Shuowen jiezi" by Xu Shen, explains that they "are the spirits of Heaven" and they "draw out the ten thousand things". As forces of growth the gods are regarded as "yang", opposed to a "yin" class of entities called 鬼 ""guǐ"" (cognate of 歸 "guī", "return, contraction"), chaotic beings. A disciple of Zhu Xi noted that "between Heaven and Earth there is no thing that does not consist of yin and yang, and there is no place where yin and yang are not found. Therefore there is no place where gods and spirits do not exist". The dragon is a symbol of "yang", the principle of generation.