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The year 2012 is also the Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese lunar calendar. The mighty and mythical creature appears in many legends and fairytales around the world. However, different cultures produced various types of dragons with distinctive features. The Chinese dragon is a far different beast from its Western counterparts.
In all the cultures, the dragon combines parts from different animals, such as a snake's body and large, powerful claws. Sometimes, it has features such as a strong body covered with scales, a head with horns or ruffles, sharp teeth and a long tail. Most of the Western dragons have wings and breathe fire.
"Drache" means "dragon" in German. It is derived from "draco" in Latin and "drakon" in Greek, which both mean "snake." In the Western cultures, Dragon is regarded as an evil being, a destroyer and a transmitter of disasters, making it the enemy of everything in the world. The dragons are always killed by brave heroes in Western folktales.
In North European and the Germanic Culture, dragon-slayer Siegfried is such a hero. In "The Song of the Nibelungs," an epic poem in Middle High German, he killed a dragon and then bathed in its blood, which rendered him invulnerable.
However, the Chinese dragon is an auspicious creature. In the ancient times, the dragon was the symbol of imperial power. Even today, as a magical creature beloved by the people, it still represents wealth, wisdom, success, power and good fortune. Chinese people proudly claim that they are the descendants of the dragon. The dragon also often appears in the publications of Western media as the symbol of China.
In fact, dragons have become positive characters in many Western music dramas and children literary works, such as Tabaluga, a cartoon character created by German Rock musician Peter Maffay, and Grisu, a young dragon in an Italian story.
Nowadays, most Europeans understand that dragon is a lucky creature in China, and it is one of the 12 Chinese Zodiac Signs. Chinese dragon is kind, friendly and even humorous, instead of a harbinger of evil and misfortune.
(China.org.cn by Xu Lin February 7, 2012)
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2012年是中國農歷的龍年。龍是神話中的強大生物，在全世界流傳著很多關于龍的故事和傳說。然而，在不同文化中，龍的特征有著明顯的區別。中國龍與西方龍就是兩種完全不同的生物。
所有文化中的龍都是多種動物的集合體，比如蛇的身軀和威力巨大的爪子。有時候，它擁有強壯的軀干、鋒利的牙齒和長長的尾巴，身披鱗片，頭上長著角或皺褶。西方文化中的龍大多肋生雙翅，并且會噴火。
德語中的“龍”（drache）來源于拉丁語中的“draco”以及希臘語中的“drakon”，這兩個詞的本義都是“蛇”。在西方文化中，龍被看作是一種邪惡的生物；它毀滅一切、傳播災難，是世間萬物的大敵。在西方民間故事中，惡龍最終都會被勇敢的英雄殺死。
在日耳曼和北歐文化中，屠龍者齊格弗里德就是這樣一個大英雄。在中古高地德語史詩《尼伯龍根之歌》中，他殺死了一頭巨龍，并以龍血沐浴，從此刀槍不入。
但在中國，龍是一種吉祥的生物。在中國古代，龍被視為皇權的象征。直到現在，龍仍然是備受尊崇的神物，代表著財富、智慧、成功、權力以及幸運。中國人自豪地宣稱他們是龍的子孫。西方媒體也經常把龍用作中國的標志。
事實上，西方已經有許多音樂劇和兒童文學作品開始選擇龍作為正面的角色，比如德國搖滾歌手彼得?曼菲創作的音樂劇《綠色小神龍Tabaluga》，還有意大利兒童文學作品中的小龍Grisu。
如今，大多數歐洲人都知道龍在中國是一種吉祥的生物，也知道龍是中國的十二生肖之一。在這個背景下，中國龍不再被視為邪惡和災難的象征，而是被看作善良、友好，甚至有趣的存在。
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