Shenlong, (, literally "god dragon" or "divine dragon",

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

: 神竜 Shinryū) is a spiritual dragon from

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of t ...

who is the master of storms and also a bringer of rain. He is of equal significance to other creatures such as

Tianlong Tianlong (; lit. "heavenly dragon") is a flying dragon in Chinese mythology, a star in Chinese astrology, and a proper name. Word The term ''tianlong'' combines ''tian'' "heaven" and ''long'' "dragon". Since ''tian'' literally means "heaven; t ...

, the celestial dragon. The spiritual dragons are azure-scaled and govern the wind, clouds and rain, on which all agricultural life depends.Shuker, Karl. (1995). ''Dragons. A Natural History.'' Simon & Schuster, New York 1995, , p. 89Guter, Josef. (2004). ''Lexikon der Götter und Symbole der Alten Chinesen.'' Marix Verlag, Wiesbaden 2004, , p. 106 Chinese people would take great care to avoid offending them, for if they grew angry or felt neglected, the result was bad weather, drought, flood or thunderstorms. Despite this, Shenlong appears to signify a special rank in the splendid robes and regalia of Chinese emperors. He was also five-clawed, which was iconic of the imperial dragon. Chinese empires have admired shenlong for centuries through festivals.

In popular culture

*The

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

and manga franchise '' Dragon Ball'' features a wish-fulfilling dragon named Shenlong (renamed in the English dubbed versions as Shenron). *Shenlong is the name of one of the five Gundanium mobile suits in the anime series ''

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing ''Mobile Suit Gundam Wing'', also known in Japan as , is a 1995 Japanese mecha anime series directed by Masashi Ikeda and written by Katsuyuki Sumizawa. It is the sixth installment in the '' Gundam'' franchise, taking place in the "Af ...

''. *Shenlong is also the name of the IS (Infinite Stratos), a 3rd generation, close combat prototype that belongs to Lingyin Huang in the popular

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a '' wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...

series ''

Infinite Stratos ''Infinite Stratos'', also written as , is a Japanese light novel series by Izuru Yumizuru with illustrations provided by Okiura (original MF novels) and CHOCO (new Overlap novels). As of October 2013, seven volumes have been published ...

''. *There is a dragon named Shenlong in the television series ''

Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat ''Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat'', or simply ''Sagwa'', is a children's animated television series based on the children's book of the same name by Amy Tan which aired on PBS Kids, co-produced by Canada-based animation studio CinéGroupe and ' ...

''. *In the table top miniwargame

Malifaux Malifaux is a skirmish-level miniatures wargame manufactured by Wyrd Miniatures involving gang warfare in the ruins of a city. The setting of the game is centered around the city Malifaux, which can be discovered through a breach opening into an ...

, in the Ten Thunders faction, there is a Master named Shenlong, who was possessed by "The Dragon".

References

Sources

*Karl Shuker: ''Dragons. A Natural History.'' Simon & Schuster, New York 1995, , p. 89 Chinese dragons {{China-myth-stub fr:Dragon oriental#Variétés ja:神龍 pl:Smok chiński#Rodzaje smoków