Chinese years are named according to the twelve zodiac (生肖) animals. But what do we call this year, the Year of the Dragon or the Year of Long? The Chinese dragon, or Long, is a mythical animal. It's made up of the parts of nine animals. It's said that the Chinese dragon can fly and has the magical power to control wind and rain.
Of all the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, Long is one of people's favorites. That's because it has many good meanings, such as power and good luck. When people name newborn babies, "龙," the character for Long, is popular. It is hoped that they will grow up to be as strong and energetic as a dragon.
As we see in movies, the Western dragon has the body of a big snake, the huge wings of bats, and strong and sharp claws. It is usually a bad character in stories to be beaten by heroes.
According to written records, Long was first translated as "dragon" in The Travels of Marco Polo in 1299. Since Long is similar to the Western dragon in some ways—both are huge, for example— "dragon" may have been the best word to describe Long at that time. But it's very different from all the meanings that Long has in Chinese culture. In a way, it can confuse (迷惑) Westerners.
The discussion on whether it's right to translate Long as "dragon" has been going on for many years. Some think it is unacceptable. Others consider it reasonable to understand the idea of Long by calling it a dragon. China is the home to Long and there aren't any expressions for Long in Western languages. Therefore, they argue, it's just a good idea to borrow the word "dragon" to describe it.
In recent years, some people have come up with better ways to translate Long. For example, Loong Air (长龙航空) writes Long as Loong. The word is similar to the pinyin for the character "龙" and is easy for Westerners to pronounce.
No matter which way Long is translated, we must know that the Chinese dragon is a warm and joyful image (形象). It's very different from the Western dragon. We should always try to explain Long clearly so that Westerners won't get lost in the translation.
