Dragon years, myths and the fortunes of nations

DRAGONS are consistently breathtaking creatures of great power in myths around the world, across cultures and geographies. There is, however, a great difference between how dragons are characterized in the West and the East.

We address dragon mythology today not for its literary history, its physical appearance in art, or its fortune-telling aspect but as a reflection and major influencer of the cultural strengths of nations and civilizations.

Importance of culture and nation-building

Great nations begin not just with great persons and a coterie of disciples, but these pioneers must plant a culture that values building beyond one’s lifetime, and this is much influenced by its mythologies. Their myths determine the size of their dreams, their recognition of realities both visible and invisible, how they will engage with their peoples or other cultures, and how they address economic, personal and conflict issues — through resourcefulness or magic, through cooperation or conflict, through fear and subservience, compromise, or confrontations?

So we take occasion on this beginning of the Dragon Year 2024 to begin a chat on this particular myth.

Dragons in the West

In Europe, dragons are creatures that terrorize the population, often firebreathing and creating destruction, representing the forces of evil or obstacles that crush, eat people, burn villages and block key passageways, to be battled by saints and heroes.

From the Bible to the epic tales of knights slaying dragons to the more contemporary fantasy novels and films, such as J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” or George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series, dragons are often depicted as adversaries embodying evil or representing the forces of chaos threatening civilization. In the Game of Thrones series, they are battle steeds much like elephants or horses, but with added powers of flight and the ability to burn.

In the Middle East, in the ancient epic Gilgamesh of ancient Assyria, best friends Enkidu and Gilgamesh go to slay a scalyskinned, fire-breathing, serpentlike creature, Humbaba.

In the Rig Veda of India, the dragon Vritra had to be killed by the god Indra to end a drought. In Iran, dragons were known as “azi” or “serpents,” were creatures “who swallowed horses, who swallowed men…”

Dragons in the East

Some people theorize that perhaps dragon myths grew from remnants of memories or fossils discovered of dinosaurs or great reptiles that still survived in early history. But their mythical nature and attributions of character clearly reflect the popular attitudes of the ethnic and religious groups that are the early transmitters of knowledge for those civilizations and will reflect how they interact with their groups of neighbors.

In East Asian literature and mythology, dragons are generally regarded with more awe and reverence that borders on, but not the same as, fear. They are creatures with symbols of power and fortune; they are messengers that appear in periods to give signs of approval, wisdom, favors, and occasionally warnings and disapproval. They do not eat people or burn towns.

In Chinese “long” and Japanese “ryu” mythology, they were part of the civilization-originating emperors’ partners in building the kingdoms and empires, guardians and advisers, guides to prosperity, not as steeds or engines of war, or adversaries but representing fortune and wisdom. Fear, in this case, is really an awe of the powers of the universe in ruling destinies and judgments on the worthiness of people and beings; it is not the primitive, mindless fear evoked by

European concepts of dragons.

Do these concepts of a powerful being reflect in the way power is viewed and built, the types of ambitions, conflict resolutions and hierarchies of the different societies?

The dragon is, in all mythologies, a vast power that is not created by or under the rule of men.

In many ancient societies, in the West and Middle East, the dragon’s image is so powerful and fearsome. And from some unidentified basis in history, myth, or religion, they create a myth of its harmful, carnivorous, destructive, chaotic nature. Addressing the dragon requires it to be destroyed or subjugated.

In East Asia, the dragon is also a powerful, mysterious, incomprehensible force; however, it is primarily seen to be a source of wonder, respect, and wisdom to be studied as a message-bearer; it represents a powerful natural force that can be destructive if ignored, but also inspirational, regenerative if harnessed.

Today’s dragons

Today, there are many dragons or their equivalents: primal forces from nature or humans, technologies, passions, and disruptions — not easily comprehensible that can be threatening to us, yet every one of them has dimensions as opportunities. By nature, they cannot be controlled, but they can be partially directed like the waves, tides or wind. They can destroy or make irrelevant much of how we live or what we rely on, or we can ride and partner with the new forms of power, efficiency and market providers that they herald.

To ride the changes and cycles, the dragons this year represent the forces of the heavens and earth involved in AI, war, climate change, new technologies, cultural demography trends, interest rates, the rise and fall of personalities, political competition… We need to develop the characteristics of boldness, flexibility and openness, the study of history and the outcomes of choices, the cultivation of networks and friends as well as of rivals — and hone our people’s abilities. We need better education outcomes to reallocate our resources and time from useless bickerings and unstudied decisions, the selection of those of low ability to make major decisions, get our acts together, and build our internal characters as well as collective strengths.

Twin dimensions of the 2024 Year of the Dragon

The Wood Dragon, associated with the year 2024 in the Chinese zodiac, heralds a period marked by growth, renewal, and vitality with adaptability. 2024 holds the promise of new beginnings, opportunities for personal and collective growth, and the potential for innovation and positive transformation. Like all forces and realities, it has twin negative dimensions — growth and renewal, which mean that some things and people will be left, reduced or restructured. There will be pain as well as growth. If we plan for it, we can use it like a tide to bring us in the direction we wish to go.

Will we represent what has been left after a storm or evolve to higher outcomes in our economy, society, government, education, technology, and humanity?

The year encourages us to harness our inner strength and creativity to overcome challenges, embrace change, and execute planned actions faster and better while cultivating harmony and prosperity for ourselves and our nation!

George Siy is the director of the Manila-based think tank IDSI — Integrated Development Studies Institute, which aims to promote pro-Filipino and pro-development viewpoints. He is also a successful industrialist, business and civic society leader, and resource expert. He has assisted the government since the early 2000s, including as an international trade negotiator for the Philippines vis-a-vis Asean, Japan and the USA. He graduated from Wharton Business School and Ateneo de Manila University. He is also the director of various major business chambers.