Explore each form from the oldest known stage to today.
The character 龍 (lóng) depicts a mythical dragon, one of the most ancient and powerful symbols in Chinese culture. Its earliest forms in oracle bone script showed a serpentine creature with a fearsome head, crest, and open mouth. Over centuries, the character evolved through bronze script, seal script, and clerical script, gradually becoming more stylized while retaining the dragon's essential features - the horned head, sinuous body, and tail. In Chinese tradition, the dragon represents imperial power, strength, good fortune, and control over water elements. It was one of the most revered creatures in the Chinese spiritual world, often associated with the emperor and heavenly blessings. Arrived in Japan: The character 龍 arrived in Japan around the 5th-6th centuries CE along with the broader introduction of Chinese writing system (kanji) through Buddhist scriptures and cultural exchange. It was adopted into Japanese as 'ryū' or 'tatsu' and became an important symbol in Japanese mythology and art, though with some different cultural interpretations than in China.