Love it! – This was my reaction after reading the text. This folktale from China is indeed an interesting one. Perhaps this interest has got something to do with the fact that I am a Dragon myself (Oops…I do not mean to brag). Every folktale is closely related to the culture of a certain group of people. Therefore when we introduce this story to the class, we bring together the culture of the Chinese to the students. It is known that in early generations, beliefs and values are passed from forefathers to their descendants through stories. In this story, we learn about the significance of animal symbols to the Chinese community particularly the Turtle and the Dragon.
Dragons are mystical creatures that symbolise strength, power and good luck. I know this fact before reading the story but I cannot say the same for the Turtle. This is because the Turtle is not one of the twelve animal signs in the Chinese horoscope. Personally , I have always been interested in the Chinese horoscope though I must admit I am guilty of vanity (I am a Dragon. I doubt I would be interested if I am a Pig). And yes, I will only read the good part because it is good to know and it helps me to be more optimistic in life. Everyone needs every little hope that they can find to keep them going, don’t they? But when I lost my temper I can always blame the fact that I am a fire dragon! How cool is that?
Before reading the story, my existing knowledge about the Turtle is that it is shy, slow and patient. At the beginning part of the story, I thought that the Turtle must be a bad omen and that was why the nobleman did not think twice about killing it. Besides, it deceived the maiden by disguising as a handsome youth. The son of the Turtle spirit however turned out to be a good boy. He was an obedient son as well as full of confidence and determination. His action of putting his father’s bones into the dragon’s mouth and hanging the rich man’s grandfather on the dragon’s horns had brought good luck and fortune to his future. Therefore, after I finished reading the story I believe that both the Turtle and the Dragon bring good luck and fortune and that is the message in the folktale.
To validate my point, I did some research on the Internet about the symbol of the Turtle in Chinese community. I was happy to find that I did not deviate from the true message in the story. There are many interesting facts that can be found about both the Turtle and the Dragon. For instance, according to the Chinese belief, the Turtle is actually one of the divine animals along with the Dragon, Phoenix and the Chimera. However, they believe that there is a spirit in the Turtle. Therefore, they cannot rashly kill a turtle without a proper ceremony. To the Chinese, the Turtle is sacred and symbolises longevity, power and tenacity. In feng-shui, the dragon-headed turtle is believed to bring good luck and protection. Even today, most Chinese still believe in these two important animal symbols. Else, people would not still be all hyped out about having babies in Dragon years!
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