Dragon in Vietnamese belief

The dragon symbolizes luck, intelligence, nobility, and power, leading the 12 zodiac animals. The Vietnamese people believe that 2012, which is the year of the dragon, will be a prosperous year.

In the Vietnamese culture, the dragon symbolizes the supreme power of the King. The dragon’s association with royalty is revealed by the names given to the king's personal effects and person - long bao (royal tunics), long chau (royal boat), long thi (royal person), and long dien (royal countenance) – long being the Vietnamese word for dragon.

The dragon tops the 4 sacred animals, followed by the unicorn, the, tortoise and phoenix. Every Vietnamese person knows the legend of Lac Long Quan and Au Co. Lac Long Quan (King Dragon of the Lac Bird Clan) is known as the forefather of theVietnamese people.

He is said to have been the son of a dragon, while his wife, Au Co, was the child of a fairy. This is the origin of the Vietnamese proverb: "Con Rồng, cháu Tiên" or "Children of Dragon, Grandchildren of Fairies".

The dragon appears very early in the Dong Son culture. Carvings are found on Dong Son drums, depicting the Viet people’s tradition of worshiping cloud, rain, thunder and lightning to encourage bumper crops. The Dragon was the symbol of prosperity and power for Vietnam’s feudal regimes. In the autumn 1010, King Ly Thai To moved his capital from Hoa Lu in Ninh Binh province to Dai La.

Legend has it that when the royal barge landed at Dai La, the king saw a golden dragon rise into the sky. Taking this as a good omen, he named his new capital Thang Long, Rising Dragon.

During the Ly dynasty from the 11^th to the early 13^th century, depictions of the dragon were both sophisticated and unique. The dragon's elaborate head is raised, flame-colored crest thrusts out, a jewel is held in its jaws. Its mane, ears and beard flutter gracefully behind, while its lithe, undulating body soars above the waves. Its perfectly rounded body curves lithely, in a long sinuous shape, tapering gradually to the tail. The body has 12 sections, symbolising the 12 months of the year.

The dragon has an important place in Vietnam’s cultural life with dragon dances, dragon boat races, and children’s games of Dragon-Snake. Last year Vietnamese film makers featured a dragon in a 3-minute 3D movie, called “Viet Dragon” to mark the 1,000^th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi. S-shaped Vietnam itself shaped like a dragon.

“I’ve watched the movie, which features the Vietnamese dragon and it moved me. The scene where the dragon is flying against the sky and then slowly descends on Vietnam reminds the audience about the country’s S shape. The head of the dragon lands on the north and its tail touches the southernmost province of Ca Mau. The tail was depicted in a way that refers the audience to the 9 rivers in the Delta region, which is named Cuu Long or nine dragons. The dragon is closely associated with Vietnam’s history and the belief that Vietnamese people are children of a Dragon father and Fairy mother,” said Vietnamese culture researcher and Professor Tran Van Khe.