Jiaolong

{{short description|Dragon in Chinese mythology}} {{other}} [[Image:蛟.png|right|thumb|''Jiao'' {{lang|zh|蛟}} illustration from the 1725 ''Gujin Tushu Jicheng'']] '''''Jiaolong''''' ({{zh|s={{linktext|蛟龙}}|t={{linktext|蛟龍}}|first=t|p=jiāolóng|w=chiao-lung}}) or '''''jiao''''' ('''''chiao''''', '''''kiao''''') is a serpent like creature in Chinese mythology, often defined as a "scaled dragon"; it is hornless according to certain scholars and said to be aquatic or river-dwelling. It may have referred to a species of crocodile.

A number of scholars point to non-{{linktext|Sinitic}} southern origins for the legendary creature and ancient texts chronicle that the Yue people once tattooed their bodies to ward against these monsters.

In English translations, ''jiao'' has been variously rendered as "''jiao''-dragon", "crocodile", "flood dragon", "scaly dragon", or even "kraken".

==Name== The ''jiao'' {{linktext|lang=zh|蛟}} character  combines the "insect radical" {{linktext|lang=zh|虫}}, to provide general sense of insects, reptiles or dragons,{{Efn|For example, ''shen'' {{lang|zh|蜃}} or mirage dragon and ''hong'' {{lang|zh|虹}}) or rainbow dragon.}} etc., and the right radical ''jiao'' {{linktext|lang=zh|交}} "cross; mix", etc. which supplies the phonetic element "''jiao''". The original {{lang|zh|交}} pictograph represented a person with crossed legs.

The Japanese equivalent term is {{nihongo|''kōryō'' or ''kōryū''|蛟竜}}.{{Efn|But the single kanji character {{lang|zh|蛟}} can also be read Japanese-style (''kun'yomi'') as "''mizuchi''" which denotes a Japanese river dragon}} The Vietnamese equivalent is ''giao long'', considered synonymous to Vietnamese ''{{lang|vi|Thuồng luồng}}''.

=== Synonyms === The ''Piya'' dictionary (11th century) claims that its common name was ''maban'' ({{zh|t=馬絆 |labels=no}}).<ref>{{harvnb|Minakata|1917}} "Year of the Snake"; {{harvnb|Minakata|1973|p=286}} "When ''Piya'' states its poplular name is ''maban'', it probably means a horse (''ma'') cannot be left tethered (''ban'') {{lang|ja|『埤雅』にその俗称馬絆とあるは、馬を絆つなぎ留めて行かしめぬてふ義であろう。}}"</ref><ref name=piya-jiao/>

The ''jiao'' is also claimed to be equivalent to Sanskrit  {{lang|zh|宮毗羅}} (modern Chinese pronunciation ''gongpiluo'') in the 7th-century Buddhist dictionary ''Yiqiejing yinyi''.{{Efn|The Buddhist dictionary purports to quote the ''Baopuzi'' {{lang|zh|抱朴子.}}}}<ref name=yiqiejing_yinyi5.9/> The same Sanskrit equivalent is repeated in the widely used ''Bencao Gangmu'' or ''Compendium of Materia Medica''.<ref name=bencaogangmu-jiaolong/> In Buddhist texts this word occurs as names of divine beings,{{Efn|The transliterations {{lang|zh|宮毗羅}} and {{lang|zh|宮毘羅}} are interchangeable.<ref name=mori/> The characters "{{lang|zh|毗}}" and "{{lang|zh|毘}}" are variants of each other.}}{{Efn|{{lang|zh|宮毘羅}} (Japanese:''{{interlanguage link|Kubira|ja|宮比羅}}'') is attested in eastern Buddhist writings, as one of the Twelve Heavenly Generals. Cf. the Guardian Deity Kimbila ({{zh|金毘羅王|p=Jinpiluo wang}}) who is one of the {{interlanguage link|Twenty-eight Guardians|zh|二十八部眾}}.<ref name=roesch/>}} and the Sanskrit term in question is actually ''kumbhīra''<ref name=daijisen-kubira/> ({{lang|sa|{{linktext|lang=sa|कुम्भीर}}}}). As a common noun ''kumbhīra'' means "crocodile".<ref name=parpola/>

===Phonology=== Schuessler reconstructs  Later Han Chinese '''''kau''''' and Old Chinese *''krâu'' for modern ''jiao'' {{lang|zh|蛟}}.{{sfn|Schuessler|2007|p=308}} Pulleyblank provides Early Middle Chinese kaɨw/kɛːw and Late Middle Chinese kjaːw.{{sfn|Pulleyblank|2011|p=150}}

The form ''kău'' is used as the Tang period pronunciation by American sinologist Edward H. Schafer.{{sfn|Schafer|1967|pp=32, 217–218, 345}} The transliteration '''''kiao lung''''' was given by Dutch orientalist {{interlanguage link|Marinus Willem de Visser|de}}'s book on dragons.{{sfn|Visser|1913|pp=76–81}}

===Etymology=== [[File:Anonymous-Fuxi and Nüwa.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Nüwa and Fuxi. Tomb painting excavated in Xinjiang.]] ''Jiao's'' ({{lang|zh|蛟}}) etymology is obscure. Michael Carr, using Bernhard Karlgren's reconstruction of Old Chinese *kǒg {{lang|zh|蛟}}, explains. <blockquote>Most etymologies for ''jiao'' < *''kǒg'' {{lang|zh|蛟}} are unsupported speculations upon meanings of its phonetic *''kǒg'' {{lang|zh|交}} 'cross; mix with; contact', e.g., the *''kǒg'' {{lang|zh|蛟}} dragon can *''kǒg'' {{lang|zh|交}} 'join' its head and tail in order to capture prey, or moves in a *''kǒg'' {{lang|zh|交}} 'twisting' manner, or has *''kǒg'' {{lang|zh|交}} 'continuous' eyebrows. The only corroborated hypothesis takes *''kǒg'' {{lang|zh|交}} 'breed with' to mean *''kǒg'' {{lang|zh|蛟}} indicates a dragon 'crossbreed; mixture'. (1990:126-7)</blockquote>

The word has "mermaid" as one possible gloss,{{sfn|Carr|1990|p=126}} and Schuessler suggests possible etymological connections with Burmese ''khruB'' or ''khyuB'' "scaly, furry beast" and Tibetan ''klu'' "nāga; water spirits", albeit the Tibeto-Burman are phonologically distant from OC.{{sfn|Schuessler|2007|p=308}}

;Crossed eyebrows The explanation that its name comes from eyebrows that "cross over" ({{lang|zh|交}} ''jiao'') is given in the ancient text {{interlanguage link|Shuyi Ji (Ren Fang){{!}}''Shuyi ji''|zh|述異記 (任昉)}} "Records of Strange Things" (6th century).{{sfn|Luo tr.|2003|p=3508}}{{Efn|''Shuyi Ji '', quoted in the ''Bencao Gangmu''. The passage is quoted below.}}{{Efn|The same is stated in the aforementioned ''Piya'', but translated differently as eyebrows that are "united" ({{lang|zh|交}} ''jiao'') in {{interlanguage link|Marinus Willem de Visser{{!}}Visser|de|Marinus Willem de Visser}}'s excerpt.{{sfn|Visser|1913|p=79}}<ref name=piya-jiao/>}}

;Early sense as mating dragons It has been suggested that ''jiaolong'' might have referred to a pair of dragons mating, with their long bodies coiled around each other (Wen Yiduo 2001a:95–96{{Refn|{{harvnb|Wen|2001}}a:95-96 apud {{harvnb|Wang|2015}}).<ref name=wang2015/>}})

Thus in the legend around the ''jiaolong'' {{lang|zh|蛟龍}} hovering above the mother giving birth to a future emperor i.e., Liu Bang, the founding emperor of Han, r. 202-195 BCE {{Efn|The dragon supposedly witness by the father Taigong (T'ai-kung.)}} (Sima Qian, ''Records of the Grand Historian''),<ref name=sima-qian-ed-nienhauser/> the alternative conjectural interpretation is that it was a pair of mating dragons.<ref name=wang2015/>

The same legend occurs in nearly verbatim copy in the ''Book of Han'', except that the dragons are given as {{lang|zh|交龍}} "crossed dragons".<ref name=sima-qian-ed-nienhauser/> Wen noted that in early use ''jiaolong'' {{lang|zh|交龍}} "crossed dragons" was emblematic of the mythological creators Fuxi and Nüwa, who are represented as having a human's upper body and a dragon's tail.<ref>{{harvnb|Wen|1956|pp=18–19}} apud {{harvnb|Carr|1990|p=127}}.</ref>

===Semantics=== In textual usage, it may be ambiguous whether ''jiaolong'' {{lang|zh|蛟龍}} should be parsed as two kinds of dragons or one, as Prof. Zhang Jing (known in Japan as {{interlanguage link|Chō Kyō|ja|張競}}) comments: "It is difficult to determine whether ''jiaolong'' is the name of a type of dragon, or [two dragons] "''jiao''" and "''long''" juxtaposed {{lang|ja|蛟龍はそもそも龍の一種の名称なのか、それとも「蛟」と「龍」からなる複合なのかは判断しにくい。.}}{{sfn|Chō|2002|p=180}}

Zhang cites as one example of ''jiaolong'' used in the poem ''Li Sao'' (in ''Chu Ci''), in which the poet is instructed by supernatural beings to beckon the ''jialong'' and bid them build a bridge.{{sfn|Chō|2002|p=180}} Visser translated this as one type of dragon, the ''jiaolong'' or ''kiao-lung''.{{sfn|Visser|1913|pp=77–78}} However, it was the verdict of Wang Yi, an early commentator of this poem that these were two kinds, the smaller ''jiao'' and the larger ''long''.<ref name=wang-chuci-zhangju-1-lisao/><ref>Cf. {{harvnb|Hawkes|1985|p=78}}: "Then, beckoning the water-dragons to make a bridge for me".</ref>

===Translations=== Since the Chinese word for the generic dragon is ''long'' ({{lang|zh|龍}}), translating ''jiao'' as "dragon" is problematic as it would make it impossible to distinguish which of the two is being referred to.<ref>{{harvnb|Schafer|1967|pp=217–218}}: "Spiritually akin to the crocodile, and perhaps originally the same reptile, was a mysterious creature capable of many forms called the ''chiao'' (''kău''). Most often it was regarded as a kind of ''lung'' – a "dragon" as we say. But sometimes it was manlike, and sometimes it was merely a fish. All of its realizations were interchangeable".</ref> The term ''jiao'' has thus been translated as "flood dragon"<ref name=feng&lin/><ref name=taylor/> or "scaly dragon",<ref name=landers/><ref name=mather/> with some qualifier to indicate it as a subtype. But on this matter, Schafer has suggested using a name for various dragon-like beings such as "kraken" to stand for ''jiao'':

<blockquote>The word "dragon" has already been appropriated to render the broader term ''lung''. "Kraken" is good since it suggests a powerful oceanic monster. ... We might name the ''kău'' a "basilisk" or a "wyvern" or a "cockatrice." Or perhaps we should call it by the name of its close kin, the double-headed crocodile-jawed Indian ''makara'', which, in ninth-century Java at least, took on some of the attributes of the rain-bringing ''lung'' of China. (1967:218)</blockquote>

Some translators have in fact adopted "kraken" as the translated term,<ref name=sima-qian-ed-nienhauser/>{{sfn|Knechtges|1987|p=16}} as Schafer has suggested.

In some contexts, ''jiao'' has also been translated as "crocodile"{{sfn|Birrell|2000|p=8}}<ref>{{harvnb|Read tr.|1934|p=300}}, tabulated glossary</ref>{{Efn|{{harvnb|Birrell|2000|pp=93, 97}} also renders as "alligator"; but her endnote (p. 198) indicates "alligator" was meant to be reserved for a different creature, the ''t'o'' (''tuo'' {{linktext|lang=zh|鼉}}), which conforms with {{harvnb|Read tr.|1934|p=300}} and {{harvnb|Fauvel|1879|p=8}}.}} (See §Identification as real fauna).

== Attestations ==

=== Classification and life cycle === The ''Shuowen Jiezi'' dictionary (121 CE) glosses the ''jiao'' as "a type of dragon (''long''),{{sfn|Nakano|1983|p=76}}<ref name=shuowen-jiezi/> as does the ''Piya'' dictionary (11th c.), which adds that the ''jiao'' are oviparous (hatch from eggs).<ref name=piya-jiao/>{{sfn|Visser|1913|p=79}} The ''Bencao Gangmu'' states this also,<ref name=bencaogangmu-scales1/> but also notes this is generally true of most scaled creatures.<ref>{{harvnb|Luo tr.|2003|p=3497}}. With some exceptions, like the viper.</ref>

''Jiao'' eggs are about the size of a jar of 1 or 2 {{interlanguage link|hu (unit){{!}}hu|zh|斛}} capacity in Chinese volume measurement, according to Guo Pu's commentary;<ref name=shanhaijing5central-guo-pu-comm/>{{sfn|Chō|2002|p=181}} a variant text states that the hatchlings are of this size.{{sfn|Tominaga|1993|pp=156–157}}{{sfn|Dubs tr.|1954|p=94}} It was considered that while the adult jiao lies in pools of water, their eggs hatched on dry land, more specifically on mounds of earth (''Huainanzi'').{{sfn|Major et al. tr.|2010|loc=20.6|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mhQ9B0aRWEIC&pg=PA799 799]–[https://books.google.com/books?id=mhQ9B0aRWEIC&pg=PA800 800]}}<ref>''Huainanzi'' {{lang|zh|淮南子}} {{lang|zh|第二十泰族訓:"蛟龍伏寝於淵而卵剖於陵}}".</ref>

The ''jiao'' did eventually metamorphose into a form built to fly, according to {{interlanguage link|Ren Fang|zh|任昉}}'s {{interlanguage link|Shuyi Ji (Ren Fang){{!}}''Shuyi ji''|zh|述異記 (任昉)}} ("Records of Strange Things"), which said that "a water snake (''hui'' {{linktext|lang=zh|虺}}) after 500 years transforms into a ''jiao'' ({{lang|zh|蛟}}); a ''jiao'' after a millennium into a dragon (''long''), a ''long'' after 500 years a horned dragon ({{linktext|lang=zh|角|龍}}), a horned dragon after a millennium into a ''yinglong'' (a winged dragon)".{{sfn|Nakano|1983|p=76}}{{sfn|Yuan|1998|p=287}}{{Efn|Compare the explanation that "smaller ones are called ''jiao'' and larger ones are called ''long'' (dragon)" by Wang Yi (d. 158 CE) in his commentary to the poem ''Li Sao'' in the ''Chu Ci''.<ref name=wang-chuci-zhangju-1-lisao/>}}

=== General descriptions ===

The ''hujiao'' {{lang|zh|虎蛟}} or "tiger ''jiao''"{{Efn|Visser renders as "tiger ''kiao''".{{sfn|Visser|1913|p=76}} Birrell renders as "tiger-crocodiles".{{sfn|Birrell|2000|p=8}}}} are described as creatures with a body like a fish and a tail like a snake, which made noise like mandarin ducks. Although this might be considered a subtype of the ''jiao'' dragon, a later commentator thought this referred to a type of fish (see #Sharks and rays section).{{sfn|Knechtges|1987|p=16}}

The foregoing account occurs in the early Chinese bestiary ''Shanhaijing'' "Classic of Mountains and Seas" (completed c. 206–9 BCE), in its first book "Classic of the Southern Mountains".<ref name=shanhaijing1southern-III/>{{Efn|Shanhaijing Book 1.III}}{{Efn|As to habitat, these tiger ''jiao'' were said to inhabit the {{interlanguage link|Yin River (Guangxi){{!}}Yin River|zh-yue|泿水}} ({{linktext|lang=zh|泿|水}}, "River Bank") which flows southward from Mt. Daoguo {{linktext|lang=zh|禱|過|山}}.{{sfn|Birrell|2000|p=8}}{{sfn|Visser|1913|p=76}} Birrel renders Yin River as "River Bank" and the mountain as "Mount Prayerpass". Visser mis-transcribes as "{{linktext|lang=zh|浪|水}}" and renders as "water come forth in waves" "out of the Tao Kuo mountains".}}

The bestiary's fifth book, "Classic of the Central Mountains"{{Efn|Shanhaijing Book 5.XI}}<ref name=shanhaijing5central-XI/> records the presence of ''jiao'' in the Kuang River ({{linktext|lang=zh|貺|水}}, "River Grant") and Lun River ({{linktext|lang=zh|淪|水}}, "River Ripple").{{sfn|Birrell|2000|pp=93, 97}}{{Efn|Birrell renders ''jiao'' here as "alligators" which is misleading since in the endnotes she glosses alligator as ''t'o'' (i.e. ''tuo'' {{zh|t=鼉|labels=no}}).{{sfn|Birrell|2000|p=198}} Cf. {{harvnb|Read tr.|1934|p=300}}, table. "Chiao Lung {{lang|zh|蛟龍}} Crocodiles" and "T'o Lung {{linktext|lang=zh|鼍|龍}} Alligators"}} Guo Pu (d. 324)'s commentary to Part XI glosses ''jiao'' as "a type of [''long'' {{lang|zh|龍}}] dragon that resembles a four-legged snake".{{sfn|Eberhard|1968|p=378}} Guo adds that the ''jiao'' possesses a "small head and a narrow neck with a white goiter" and that it is oviparous, and "large ones were more than ten arm spans in width{{Efn|Although it is being translated as a measure of width, ''wei'' {{linktext|lang=zh|圍}} is actually a measure of perimeter.<ref name=zhao-on-wei/>}} and could swallow a person whole".<ref name=shanhaijing5central-guo-pu-comm/><ref name=shanhaijing-strassberg/>

A description similar to this is found in the ''Piya'' dictionary, but instead of a white "goiter (''ying'')" being found on its neck, a homophone noun of a different meaning is described, rendered "white necklace" around its neck by Visser.{{sfn|Visser|1913|p=79}} Other sources concurs with the latter word meaning white "necklace" (or variously translated as white "tassels"), namely, the ''Bencao Gangmu'' quoting at length from ''Guangzhou Ji'' ({{zh|t=廣州記|labels=no}}) by Pei Yuan ({{zh|t=裴淵|labels=no}}, 317–420):{{Efn|A white "goiter" ({{zh|p=ying|t={{linktext|lang=zh|癭}}|labels=no}}) in the ''Classic of Mountains and Seas''; a white "necklace" or "tassels" ({{zh|p=ying|t={{linktext|lang=zh|嬰}}|labels=no}}) in ''Piya'' and the ''Bencao Gangmu''.}}

{{Verse translation | lang = zh | italicsoff = yes |蛟長丈餘，似蛇而四足，形廣如楯, 小頭細頸，頸有白嬰。胸前赭色, 背上靑斑, 脇邊若錦, 尾有肉環, |The ''jiao'' measures 10 chi or more in length. Snake-like in appearance, but it has four feet. The shape broad and shield-like, it is small-headed and thin-necked. On the neck there are white tassels. Its chest is sienna brown and its back flecked with blue-green spots. Its flanks resemble brocade-work. On its tail there are fleshy rings. The largest attain several arms' spans around. | attr1 ={{harvnb|Li Shizhen|1596}} "(Animals with) Scales I, ''jiaolong'', "Collected Explanations【集解】" subsection | attr2 =adapted from {{harvnb|Luo tr.|2003|p=3508}}. "Vol. 43: The Category of Animals with Scales", ''Bencao Gangmu''. }}

A later text described ''jiao'' "looks like a snake with a tiger head, is several fathoms long, lives in brooks and rivers, and bellows like a bull; when it sees a human being it traps him with its stinking saliva, then pulls him into the water and sucks his blood from his armpits". This description, in the ''Moke huixi'' {{lang|zh|墨客揮犀}}  (11th century CE), was considered the "best definition" of a ''jiao'' by Wolfram Eberhard.{{sfn|Eberhard|1968|p=378}}

===Scales=== The description as "scaly" or "scaled dragon" is found in some medieval texts, and quoted in several near-modern references and dictionaries.

The ''Guangya'' (3rd century CE) defines ''jiaolong'' as "scaly dragon; scaled dragon", using the word ''lin'' {{linktext|lang=zh|鱗}} "scales".<ref name=chapin1940-p091/> The paragraph, which goes on to list other types of dragons, was quoted in the ''Kangxi Dictionary'' compiled during the Manchurian Qing dynasty.<ref name=chapin1940-p091/> A similar paragraph occurs in the {{interlanguage link|Shuyi Ji (Ren Fang){{!}}''Shuyi ji''|zh|述異記 (任昉)}} (6th century) and quoted in the ''Bencao Gangmu'' aka ''Compendium of Materia Medica'':<ref name=bencaogangmu-scales1>{{harvnb|Li Shizhen|1596}} "(Category of Animals with) Scales" I; {{harvnb|Li Shizhen|1782}}, Volume 43; {{harvnb|Luo tr.|2003|p=3508}}</ref> {{Verse translation | lang = zh | italicsoff = yes |蛟龍.. 【釋名】時珍曰︰按任昉《述異記》云, 蛟乃龍屬, 其眉交生, 故謂之蛟, 有鱗曰蛟龍, 有翼曰應龍, 有角曰虯龍, 無角曰螭龍也。 |Jiaolong.. [Explanation of Names] [Li] Shizhen says: The book ''Shuyi Ji'' by Ren Fang:: The ''jiao'' is a kind of dragon. As its eyebrows cross each other, it is called ''jiaolong''. (jiao ≅ come across). The ''jiaolong'' has scales. The variety with wings is called ''yinglong''. The variety with horns is called ''qiulong''. The variety without horns is called ''chilong'' ...{{Efn|The quote here is slightly modified, as per capitalization, etc., from Luo's rendition.}} | attr1 = {{harvnb|Li Shizhen|1596}} "(Animals with) Scales I, ''jiaolong'' | attr2 = {{harvnb|Luo tr.|2003|p=3508}}. "Vol. 43: The Category of Animals with Scales", ''Bencao Gangmu''. }}

===Aquatic nature=== Several texts allude to the ''jiao'' being the lord of aquatic beings. The ''jiaolong'' is called the "god of the water animals".{{Refn|Commentary to ''Guanzi'';<ref name=guangzi-xingshi-comm/>{{sfn|Visser|1913|p=77}}}}{{Efn|The thrust of the original passage in the philosophical work<ref name=guangzi-xingshi/> is that circumstances dictate,<ref name=feng&lin/> or more specifically, a dragon (or tiger, etc.) can manifest its full power when it is in its elements.<ref name=landers/>}} The ''Shuowen jieji'' dictionary (beginning of 2nd c.) states that if the number of fish in a pond reaches 3600, a ''jiao'' will come as their leader, and enable them to follow him and fly away".{{sfn|Nakano|1983|p=76}} However, "if you place a fish trap in the water, the ''jiao'' will leave".<ref name=shuowen-jiezi/> A similar statement occurs in the farming almanac ''Qimin Yaoshu'' (6th c.) that quotes the ''Yangyu-jing'' "Classic on Raising Fish", a manual on pisciculture ascribed to Lord Tao Zhu (Fan Li).<ref name=qimin-yaoshu/> According to this ''Yangyu-jing'' version, when the fish count reaches 360, the ''jiao'' will lead them away, but this could be prevented by keeping ''bie'' {{linktext|lang=zh|鱉}} (variant character {{linktext|lang=zh|鼈}}, "soft-shelled turtle").{{Efn|The ''Yangyu-jing'' is also quoted in the Qing period encyclopedia ''Yuanjian Leihan'' 淵鑑類函 according to Minakata.}}<ref name=minakata-zuihitsu/><ref>An incomplete quote is given by {{harvnb|Visser|1913|p=76}}.</ref>

''Jiao'' and ''jiaolong'' were names for a legendary river dragon. ''Jiao'' {{lang|zh|蛟}} is sometimes translated as "flood dragon". The (c. 1105 CE) ''Yuhu qinghua'' {{lang|zh|玉壺清話}} Carr says people in the southern state of Wu called it ''fahong'' {{lang|zh|發洪}} "swell into a flood" because they believed flooding resulted when ''jiao'' hatched.{{sfn|Carr|1990|p=128}} The poem ''Qijian'' ("Seven Remonstrances") in the ''Chu Ci'' uses the term ''shuijiao'' {{lang|zh|水蛟}} or water ''jiao''.{{sfn|Hawkes|1985|p=255}}{{EFN|"Henceforth the water-serpents must be my companions, And dragon-spirits lie with me when I would rest".{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}}}

=== Hornlessness ===

The ''Shuowen Jiezi'' does not commit to whether the ''jiāo'' {{lang|zh|蛟}} has or lacks a horn.{{Efn|It defines ''chi'' {{lang|zh|螭}} as hornless and ''qiú'' {{linktext|lang=zh|虯}} as horned.}}<ref name=shuowen-jiezi/> However the definition was emended to "hornless dragon" by Duan Yucai in his 19th-century edited version.({{sfn|Ōgata|1983|pp=76–77}} A somewhat later commentary by {{interlanguage link|Zhu Junsheng|zh|朱骏声}} stated the contrary; in his ''Shuowen tongxun dingsheng'' ({{lang|zh|説文通訓定聲}}) Zhu Junsheng explained that only male dragons (''long'') were horned, and "among dragon offspring, the one-horned are called ''jiāo'' {{lang|zh|蛟}}, the {{linktext|bicorned}} are called ''qiú'' {{lang|zh|虯}}, and the hornless are called ''chì'' {{lang|zh|螭}}.{{sfn|Li Muru et al.|1998|p=368}}

Note the pronunciation similarity between ''jiāo'' {{lang|zh|蛟}} and ''jiǎo'' {{linktext|lang=zh|角}} "horn", thus ''jiǎolóng'' {{lang|zh|角龍}} is "horned dragon".{{Efn|An example occurs in Ge Hong's ''Baopuzi'' (10, tr. Ware 1966:170) "the horned dragon can no longer find a place to swim". The ''Jiǎolóng'' {{lang|zh|角龍}} "horned dragon" is also the modern Chinese name for the Ceratops dinosaur.}}

===Female gender=== Lexicographers have noticed that according to some sources, the ''jiao'' was a dragoness, that is, a dragon of exclusively female gender.{{sfn|Carr|1990|p=126}}{{Efn|Carr gives 7 definitions as follows: "''Jiao'' < *''kǒg'' {{lang|zh|蛟}} is defined with more meanings than any other Chinese draconym", writes Carr (1990:126), "(1) 'aquatic dragon', (2) 'crocodile; alligator', (3) 'hornless dragon', (4) 'dragoness', (5) 'scaled dragon', ( 6 ) 'shark' [{{=}} {{lang|zh|鮫}}], and (7) 'mermaid'".}}

''Jiao'' as female dragon occurs in the glossing of ''jiao'' {{lang|zh|蛟}} as "dragon mother" (perhaps "dragoness" or "she-dragon") in the (c. 649 CE) Buddhist dictionary ''Yiqiejing yinyi'',{{Efn|25 volumes were compiled by Xuanying {{lang|zh|玄応}}. Later, an expanded 100 volume edition ''Yiqiejing Yinyi (Huilin)'' was compiled by Huilin {{lang|zh|慧琳}} (c. 807).}} and the gloss is purported to be a direct quote from Ge Hong (d. 343)'s ''Baopuzi'' {{lang|zh|抱朴子}}.<ref name=yiqiejing_yinyi5.9/> However, extant editions of the Baopuzi does not include this statement.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}} The (11th century CE) ''Piya'' dictionary repeats this "female dragon" definition.{{dubious|date=July 2019}}

=== Records of hunt === [[File:Lü Dongbin confronts a dragon in The Flying Sword.png|thumb|Lü Dongbin confronting a ''jiaolong''-dragon, from Deng Zhimo's ''The Flying Sword'' (飛劍記)]] As aforementioned, ''jiao'' is fully capable of devouring humans, according to Guo Pu's commentary.{{sfn|Dubs tr.|1954|p=94}}<ref name=shanhaijing-strassberg/>

It is also written that a green ''jiao'' which was a man-eater dwelt in the stream beneath the bridge in {{interlanguage link|Yixing County|zh|義興郡}} (present-day city of Yixing, Jiangsu) according to a story in {{interlanguage link|Zu Taizhi|zh|祖台之}} ({{lang|zh-Hans|祖臺之}}; fl. c. 376–410)'s anthology, ''Zhiguai''.{{sfn|Tominaga|1993|pp=156–157}} The war-general Zhou Chu ({{lang|zh|周處}}; 236–297) in his youth, who was native to this area, anecdotally slew this dragon: when Zhou spotted the man-eating beast he leaped down from the bridge and stabbed it several times; the stream was filled with blood and the beast finally washed up somewhere in Lake Tai where it finally died.{{sfn|Tominaga|1993|pp=156–157}} This anecdote is also recounted in the ''Shishuo Xinyu'' (c. 430; "A New Account of Tales of the World")<ref name=mather/> and selected in the Tang period primer {{interlanguage link|Mengqiu|zh|蒙求}}.{{sfn|Tominaga|1993|pp=156–157}}

Other early texts also mention the hunt or capture of the ''jiao''. Emperor Wu of Han in Yuanfeng 5 or 106 BCE reportedly shot a ''jiao'' in the river.<ref>''Hanshu''; 6.</ref>{{sfn|Carr|1990|p=128}}{{sfn|Dubs tr.|1954|p=94}} The ''Shiyiji'' {{lang|zh|拾遺記}} (4th century CE) has a ''jiao'' story about Emperor Zhao of Han (r. 87-74 BCE). While fishing in the Wei River, he <blockquote>...caught a white ''kiao'', three chang [ten meters] long, which resembled a big snake, but had no scaly armour The Emperor said: 'This is not a lucky omen', and ordered the Ta kwan{{Efn|{{linktext|lang=zh|大官}} ''daguan'', an important official.}} to make a condiment of it. Its flesh was purple, its bones were blue, and its taste was very savoury and pleasant.{{sfn|Visser|1913|p=79}}</blockquote>

Three classical texts (''Liji'' 6,{{sfn|Legge|1885|loc=vol. 1|page=277}} ''Huainanzi'' 5, and ''Lüshi Chunqiu'' 6) repeat a sentence about capturing water creatures at the end of summer; {{lang|zh|伐蛟取鼉登龜取黿}} "attack the ''jiao'' {{lang|zh|蛟}}, take the ''to'' {{lang|zh|鼉}} "alligator", present the ''gui'' {{lang|zh|龜}} "tortoise", and take the ''yuan'' {{lang|zh|黿}} "soft-shell turtle"."

=== Dragon boat festival === {{Further|Dragon Boat Festival}} There is a legend surrounding the Dragon Boat Festival which purports to be the origin behind the offering of ''zongzi'' (leaf-wrapped rice cakes) to the drowned nobleman Qu Yuan during its observation. It is said that at the beginning of the Eastern Han dynasty (25 A. D.), a man from Changsha named Ou Hui had a vision in a dream of Qu Yuan instructing him that the naked rice cakes being offered for him in the river are all being eaten by the dragons (''jiaolong''), and the cakes need to be wrapped in chinaberry (''Melia''; {{zh|t=楝|p=liàn}}) leaves and tied with color strings, which are two things the dragons abhor.<ref name=chi>{{cite book|last=Chi |first=Hsing (Qi Xing) |author-link= |title=Folk Customs at Traditional Chinese Festivities |publisher=Foreign Languages Press |year=1988 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4ScTAQAAIAAJ |page=39 |quotation=dragon in the river|isbn=9780835115933 }}</ref><ref name=cmlc36>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Chi |first=Hsing (Qi Xing) |author-link= |title=Chu Yuan |dictionary=Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism |volume=36 |publisher=Gale Research Company |year=2000 |isbn=0-78764-378-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YNFkAAAAMAAJ |pages=125, 95 (in brief), 132 (notes)}}: "chiao-lung"</ref>{{Efn|The source of this is the 6th-century work by {{interlanguage link|Wu Jun (historian)|zh|吴均|lt=Wu Jun}} ({{zh|p=|w=Wu chün|t=呉均}}) entitled ''Xu Qixieji'' ({{zh|p=|w=''Hsü-ch'ih-hsieh-chih''|t=『續齊諧記』}}).<ref name=cmlc36/><ref name=senbo/> In several redactions such as found in the ''Taiping Yulan'' the man's name appears as Ou Hui ({{zh|t=歐回|labels=no}});<ref name=senbo/> in other redactions, the man is called Ou Qu ({{zh|t=歐曲|labels=no}}).<ref name=senbo/><ref name=yifa>{{cite book|author=Yifa |author-link=Yifa |title=The Origins of Buddhist Monastic Codes in China: An Annotated Translation and Study of the Chanyuan Qinggui |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |year=2002 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=91OPcSUTFQ0C&pg=PA241 |page=241, note 298|isbn=9780824824945 }}</ref>}}

=== Southern origins ===

It has been suggested that the ''jiao'' is not a creature of {{linktext|Sinitic}} origin, but something introduced from the Far South or {{linktext|Yue}} culture,<ref name=Clark-and-Chittick>{{harvnb|Clark|2016|pp=106–107}} and {{harvnb|Chittick|2016|loc=endnote 34}}.</ref> which encompasses the people of the ancient Yue {{lang|zh|越}} state), as well as the Hundred Yue people.<ref name=brindley/>

Eberhard concludes (1968:378-9) that the ''jiao'', which "occur in the whole of Central and South China", "is a special form of the snake as river god. The snake as river god or god of the ocean is typical for the coastal culture, particularly the sub-group of the Tan peoples (the Tanka people)". Schafer also suggests, "The Chinese lore about these southern krakens seems to have been borrowed from the indigenes of the monsoon coast".{{sfn|Schafer|1973|p=26}}

The onomastics surrounding the Long Biên District (now in Hanoi, Vietnam) is that it was so-named from a ''jialong'' "flood dragon" seen coiled in the river (''Shui jing zhu'' or the ''Commentary on the Water Classic'' 37).<ref name=taylor/><ref name=shuijingzhu37/>{{sfn|Schafer|1973|p=32}}

It is recorded that in southern China, there had been the custom of wearing tattoos to ward against the ''jiaolong''. The people in Kuaiji  (old capital of Yue; present-day Shaoxing City) adopted such a custom during the Xia dynasty according to the ''Book of Wei'' (3rd c.).{{Efn| "After Shao Kang, king of Xia made his son prince of Kuaiji, the people there adopted the custom of cutting their hair and tattooing their bodies to avert harm from the ''jialong'' {{lang|zh|夏後少康之子封於會稽，斷髮文身以避蛟龍之害}}". Gulik renders as "evil dragons"; Teng as "sea monsters".}}{{Efn|More specifically, the portion in ''Book of Wei'' describing the Wa (the Japanese). It follows by commenting on a similar tattooing custom among the Wa.}}<ref name=sanguozhi-wei30/><ref name=gulik/><ref name=teng/> The Yue created this "apotropaic device"<ref name=reed/> by incising their flesh and tattooing it with red and green pigments.<ref>''Treatise on Geography'' in the ''Book of Han'', 111CE, quoted by Kong Yingda.</ref>{{Refn|Kong Yingda (6th c.), ''Lizi Zhengyi'' {{lang|zh|禮記正義}} 12.15b or 16b apud {{harvnb|Reed|2000a|p=7}}; {{harvnb|Reed|2000b|p=362}}.<ref name=reed/>}}<ref name=liji-zhengyi12/>

== Identification as real fauna == The ''jiao'' seems to refer to "crocodiles", at least in later literature of the Tang and Song dynasties, and may have referred to "crocodiles" in early literature as well.<ref name=Clark-and-Chittick/>

Aside from this zoological identification, paleontological identifications have also been attempted.

=== Crocodile or alligator === The term ''jiao e'' or "''jiao'' crocodile" ({{lang|zh-hant|蛟鱷}}; Tang period pronunciation: kău ngak){{sfn|Schafer|1967|p=345}}{{Efn|Cf. Late Middle Chinese:kaɨw ŋak.{{sfn|Pulleyblank|2011|pp=87, 150}}}} occurs in the description of Han Yu's encounter with crocodiles according to {{interlanguage link|Zhang Du|zh|張讀 (唐朝)}}'s {{interlanguage link|Xuanshi zhi|zh|宣室志|lt=''Xuanshi zhi''}} or "Records of the House of Proclamation" written in the late Tang period.<ref name=clark-jiao-croc>{{harvnb|Clark|2016|pp=107–108 and notes 43, 44}}.</ref><ref name=xuanshi-zhi-05/>{{Efn|Albeit the creatures are referred to merely as "crocodile" or "crocodile fish" in Han Yu's own work, the ''E yu wen'' ({{lang|zh-hant|鰐魚文}}) "Message to Crocodiles".<ref name=clark-jiao-croc/>}}

As noted the ''Compendium of Materia Medica'' identifies ''jiao'' with Sanskrit {{linktext|lang=zh|宮|毗|羅}},<ref name=bencaogangmu-jiaolong/>{{Refn|{{lang|zh-hant|宮毗羅}} is equivalent to {{lang|zh-hant|宮毘羅}} when you swap out one character into a variant form.<ref name=mori/>}} i.e., ''kumbhīra''<ref name=daijisen-kubira/> which denotes a long-snouted crocodylid.<ref name=parpola/> The 19th-century herpetologist Albert-Auguste Fauvel concurred, stating that ''jiaolong'' referred to a crocodile or gavial clade of animals.{{sfn|Fauvel|1879|p=8}}

The ''Compendium'' also differentiates between ''jiaolong'' {{lang|zh-hant|蛟龍}}<ref name=bencaogangmu-jiaolong/> and ''tuolong'' {{linktext|lang=zh|鼉|龍}},<ref name=bencaogangmu-tuolong/> Fauvel adding that ''tuolong'' ({{zh|c=鼉|w=t'o2|labels=no}}) should be distinguished as "alligator".{{sfn|Fauvel|1879|p=8}}{{Refn|As does {{harvnb|Read tr.|1934|p=300}}, tabulated glossary.}}

=== Fossil creatures === Fauvel noted that the ''jiao'' resembled the dinosaur genus ''Iguanodon'',{{Efn|Although the conception of iguanodon as appearing crocodile-like is outdated.}} adding that fossil teeth were being peddled by Chinese medicine shops at the time(1879:8).{{Refn|Cf. {{harvnb|Read tr.|1934|p=301}} noting the similarity of the Sanskrit name to ''gonglong'' {{zh|宮龍|w=kung-lung}} for ''Naosaurus'' listed in ''ZN'',''Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature''.}}

=== Sharks and rays === In the foregoing example of the ''huijiao'' in the "Classic of the Southern Mountains" III,<ref name=shanhaijing1southern-III/> the 19th-century sinologist treated this a type of dragon, the "tiger ''kiao''",{{sfn|Visser|1913|p=76}} while a modern translator as "tiger-crocodile".{{sfn|Birrell|2000|p=8}} However, there is also an 18–19th-century opinion that this might have been a shark. A Qing dynasty period commentator, {{interlanguage link|Hao Yixing|zh|郝懿行}} suggested that ''huijiao'' should be identified as ''jiaocuo'' {{lang|zh-hant| 蛟錯}}{{Efn|{{lang|zh-hant|鮫䱜}} In later printed editions of ''Bowuzhi''<ref name=bowuzhi/>}} described in the ''Bowuzhi'' {{lang|zh-hant|博物志}},{{sfn|Knechtges|1987|p=16}}<ref name=shanhaijing-jianshu/> and this ''jiaocuo'' in turn is considered to be a type of shark.{{sfn|Knechtges|1987|p=16}}{{Refn|Cf. Guo Pu glosses ''jiao'' {{lang|zh-hant|鮫}} as a type of ''cuo'' {{lang|zh-hant|䱜}}.<ref name=yiqiejing_yinyi13.52/>}}

As in the above example ''jiao'' {{lang|zh-hant|蛟}} may be substituted for ''jiao'' {{lang|zh-hant|鮫}} "shark" in some contexts.<ref name=yiqiejing_yinyi13.52/>

The ''jiao'' {{lang|zh-hant|鮫}} denotes larger sharks and rays,{{sfn|Williams|1889|p=368}} the character for sharks (and rays) in general being ''sha'' {{lang|zh-hant|鯊}}, so-named ostensibly due to their skin being gritty and sand-like{{Efn|Chinese letter for sand is ''sha'' {{zh|s=沙|t=砂|labels=no}}.{{sfn|Williams|1889|p=730}}<ref name=bencaogangmu-jiaoyu/> A description that is often repeated about the shark is that its skin has a pearl-like texture or pattern, and that the skin (shagreen) is used to decorate swords.<ref name=yiqiejing_yinyi13.52/><ref name=bencaogangmu-jiaoyu/>}}{{Efn|Thus Joseph Needham construes as "patterned with pearls" regarding shark skin for a similar example in the ''Jiaozhou ji'' ({{zh|t=交州記|w=Chia-chou Chi}}).<ref name=needham/> However the presence of "pearls in the skin", literally, might have been actually meant since there was a belief since the Song Period that pearls were produced from shark skin.{{sfn|Nakano|1983|p=143}}}} Compare the supposed quote from the ''Baopuzi'', where it is stated that the ''jialong'' is said to have "pearls in the skin" {{lang|zh|皮有珠}}.<ref name=yiqiejing_yinyi5.9/><ref name=yiqiejing_yinyi13.52/>

Schafer quotes a Song dynasty description, "The ''kău'' (''jiao'') fish has the aspect of a round fan. Its mouth is square and is in its belly. There is a sting in its tail which is very poisonous and hurtful to men. Its skin can be made into sword grips", which may refer to a sting ray.{{sfn|Schafer|1967|p=221}}

== Derivative names == ===Usage=== Jiaolong occurs in Chinese toponyms. For example, the highest waterfall in Taiwan is Jiaolong Dapu ({{lang|zh|蛟龍大瀑}}), "Flood Dragon Great Waterfall" in the Alishan National Scenic Area.

The deep-sea submersible built and tested in 2010 by the China Ship Scientific Research Center is named ''Jiaolong'' (Broad 2010:A1).

The 7th Marine Brigade of the People's Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps is often known as the "Jiaolong Commandos".

The 2025 film ''Operation Hadal'' takes its Chinese name ({{zh|t=蛟龍行動|s=蛟龙行动|hp=Jiāolóng Xíngdòng|l=Operation Jiaolong}}) from this creature.

==See also== * Jiaolong (album), an album by DJ Daphni (musician) * Mizuchi, Japanese dragon whose name is sometimes represented using the same Chinese character

== Explanatory notes == {{notelist}}

==References== '''Citations''' {{Reflist|30em|refs= <ref name=bencaogangmu-jiaolong>"jiaolong {{lang|zh|蛟龍}}", {{harvnb|Li Shizhen|1596}} "(Animals with) Scales I"; {{harvnb|Li Shizhen|1782}} "Vol. 43 (Animals with) Scales", ''Bencao Gangmu''; {{harvnb|Luo tr.|2003|p=3497}}; {{harvnb|Read tr.|1934|pp=314–318}}</ref>

<ref name=bencaogangmu-jiaoyu>"jiaoyu {{lang|zh|鮫魚}}", {{harvnb|Li Shizhen|1596}} "(Animals with) Scales IV"; {{harvnb|Li Shizhen|1782}} "Vol. 43 (Animals with) Scales", ''Bencao Gangmu''; {{harvnb|Luo tr.|2003|p=3613}}</ref>

<ref name=bencaogangmu-tuolong>"tuolong {{lang|zh|鼉龍}}", {{harvnb|Li Shizhen|1596}} "(Animals with) Scales I"; {{harvnb|Li Shizhen|1782}} "Vol. 43 (Animals with) Scales", ''Bencao Gangmu''; {{harvnb|Luo tr.|2003|p=3509}} identifies as Alligator sinensis Fauvel, with synonym ''tuoyu'' ({{lang|zh|鮀魚}}) and ''tulong'' ({{lang|zh|土龍}}); {{harvnb|Read tr.|1934|pp=314–318}}</ref>

<ref name=bowuzhi>{{cite book|author=Zhang Hua |author-link=Zhang Hua |title=Bowuzhi |script-title=zh:博物志 |publisher=五南圖書出版股份有限公司 |year=1997|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b5Dwzv8UiloC&pg=PA79 |page=102|isbn=9789578499409 }}</ref>

<ref name=brindley>{{citation|last=Brindley |first=Erica F. |author-link= |title=Layers of Meaning: Hairstyle and Yue Identity in Ancient Chinese Texts |editor-last=Mair |editor-first=Victor H. |editor-link=Victor H. Mair |work=Imperial China and Its Southern Neighbours |publisher=Flipside Digital Content Company Inc. |year=2016 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BB1qDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT27 |pages=27–28 |isbn=978-9-814-62055-0}}</ref>

<ref name=chapin1940-p091>{{cite book|last=Chapin |first=Helen Burwell |author-link=|title=Toward the Study of the Sword as Dynastic Talisman: The Feng-ch'eng Pair and the Sword of Han Kao Tsu |publisher=University of California, Berkeley |year=1940|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GbVPAQAAMAAJ |page=91}}: "See the quotation from the {{lang|zh|廣雅}} ''Kuang-ya'' in the ''K'ang-hsi'': 'Those (dragons) that have scales are called {{lang|zh|蛟竜}} ''chiao-lung'' (i.e. ''jiaolong''); those that have wings, {{lang|zh|應〃}} ''ying-lung''; those that have horns, {{lang|zh|虬〃}} ''ch'iu-lung''; those that have no horns, {{lang|zh|螭〃}} ''ch'ih-lung''; those that have not yet risen to Heaven, {{lang|zh|螭〃}} ''p'an-lung'''".</ref>

<ref name=daijisen-kubira>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Kubira |script-title=ja:宮毘羅（読み）クビラ |dictionary=Digital Daijisen |script-work=zh:デジタル大辞泉 |publisher=Shogakukan |year=2019 |url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%AE%AE%E6%AF%98%E7%BE%85-484801}} via Kotobank accessed 2019-07-30</ref>

<ref name=feng&lin>{{cite encyclopedia|author=Kuan Feng |author2=Lin Lü-shih |title=On Kuan Chung's System of Thought |journal=Chinese Studies in Philosophy |volume=1 |year=1970 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KhpRAAAAYAAJ |page=263}}</ref>

<ref name=guangzi-xingshi-comm>{{cite book|editor= |editor-link=|chapter=Keisei-kai (Xingshijie; commentary to Conditions and Circumstances) |script-chapter=ja:形勢解 64 |title=Kanshi kokujikai ge-kan |script-title=ja:管子国字解下巻 |trans-title=Guangzi commentaries in Japanese Vol. 2 |publisher=Waseda University |year=1911 |chapter-url=http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/898792/62 |page=110 |series=漢籍国字解全書 : 先哲遺著 Kanseki kokuji-kai zensho: Sentetsu icho tsuiho [Supplement to the complete commentaries in Japanese of Chinese classical literature] 19 }}</ref>

<ref name=guangzi-xingshi>{{cite book|editor= |editor-link=|chapter=Keisei (Xingshi; Conditions and Circumstances) |script-chapter=ja:形勢 2 |title=Kanshi kokujikai jō-kan |script-title=ja:管子国字解上巻 |trans-title=Guangzi commentaries in Japanese Vol. 1 |publisher=Waseda University |year=1911 |chapter-url=http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/898791/29 |page=43|series=漢籍国字解全書 : 先哲遺著 Kanseki kokuji-kai zensho: Sentetsu icho tsuiho [Supplement to the complete commentaries in Japanese of Chinese classical literature] 18 }}</ref>

<ref name=gulik>{{cite book|last=Gulik |first=Willem R. van |title=Irezumi: The Pattern of Dermatography in Japan |publisher=Brill |year=1982 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yuMUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA247 |page=247}}</ref>

<ref name=landers>{{cite book|last=Landers|first=James |author-link= |title=Readings in Classical Chinese: with notes and translations |publisher=SMC Publishing (Nantian shuju) 南天書局 |year=1992 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ORsRAAAAYAAJ |page=15|isbn=9789576381263 }}</ref> <ref name=minakata-zuihitsu>{{cite book|last=Kumagusu |first=Minakata |author-link=Minakata Kumagusu |chapter=Suppon to kaminari |script-chapter=ja:鼈と雷 |trans-chapter=Soft-shelled turtle and lightning) |title=Minakata zuihitsu |script-title=ja:南方随筆 |publisher=Oka Shoin|year=1926 |chapter-url=http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/981769/168 |page=306}}</ref>

<ref name=liji-zhengyi12>{{cite wikisource|author=Kong Yingda |author-link=Kong Yingda |others=Zheng Xuan 鄭玄, annot. |chapter=Book 12 |script-title=zh:禮記正義 |title=Liji zhengyi |year= |wslink=zh:禮記正義/12 |edition= |chapter-url= |quotation=Zhengyi says, considering the ''Han shu'' ''Dili zhi'' (Geography treatise)'s text that the Yue people crop their hair and tattoo their bodies, thus averting harm from ''jiaolong'', etc. {{lang|zh|正義曰：按《漢書•地理志》文，越俗斷髮文身，以辟蛟龍之害，故刻其肌，以丹青涅之}}}}</ref>

<ref name=mather>{{cite book|author=Liu Yiqing |translator=Richard B. Mather |title=Shih-shuo Hsin-yu: A New Account of Tales of the World |edition=Second |publisher=University of Michigan Press |year=2017 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FEo_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA341 |pages=341–|isbn=978-1-938-93701-9}}</ref>

<ref name=mori>{{cite book|last=Mōri |first=Hisashi |author-link=|title=Nihon butsuzōshi kenkyū |script-title=ja:日本佛像史研究 |publisher=Hōzōkan|year=1980|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uowEAAAAMAAJ |page=96|quotation=}}</ref>

<ref name=needham>{{citation|last=Needham |first=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Needham |title=Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1971 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l6TVhvYLaEwC&pg=PA677 |page=677|isbn=9780521070607 }}</ref>

<ref name=parpola>{{citation|last=Parpola |first=Asko |author-link=:en:Asko Parpola |title=Crocodile in the Indus Civilization and later South Asian traditions|editor-last1=Osada |editor-first1=Toshiki |editor-link1= |editor-last2=Endo |editor-first2=ToshikiHitoshi |editor-link2=|work=Linguistics, Archaeology and the Human Past |year=2011 |location=Kyoto, Japan |publisher=Research Institute for Humanity and Nature 人間文化研究機構総合地球環境学研究所 | series=Occasional Paper 12 |url=https://www.harappa.com/sites/default/files/pdf/Parpola_Asko_2011._Crocodile_in_the_Indu.pdf |page=|isbn=978-4-902325-67-6}}</ref>

<ref name=piya-jiao>{{cite wikisource|author= |author-link= |chapter=Book 1 "jiao" |script-chapter=zh:卷01「蛟」 |script-title=zh:埤雅 (四庫全書本) |title=Piya (Siku Quanshu edition) |year= |wslink=zh:埤雅 (四庫全書本)/卷01#蛟 |edition= |chapter-url= |quotation=}}</ref>

<ref name=qimin-yaoshu>{{cite wikisource |author=Jia Sixie 賈思勰 |author-link= |chapter=Book 6 |title=Qimin Yaoshu |script-title=zh:齊民要術 |wslink=zh:齊民要術/卷第六 |edition= |quotation= }}</ref>

<ref name=reed>{{cite journal|last=Reed |first=Carrie Elizabeth |author-link= |title= Early Chinese Tattoo |journal=Sino-Platonic Papers |volume=120 |number=103 |date=June 2000a |pages=1–52 [7] |url=http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp103_chinese_tattoo.pdf}} {{*}}{{cite journal|last=Reed |first=Carrie E. |author-link= |title=Tattoo in Early China |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=120 |number=3 |date=Jul–Sep 2000b |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gzxMAAAAYAAJ |pages=360–376 [362] |doi=10.2307/606008 |jstor=606008|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

<ref name=roesch>{{cite book|last=Rösch |first=Petra |author-link=|title=Chinese Wood Sculptures of the 11th to 13th centuries|publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NmEZBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA116 |pages=116–117 |isbn=978-3-83825-662-7}}</ref>

<ref name=sanguozhi-wei30>{{cite wikisource|author= |author-link= |chapter=Book of Wei 30 |script-chapter=zh:魏書三十 |title=Sanguo zhi |script-title=zh:三國志 |trans-title=Records of the Three Kingdoms |year= |wslink=zh:三國志/卷30#倭人 |edition= |chapter-url= |quotation=}}</ref>

<ref name=senbo>{{citation|last=Senbō |first=Sachiko 先坊幸�� |author-link= |title=Chūgoku koshosetsu yakuchū: Zoku sseikaiki |script-title=zh:中国古小説訳注 : 『續齊諧記』 |journal=Studies of Chinese Literature of the Middle Age |number=59 |publisher=Hiroshima University |date=2011-09-20 |url=http://dl.ndl.go.jp/view/download/digidepo_10504857_po_ART0010137999.pdf?contentNo=1 |pages=80–120}}</ref>

<ref name=shanhaijing1southern-III>{{cite wikisource|author= |author-link= |chapter=Part III |script-title=zh:山海經/中山經 |title=Shanhaijing /Zhongshanjing |year= |wslink=zh:山海經/中山經#南次三經 |edition= |chapter-url= |quotation=}}</ref>

<ref name=shanhaijing5central-XI>{{cite wikisource|author= |author-link= |chapter=Part XI |script-title=zh:山海經/中山經 |title=Shanhaijing /Zhongshanjing |year= |wslink=zh:山海經/中山經#中次一十一經 |edition= |chapter-url= |quotation=}}</ref>

<ref name=shanhaijing5central-guo-pu-comm>{{cite wikisource|author= |author-link= |chapter=Wu Renchen's commentaries on Classic of Central Mountains XI |script-chapter=zh:吳任臣注中山經: 中次一十一 |script-title=zh:山海經廣注 (四庫全書本)/卷05 |title=Shanhaijing guangzhu expanded commentaries (Siku Quanshu edition)/Book 5 |year=1782 |origyear= |wslink=zh:山海經廣注 (四庫全書本)/卷05 |edition= |chapter-url= |quotation={{lang|zh|郭曰似蛇而四脚小頭細頸頸有白癭大者十數圍卵如一二石甕能吞人}}}}</ref>

<ref name=shanhaijing-strassberg>{{cite book|editor-last=Strassberg |editor-first=Richard E. |editor-link= |chapter=Six-headed bird (liushouniao) 六首鳥 and jiao-dragon (jiao) 蛟|title=A Chinese Bestiary: Strange Creatures from the ''Guideways Through Mountains and Seas'' |publisher=University of California Press |year=2018 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fnpFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA195 |page=195 |isbn=978-0-52029-851-4}}</ref>

<ref name=shanhaijing-jianshu>{{cite book|editor=Hao Yixing |editor-link=Hao Yixing |editor2=Guo Pu |editor-link2=Guo Pu |chapter=Shanhaijing Book 1 |title=Shanhaijin jianshu |script-title=zh:山海經箋疏 |trans-title=Guideways through the Mountains and Seas with supplementary commentary |place=Yangzhou |publisher=Langhuan xianguan 琅嬛僊館 |year=1809 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xvRTAAAAcAAJ&pg=PP28 |page=10|language=zh|quotation=}}</ref>

<ref name=shuowen-jiezi>{{cite wikisource |author=Xu Shen 許慎 |author-link=Xu Shen |chapter=Book 13 |title=Shuowen jiezi |script-title=zh:說文解字卷十三 |year= |wslink=zh:說文解字/13 |edition= |chapter-url= }}</ref>

<ref name=sima-qian-ed-nienhauser>{{cite book|author=Ssu-Ma Ch'ien (Sima Qian) |author-link=Sima Qian |editor-last=Nienhauser |editor-first=William H. Jr. |editor-link=William H. Nienhauser Jr. |translator1=Weiguo Cao |translator2=Scott W. Galer |translator3=William H. Nienhauser |translator4=David W. Pankenier |title=The Grand Scribe's Records |volume=2 |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=1994 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x14nnLsLoAEC&pg=PR17 |isbn=0-25334-022-5}}, p. xvii (compare texts), p. 1 and note 4 (''jiaolong'' translated as "kraken").</ref>

<ref name=shuijingzhu37>{{cite wikisource |author=Li Daoyuan 酈道元 |author-link=Li Daoyuan |chapter=Book 37 |title=Shui Jing Zhu (Siku Quanshu edition) |script-title=zh:水經注釋 (四庫全書本) |year= |wslink=zh:水經注釋 (四庫全書本)/卷37 |edition= |chapter-url= |quotation=}}</ref>

<ref name=taylor>{{cite journal|last=Taylor |first=K. W. |author-link= |title=Perceptions of Encounter in Shui Ching Chu 37 |journal=Asia Journal |volume=2 |number=1 |year=1995 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QF9tAAAAMAAJ |pages=42 |quotation=}} {{JSTOR|43105705}}</ref>

<ref name=teng>{{cite book|last=Teng |first=Jun |title=The History of Sino-Japanese Cultural Exchange |publisher=Routledge |year=2018|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_gB-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT54 |page=54 |isbn=978-1-351-26910-0}}</ref>

<ref name=wang2015>{{cite journal|last=Wang |first=Huaiyu |author-link= |title=The Chinese totem of dragon and the greek myth of oedipus: a comparative psychoanalytic study |journal=International Communication of Chinese Culture |volume=2 |number=3 |year=2015 |pages=259–283|doi=10.1007/s40636-015-0025-y |doi-access=free }}</ref>

<ref name=wang-chuci-zhangju-1-lisao>{{cite wikisource|last=Wang |first=Yi |author-link=Wang Yi (librarian) |chapter=Book 1 |title=Chuchi zhangju |script-title=zh:楚辭章句卷01|year= |wslink=zh:楚辭章句/卷01 |edition= |chapter-url= |quotation={{lang|zh|【麾蛟龍使梁津兮，】舉手曰麾。小曰蛟，大曰龍。}}}}</ref>

<ref name=xuanshi-zhi-05>{{cite wikisource|author=Zhang Du 張讀 |author-link= |chapter=Book 1 卷05|title=Xuanshi zhi (Siku Quanshu edition) |script-title=zh:宣室志 (四庫全書本)|year=1777 |wslink=zh:宣室志 (四庫全書本)/卷05 |edition= |chapter-url= |quotation=}}</ref>

<ref name=yiqiejing_yinyi5.9>{{cite book |author=Xuanying |author-link=Yiqiejing yinyi (Xuanying) |chapter=Ch. 9. Banzhou sanmei jing |script-chapter=zh:般舟三昧經 |title=Yiqiejing yinyi Book 5 |script-title=zh:一切經音義卷第五 |year=c. 649 |chapter-url=http://tls.uni-hd.de/xuanying.html#zhongjing_yinyi-5.2.9 |quotation=Jialong: in Sanskrit guanpiluo, pronounced jiao. Scaled ones are called ''jiao'' dragon. ''Baopuzi'': mother dragons are called ''jiao'', dragon offspring [or dragonets] are called ''qiu''. Its form is like unto a fish's body with a snake's tail; its skin is [studded] with pearl[y beads] {{lang|zh|蛟龍: 梵言宮毗羅，音交。有鱗曰蛟龍。《抱朴子》曰：母龍曰蛟，龍子曰虯。其狀魚身如蛇尾，皮有珠。}} }}{{Dead link|date=February 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>

<ref name=yiqiejing_yinyi13.52>{{cite book |author=Xuanying 玄應 |author-link=Yiqiejing yinyi (Xuanying) |chapter=Ch. 52. Modengqie 摩登伽經 |title=Yiqiejing yinyi Book 13 |script-title=zh:一切經音義卷第五 |year=c. 649 |chapter-url=http://tls.uni-hd.de/xuanying.html#zhongjing_yinyi-5.52.2 |quotation= |archive-date=2018-01-14 |access-date=2019-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114134124/http://tls.uni-hd.de/xuanying.html#zhongjing_yinyi-5.52.2 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name=zhao-on-wei>{{cite book|author=Zhao Lu |title=In Pursuit of the Great Peace: Han Dynasty Classicism and the Making of Early Medieval Literati Culture |publisher=SUNY Press |year=2019 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AumaDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA230 |page=230 note 43|isbn=978-1-43847-493-9}}</ref>

}}

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==External links== *[http://www.chineseetymology.org/CharacterASP/CharacterEtymology.aspx?characterInput=%E8%9B%9F&submitButton1=Etymology {{lang|zh|蛟}} entry], Chinese Etymology *[http://www.kangxizidian.com/kangxi/1081.gif {{lang|zh|蛟}} entry page], 1716 CE Kangxi Dictionary *[http://tiscsvr.tbroc.gov.tw/en/photo.asp?phrfnbr=5992 Flood Dragon Waterfall] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005025716/http://tiscsvr.tbroc.gov.tw/en/photo.asp?phrfnbr=5992 |date=2011-10-05 }}, Alishan National Scenic Area

Category:Chinese dragons Category:Creatures described in the Classic of Mountains and Seas