For one example, Chinese emperors as believed were the real dragons and the sons of the heaven. Thus their beds are called the dragon beds, the throne called the dragon seat, and the emperor's ceremonial dresses called the dragon robes. And dragons are on their robes, the throne, and even on the buildings in the imperial palace. A special structure is the 'nine dragon screen.' In one word, the dragon is an important symbol of imperial power in ancient China.
For another, the dragon also plays an important part in Chinese festivals. The dragon dance has a long history, which was already a popular event during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD). The Dragon Boat Festival is almost purely dragon-related festival, and dragon boat race becomes a popular international sport now. Modern dragon boat racing is organized at an international level by the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF), a Member of the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) recognizing two types of Dragon Boat Racing activities, namely Sport racing, as practiced by IDBF member organizations; and Festival racing, which are the more traditional and informal types of races, organized around the world, where racing rules vary from event to event. The International Dragon Boat Federation is the international governing body for the team water sport of dragon boatracing, founded by representatives from Australia, People’s Republic of China, Chinese Taipei, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Norway, Philippines, Singapore and the USA in Hong Kong on June 24, 1991. As of 1 Jan 2008, there are 62 countries or territories with membership of the IDBF, with a further 12 Countries with a known interest in the sport. Every country has its own Dragon Boat Federation. For instance, The Great Britain representatives are known as the British Dragon Boat Racing Association (BDA). Here, of course, the Dragon Boat Federation cannot be translated as Tiger Boat Federation.毕业论文http://www.youerw.com
Last but not least，the dragon is the famous symbol of the Chinese nation today as well as the symbol of ancient China for thousands of years in the past when all the emperors in old China considered themselves the “Real Son of the Dragon”! Meanwhile worldwide it is sometimes used in the West as a national emblem of China.
However, for Westerners, when it comes to dragon, the image that occurs on their mind would be a totally different picture. In European-influenced cultures, the dragon has aggressive, warlike connotations. They have traditionally been a symbol of evil. A typical Western dragon can fly and breathe fire. Many legends describe dragons as greedy, keeping hordes of gold and other precious treasure. In myths and folklore, dragons were monsters to be conquered. As dragons may be seen to represent the dark side of humanity, including greed, lust, and violence, the conquest of a dragon represents the confrontation and extinguishment of those evil instincts. The dragon has also been used as a symbol of war. Often, sea-going dragon ships would have a dragon head mounted at its stern to ward off sea serpents and evil spirits. Therefore, we can see clearly that the image of the Western dragon has already gained some positive meaning to some extent in the context of their cultural background. 本文来自优^文.论"文'网
Dragoons, which are a particular kind of soldiers originating in the 16th century, received their name from their primary weapon, called a dragon. The dragon was a short Wheelock gun with a muzzle decorated with the head of a dragon. A mounted infantryman with his loose coat and the burning match at a gallop resembled a mythical dragon.
One of the most famous dragon legends in the Western world is an Anglo-Saxon epic poem, Beowulf. After some of its treasure was stolen by a man, the dragon went on a rampage in the country of Geats where Beowulf is king. Beowulf, though an old man, set out to kill the monster. With the help of his companion Wiglaf, the dragon was slain, but Beowulf was mortally wounded.