교 (중국 신화)

SerpentChina · East AsiaLegendFear 9/10

Description

A serpent from the folklore of China. Jiaolong (traditional Chinese: 蛟龍; simplified Chinese: 蛟龙; pinyin: jiāolóng; Wade–Giles…

Origin & Background

Jiaolong (蛟龍) is a creature derived from Chinese mythology, often defined as a 'scaled dragon.' Some scholars suggest that this creature may have originated from a non-mythological source in the south, and ancient texts record that the people of the Yue (月族) tattooed their bodies to protect themselves from this monster.

The Legend

Jiaolong is described as a serpent-like creature that lives in water or rivers and is often said to prey on humans. According to legend, Jiaolong is considered the god of aquatic creatures, and when fish reach a number of 3,600, Jiaolong is said to appear as their leader. Additionally, Jiaolong is sometimes translated as 'flood dragon,' and its appearance was believed to cause floods.

Variants

Jiaolong is referred to by various names in different texts. For example, in the 11th-century Piya dictionary, 'maban (馬絆)' is recorded as the common name for Jiaolong. Furthermore, Jiaolong is claimed to be equivalent to the Sanskrit 'kumbhīra,' which means 'crocodile.'

In Popular Culture

In modern popular culture, Jiaolong appears in various forms. For instance, the name of the deep-sea submersible created in 2010 is Jiaolong, and the Chinese title of the 2025 film 'Operation Hadal' is also derived from Jiaolong.

This article is based on the Wikipedia article "Jiaolong" (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikipedia