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)
""Hong" < *"g'ung" 虹 'rainbow' has always represented a dragon to the Chinese," says Carr (1990:103), "from Shang oracle pictographs of dicephalous sky-serpents to the modern 虹 graph with the 'wug' radical." The mythic Chinese "hong" "rainbow" dragon has a few parallels in the natural world (two-headed snake, Rainbow Snake Farancia erytrogramma, and Rainbow Boa Epicrates cenchria) and many in comparative mythology (see rainbows in mythology and snakes in mythology).