Dragon Motif and Concept in the Iranian and Chinese Textures (With an Emphasis on Safavid Era in Iran and the late Ming and Early Qing Eras in China)

The Iranian textures in the Safavid era are associated with some phenomena such as symbolism and myth. These textures contain some motifs that indicate the beliefs and ideas of the Iranian people, and these motifs have preserved the concepts over time. The dragon is one of these symbolic motifs whose presence can be traced back to the oldest literary sources in Iran's history. Dragon is referred to as a symbol of evil everywhere. On the other hand, China is the land of dragons and their motif is actively present in Chinese arts. This study is an attempt to compare the Dragon form and concept in the Iranian and Chinese textures. This is a descriptive and analytic study and aims to answer the following questions: 1- what is the concept and form of dragon in the Iranian and Chinese textures. 2- What are the similarities and difference between dragons role in the Iranian and Chinese culture? The presence of dragon in the Iranian textures is usually associated with concepts such as battle, good and evil, light and darkness, and it is sometimes interpreted as a gathering of animals in the wild. In the Iranian textures, Dragon is a creature that must be fought in order to come to light and the victory of the hero somehow depends on killing the dragon. This is a symbolic battle of good and evil which is frequently observed in the textures of the Safavid era. Dragon is mostly observed in conflict or confrontation contexts and has an ophidian and defensive form, whereas, dragons, in the Chinese culture, refers to power and emperor. Considering the differences between symbolic concepts of dragon in China and Iran, there are definitely many examples of discrepancy between the Iranian and Chinese textures.