Jiaolong

The jiao character combines the "insect radical" , to provide general sense of insects, reptiles or dragons, etc., and the right radical jiao "cross; mix", etc. which supplies the phonetic element "jiao". The original pictograph represented a person with crossed legs. The Japanese equivalent term is . The Vietnamese equivalent is giao long, considered synonymous to Vietnamese ''''. Synonyms The Piya dictionary (11th century) claims that its common name was maban (). Semantics In textual usage, it may be ambiguous whether jiaolong should be parsed as two kinds of dragons or one, as Prof. Zhang Jing (known in Japan as ) comments: "It is difficult to determine whether jiaolong is the name of a type of dragon, or [two dragons] "jiao" and "long" juxtaposed 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. Visser translated this as one type of dragon, the jiaolong or kiao-lung. 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. Translations Since the Chinese word for the generic dragon is long (), translating jiao as "dragon" is problematic as it would make it impossible to distinguish which of the two is being referred to. The term jiao has thus been translated as "flood dragon" (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), Jiao eggs are about the size of a jar of 1 or 2 capacity in Chinese volume measurement, according to Guo Pu's commentary; The jiao did eventually metamorphose into a form built to fly, according to 's ("Records of Strange Things"), which said that "a water snake (hui ) after 500 years transforms into a jiao (); a jiao after a millennium into a dragon (long), a long after 500 years a horned dragon (), a horned dragon after a millennium into a yinglong (a winged dragon)". General descriptions The hujiao or "tiger jiao" 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). 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". Aquatic nature Several texts allude to the jiao being the lord of aquatic beings. The jiaolong is called the "god of the water animals". 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". However, "if you place a fish trap in the water, the jiao will leave". Jiao and jiaolong were names for a legendary river dragon. Jiao is sometimes translated as "flood dragon". The (c. 1105 CE) Yuhu qinghua Carr says people in the southern state of Wu called it fahong "swell into a flood" because they believed flooding resulted when jiao hatched. The poem Qijian ("Seven Remonstrances") in the Chu Ci uses the term shuijiao or water jiao. Hornlessness The Shuowen Jiezi does not commit to whether the jiāo has or lacks a horn. The Shiyiji (4th century CE) has a jiao story about Emperor Zhao of Han (r. 87-74 BCE). While fishing in the Wei River, he ...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 to make a condiment of it. Its flesh was purple, its bones were blue, and its taste was very savoury and pleasant. Three classical texts (Liji 6, Huainanzi 5, and Lüshi Chunqiu 6) repeat a sentence about capturing water creatures at the end of summer; "attack the jiao , take the to "alligator", present the gui "tortoise", and take the yuan "soft-shell turtle"." 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; ) leaves and tied with color strings, which are two things the dragons abhor. Southern origins It has been suggested that the jiao is not a creature of origin, but something introduced from the Far South or culture, which encompasses the people of the ancient Yue state), as well as the Hundred Yue people. == 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. As noted the Compendium of Materia Medica identifies jiao with Sanskrit , i.e., kumbhīra which denotes a long-snouted crocodylid. The 19th-century herpetologist Albert-Auguste Fauvel concurred, stating that jiaolong referred to a crocodile or gavial clade of animals. The Compendium also differentiates between jiaolong and tuolong , Fauvel adding that tuolong () should be distinguished as "alligator". Fossil creatures Fauvel noted that the jiao resembled the dinosaur genus Iguanodon, adding that fossil teeth were being peddled by Chinese medicine shops at the time(1879:8). Sharks and rays In the foregoing example of the huijiao in the "Classic of the Southern Mountains" III, the 19th-century sinologist treated this a type of dragon, the "tiger kiao", while a modern translator as "tiger-crocodile". However, there is also an 18–19th-century opinion that this might have been a shark. A Qing dynasty period commentator, suggested that huijiao should be identified as jiaocuo described in the Bowuzhi , and this jiaocuo in turn is considered to be a type of shark. As in the above example jiao may be substituted for jiao "shark" in some contexts. The jiao denotes larger sharks and rays, the character for sharks (and rays) in general being sha , so-named ostensibly due to their skin being gritty and sand-like Compare the supposed quote from the Baopuzi, where it is stated that the jialong is said to have "pearls in the skin" . 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. == Derivative names ==

Usage Jiaolong occurs in Chinese toponyms. For example, the highest waterfall in Taiwan is Jiaolong Dapu (), "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 () from this creature. ==See also==