Page 8, March 1985
The Salemite
Descendants of the Dragon Take Creature Into Hearts
By: Sun
The Chinese people are very
fond of dragons, and sometimes
call themselves "decendants of the
dragon." These mythical beasts
with long, scaly bodies, fierce
claws and impressive heads weave
their way through legends, songs
and folk art. On old palaces and
temples, dragon figures coil
around pillars, slither down roof
eaves and flaunt themselves on
magnificent screens. Dragons have
Yong Ling
been painted, carved, embroid
ered, printed and stamped on a
great variety of objects: ships,
vehicles, clothing and hangings,
ceremonial utensils, musical
instruments, furniture, ceramics,
and coins.
The dragon was an important
figure in folk culture. People of
talent and integrity were often
called dragons. Many Chinese
Salem Gift
& Book Store
9 East Academy Street
723-1122
.on the square in Old Salem
An assortment of gifts, books,
film, sportswear, and sundries
for almost every need
More than just a bookstore
parents still include the character
Long (dragon) in a son's name-
associating it with the hope that he
will be clever, forceful and
dynamic.
Many folk activities in China are
connected with the dragon. On the
evening of the 15th day of the first
month by the lunar calendar,
people in some areas carry cloth or
lantern dragons through the main
streets. Led by drum-and-gong
bands, and banners and paper
lanterns, they stop in front of
stores, whereupon the storekeeper
comes out to burn incense and set
off fire-crackers. This is called
"welcoming the dragon lantern."
Dragon boat races and dragon
dances are extremely popular
among China's various nationalit
ies. The former sport has spread to
Japan and Southeast Asia, where it
has become very popular. The
Dragon Dance appears in Han
dynasty documentation and stone-
block pictures and is still a much
loved form of entertainment
among China's different national
ities. It is also performed in Japan
and Southeast Asia.
Dragon worship had much to do
with primitive man's struggle with
nature. Heroes were associated
with the dragon as symbols of
power and splendor. Later,
dragons were associated from
human beings to become indepen
dent supernatural beings.
In the early period of slave
society when a hereditary
imperial system had come into
being and the slave owning clan
had monopolized the social
wealth, the dragon became the
supposed ancestor of the ruling
clan. It was a symbol of imperial
power. The emperors were firmly
linked with dragons. Long yan
(countenance of the dragon) and
long ti (body of dragon) became
terms of flattery for the emperor
and the character long (dragon)
was prefixed to the words for his
articles of daily use. His clothing
was called long Juan; his chair,
longzuo; his bed, longchuang, and
so on.
But the expression and demea
nor of the dragons in court and
folk art differed considerably. The
dragon in folk art were simple,
homely and often friendly looking.
Those in court art, however, were
imposing, ferocious and awe
inspiring. To project imperial
authority, the former were linked
with the working people's labors
and their hopes for a better life; the
latter with the political needs of the
feudal emperors. Both have their
artistic appeal.
Friendly or magnificent—and
sometimes a bit of both—the
dragon is a mythical creature that
the Chinese people have taken to
their hearts and shared with the
rest of the world.
Annual Understaffed and Underbudgeted
By: Jenny Hollywood
Susan Mebane and May Sher
rod, co-editors of the yearbook,
are very excited about this year's
edition which comes out in May.
Something new this year will be a
supplement to the yearbook. The
supplement will cover everything
from Spring Fling through
graduation. It will fit in and attach
to the back of the yearbook. The
supplement will be mailed to
Seniors, and underclassmen can
pick them up in the fall.
The yearbook costs $27.00 per
student to print, but the SGA
budget only allots $21.00 of each
student's fee to the yearbook. The
1984-85 annual was possible only
due to a large surplus of money
from last year's budget. May and
Susan are proposing that the
budget be raised next year.
Another problem May and
Susan have had to face is
understaffing. There are seven
people on the staff, including
photographers. They would like to
see the staff enlarge to 15-20
people, and think that if people got
class credit for working on the
yearbook, they would do better
work, and Salem, therefore, would
have a better yearbook.
Susan and May said the hardest
part about being co-editors has
been meeting their deadlines. The
first deadline was during fall
exams, and their second deadline
was the first week after January
term.
Dues.
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CORBIN'S
513 W. 30TH STREET
!WINSTON-SALEM, NC 2710!