A Guide to Chinese Dragon Tattoo Designs
Butterfly Tattoos
Skull Tattoos
Angel Tattoos
In this guide you will find myths and legends surrounding Chinese dragons, and a guide to help you find the best Chinese dragon tattoo designs.
Popular with both sexes because the Chinese dragon can be as colourful as you like, or look equally good in black and grey with touches of colour. Once you have your dragon design make sure you find a good tattoist to shade the many dragon scales.
The best dragon tattoo designs are those you see winding their way up the body in full arm or back tattoo designs. I’m such a fanatic of the dragon tattoo design that I will be definitely using this design in my next tattoo. I am looking at a full arm Koi fish theme of the upstream struggle of the fish, reflecting life’s struggles and the change from fish to dragon as it emerges triumphantly from the water.
In Chinese ceremonies, dragons are usually shown in the colours of blue, black, white, red, or yellow, and if you have seen a procession of Chinese dragons then you know the endless blending of colours makes for a dazzling dragon tattoo design.
In Chinese history the yellow dragon was seen as the most powerful and superior of all the dragons, and as such, the Emperor was the only one permitted to display the yellow dragon; death awaited those who dared to do the same.
Eastern dragons, compared to other European dragons, such as, the famous tale of George and the dragon, are described as noble, caring, and clever. There are 3 types of Eastern dragons:
3 toed is Japanese,
4 toed is Indonesian / Korean
5 toed are Chinese.
The Chinese dragon has a long history in Chinese mythology, and is often seen as a symbol of wisdom and power, and this may explain somewhat why this design has always been so popular. Chinese dragons are called Lung, and there are 4 types of Lung Dragons:
Tien-lung, The Celestial Dragon, the protector of the Gods,
Shen-lung, The Spiritual Dragon, who controls the wind and rain,
Ti-lung, The Earth Dragon, who controls the rivers and oceans, and
Fut’s-lung, The Underworld Dragon who guards prized gems and metals.
My choice is Chien-Tang the head of the river dragons, red in color, with flames as a mane, and 900 feet long.
It may be worth pointing out that your dragon tattoo design can also be represented as a dragon that’s noble or evil, wayward or adventurous, whatever takes your fancy really, and a good idea is to combine the dragon tattoo design with another, such as, lettering, or as I said previously, combined with another myth.
Whatever your choice in Chinese dragon tattoo designs, I hope this guide has been of some benefit to you. If you like to see more on Chinese dragons or other great tattoo designs then you can see more at my site A Guide to Tattoo Designs.
