1. A look at dragons in Chinese culture

2. Chinese Dragons in Public Places: Sculptures/Architecture Many times sculptures of dragons were erected in public places for specific purposes… What might those purposes be??

3. Bronze Sculpture of Chinese Dragon at Temple Of Heaven, Beijing

4. Nine Dragon Wall: Beijing, China A very popular tourist site in Beijing is this Nine-Dragon Wall. After hundreds of years, the colors of the ceramic tiles are just as brilliant. The wall was built in 1756. It is 21m long, about 15m high and i.2m thick. It is faced with 424 7-color ceramic tiles. The wall was built to conceal the palace of a Ming Dynasty prince. The palace burned down but the wall remains The main body of the wall was engraved with nine huge dragons, and each dragon is playing with a unique jewelry ball. The dragons were painted in different colors with three dimension visual appearance, and were handcrafted with the highest level of workmanship. At the center of the wall, there is a giant dragon, flanged by four dragons on each side. In addition to these nine large dragons, the wall is covered from edge to edge with many smaller dragons. In all, there are 635 dragons.

5. Black Dragon At Entrance To Long Tan, Beijing

6. Protected Chinese Dragon Sculpture on Plinth at Summer Palace, Beijing

7. Chinese Dragon Sculpture in Korea

8. Decorative Dragons

9. Stoneware, Wine Jar, Ming Dynasty, early 16-th century

10. Porcelain Vase, Chia Ching reign (1532-1455)

11. The "100 boys" jacket of Empress Xiao Jing

12. Dragon robe silk Chuba, Qing Dynasty (17-th century). Metropolitan Museum, New York

13. Chinese Dragon Paintings

14. Flying Dragon, 26" x 26", Artist: Chan Da Bei

15. Golden Dragon and Flaming Pearl of Good Fortune, 26" x 51", Artist: Huang Rong Yu

16. A little bit more on the Chinese New Year… January 26, 2009 Dragon dances are performed at the Chinese New Year with dragon puppets. It is believed that the loud beats of the drum and the cymbals together with the face of the dragon dancing aggressively can scare away bad or evil spirits. During the dance the performers hold poles and raise and lower the Dragon. The puppets vary in length but the longer ones are said to be more lucky than the shorter ones.

17. So… Why is it important for us to learn about different cultures? How does it affect our relationships others? How does it help us better understand ourselves?

18. Enduring Understandings Learning, sharing and exploring different cultures helps create tolerance and acceptance Understanding our difference can lead to healthy relationships Examining your own culture can help you better understand yourself

19. Finally! It is now time to make our own dragon puppets… HAVE FUN!