What is the difference between east and west dragons?

Iirc shrek's donkey mating companion is western dragon

 

Why?

 

Eastern Dragons are deities, able to control heaven and earth.
Western Dragons are powerful beasts, not-so-smart and definitely not almighty.

 

u know Shen Long can grant wishes right?
find a western dragon....they seem more comfortable acting as taxi(Eragon series)

 

Ryu, Wyvern, Dragon. 3 versions. In JP sometimes refferred by 3 kanji for ryu

 

yup this is my answer

 

Cuz, slim, snake-like, majestic dragon with immortal sages riding on their head is way cooler than fat lizard eating helpless villager

 

Guys! it's time to play Skyrim and watch the movie Hobbit/Lord of the Rings. And differ them to wuxia world in movies and games combined.

 

Kinda idiotic but oh well.... loots from eastern dragon does have scales used for armor...wester does have dragon skin for material

 

Eastern dragon has narrow eyes and rob you of your gold
Western dragon shout about freedom then scorch you in the name of democracy

 

And there are the wyverns and "drakes".

 

Here's a mockumentary from Animal Planet about the (plausible) evolution of dragons in a parallel universe where they actually exist...
From the subspecies that we know(wyverns, drakes) to the east and west dragons that is the topic of this thread... i loved this when I was a kid.

 

I don't know why you think that? Quetzalcoatl was basically a god-king, and he's a western dragon. Tiamat was literally existence itself - western dragon. The world serpent was a western dragon, and it was equal to Thor.

 

The only difference seems to be the type of reptile that share similarities. Eastern Dragons are serpentine based while Western Dragons are lizard based. Both have the same tendencies and habits. I suppose it all depends on perspective

 

Forgive my ignorance, but aren't the western dragons that mostly depicted as greedy creatures and crave for gold?

 

Generally, the dragon of the west often gets portrayed as the stupid beast that the knight defeat.
While the dragon of the east would be the symbol of divinity and pride.

 

The only real difference is the myths and legends that surround them and the difference between fear and reverence (Western culture they feared them, eastern culture they revered them) , you cannot honestly expect a stone age culture to actually describe what they are seeing. Without adding gods daemon angel something intangible to better explain to other people in that culture what they have seen. But at the end of the day chances are all they were really looking was most probably dinosaur bones.

P.S: When you fear something you often insult and put it down so that it appeared far less terrifying, a easier bullet to swallow, which is worse calling them dumb stupid lizards or saying the dragon is a evil terrifying monster that is 10x smarter and more powerful then you, capable of hunting and killing you no matter where you run to, where you hide what army you bring forth in a era where superstition and fear reigned supreme.

 

if you read a asian novel, they will tell that eastern is more powerful (maybe cause its eastern novel??), if western novel, to tell the truth I have never seen eastern dragon in western novels. The only reference I can think of is in genesis (chapter 1 I think?), the talking snake.

 

When you speak of eastern dragons note that there are the many different types depending on the country.

Chinese and Japanese are the most widely known Eastern dragons and share many similar characteristics. Both are strongly associated with water and weather. Streamline serpent - like with clawed limbs. Both are believed to be highly intelligent and often wise. Note that many can assume human form.

Chinese dragons are considered deities and aside from the famous 4 Dragon Emperors that oversee the rain, every permanent body of water is said to have a deity, often a dragon.

Japanese dragons are also associated with weather, but storms and thunder/lightning are more their thing.

Western dragons too can be divided mainly into European and Mayan/Incan dragons.

European dragons tend toward the classical fire breathing winged lizard. In most cases they were described as a beast and were less intelligent.

The Mayan/Incan dragon was technically an incarnation of a deity, a feathered serpent. It didn't breath fire, was highly intelligent and wise.

You could probably go on and on as many cultures have something similar to a dragon. Which was better would depend on the story.

 

They're really not very similar creatures at all. Aside from their physical differences, they're also regarded very differently in mystical terms. Western dragons are traditionally monsters to be defeated, and have an affinity towards Satan. One of the best examples of this can be seen in the story of St. George and the Dragon.

In China, dragons are a creature of the heavens, with power over rivers and oceans. More significantly, the emperor is referred to as a "true dragon"; being the connection between heaven and earth. As such, Chinese dragons are revered, and wearing dragons on one's clothing is restricted to the emperor and the crown prince.