Abstract:

In some rural areas of the Yue Region in Southeast China, there still exists the worship of dragon for rain. Unlike some scholars' interpretations, the dragon is only a common creature in water, and it can even be an insect. Based on this understanding and consultations of ancient classics, we can draw the conclusion that there did not exist an unitary image hut an unitary idea of dragon for the ancient Chinese people. In fact, the dragon did not have a fixed form and the character for it is the archetype of Chinese Dragon.We cannot find a exact corresponding species for the dragon in history. However, the dragon functioned as a belief for the ancient Chinese. What does the dragon embody then? It should be a kind of shocking power which came with wind and rain. It could be the sound of thunder with storm and lightning.The image we see today is just an embodiment of that idea.

Key words: dragon, worship of dragon, archetype, dragon spirit