It is said of the carp that it always has exactly thirty-six scales in each row, leading from its head to its tail. After the same manner, dragons are described as possessing eighty-one scales in each series.
The true dragon has nine sons. Each is different in appearance from the other and each possesses his own peculiar characteristics. These children of the dragon are the variants in appearance from the general line which we are accustomed to look for in the dragon, and which we often see in carvings and architecture. The dragon heads on bells, on the peak tiles of temples and palaces, on sword hilts, on monuments, and in similar places are representations of the progeny of the God of Rain and do not portray that god himself. [[29]]
A Dragon-Mounted Bell
Three dragons unite themselves to form the structure from which hangs this graceful bell. The frame is of redwood from southern China and, like much of the carvings from the city of Foochow, it is richly inlaid with silver. A fourth dragon coils over the surface of the bell. Two dragonlike heads unite to form the loop by which the bell is hung. These represent one variety of the nine sons of the king of the animal world.
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A Cloud Dragon
One of the men who claimed to have seen a living dragon was by profession an artist. This medallion was drawn by him. “Except for the whiskers, this painting represents what I saw when a young man in Shantung province.” The cloud dragon is a favorite theme of artists. Dragons are supposed to travel about upon the clouds. It is a common belief, and one which was held also by Confucius, that clouds spring from dragons. An ancient and well-known saying declares: “Clouds come from dragons and wind from tigers.”
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