Analysis

After reading the texts from Shanameh and Beowulf, as well as observing the manuscript, woodcut and hairpin, a picture scroll about the medieval dragon is presented in front of us. It is obvious that dragons from different periods and places have different images and symbolism.

Shanameh is a book from 11th century Persia, a time when the Persians were suffering not only from the brutality of tyrants, but also from Arab invasions. The book is full of thoughts against foreign aggression and brutal rule, and praises the warriors and heroes who are loyal to the motherland, defend the motherland and safeguard the reunification of the motherland. It expresses the Persian people's yearning for a happy life. In my opinion, in order to express these ideas, the author integrated the tyrant and invader in real life into the image of the dragon in the book. There are two reasons for this. First, the dragons in Shanameh are huge and brutal, just like the image of tyrants and invaders in normal Persian people’s eyes. Secondly, these terrible dragons are defeated by a single hero, which is extremely personal heroism, symbolizing the Persian people's desire for a strong righteous hero to defeat tyrants and invaders and save them from their miserable life. Therefore, the dragon in Shanameh is such a horrible, huge and unbeatable monster image.

The Woodcut is from Germany, which records the mythological story of st. George slaying a dragon. The Dragon Slaying of St. George is a typical Christian story which tells St. George destroys the dragon in the name of God and saves the good and beautiful princess. The central idea of the story is that human nature can destroy the beast, that God is serious and dignified and loves the weak, and that the human heart is inherently holy. St George is also regarded as the patron saint of England. Therefore, in order to play a missionary role, in this woodcut, St. George, as the representative of God, is portrayed as brave and handsome, very dignified; As the loser, the dragon, a symbol of evil and animal nature, crouches on the ground, much smaller than the dragon in Shanameh, and looks vulnerable. The creator of this woodcut used this method to well show the justice and power of Christianity and express the idea that justice will triumph over evil.

Different from the above two dragon images, in China, the dragon is not an evil monster, but a divine animal symbolizing dignity and majesty. Different from The European culture, those countries in the Pan-East Asian culture circle, such as Japan, Korea, Vietnam and so on, are similar to Chinese culture and have similar understanding of dragon. In the eyes of The Chinese people, the dragon is a supernatural creature living in the water and clouds in myths and legends. It is the lord of all scales and the master of wind and rain. When moving, it usually hides in the clouds. According to legend, the dragon did not exist at first. The image of Chinese Dragon was formed during the tribal alliance in ancient times that the Yellow Emperor integrated various tribes and cut off part of the totem of each tribe to form a new totem, the dragon. Later, those tribes at that time gradually developed into the present China, and the Chinese people are also called the descendants of the dragon. In Europe, the dragon is generally an evil devil and a symbol of Satan in the Bible. With the increasing influence of Christianity in Europe, the dragon has gradually become an evil creature in the hearts of Europeans. European dragons are more like big lizards with wings, while Chinese dragons are like flying snakes with claws. The Chinese dragon and the European dragon have the same thing in that they are both extremely powerful and have super strength, but the Chinese dragon is a god, while the European dragon is a demon.