The dragon is the national totem of Vietnam.
From ancient times to the present, allusions related to dragons have been widely spread among Vietnamese people. The oldest legend about dragons is the "son of the dragon and the grandson of the immortal".
According to legend, in ancient times, King Raccoon Dragon, the son of King Jingyang, was good at walking freely in the water. After Lord Raccoon Dragon succeeded to the throne, he met the fairy Ou Ji and got married. One year later, Ouji gave birth to hundreds of eggs, which turned into hundreds of boys. Each of these one hundred boys is wise and brave, and is supported by the people. Raccoon Dragon Lord lives in the water for a long time, while Ouji lives on the shore with a hundred children. One day, Lord Raccoon Dragon said to Ouji: "I am a dragon and you are an immortal. We are incompatible with water and fire, so it is difficult for us to get along." So Lord Raccoon Dragon returned to Shuifu with his 50 sons, and Ouji lived with her remaining 50 sons. In Fengzhou (now in Phu Tho Province in northern Vietnam), the Wenlang Kingdom was established, and the eldest son was respected as the king. The throne of the Hung King is passed down from father to son, and from son to grandson, from generation to generation. The civil servants of Wenlang were called Raccoon Hous, and the military officers were called Raccoon Generals. At that time, some people were injured by dragons in the water while fishing. After learning about this, the Hung King ordered the fishermen to tattoo the image of the dragon king on their bodies, and also ordered them to use ink to tattoo the image of the water monster on their bodies. From then on, the dragons would not see them anymore. Bite. To this day, Vietnamese people still continue the habit of tattooing, and some Vietnamese young people also choose dragons as tattoo patterns.
The Son of the Dragon is a romantic love myth and a beautiful legend about the origin of the Vietnamese nation. In addition, there are numerous Vietnamese place names related to dragons such as "Dragon City" and "Dragon River". Halong Bay in northern Vietnam is a famous world natural heritage. "Halong" means dragon descending from the sky. The Mekong River Delta in the south is Vietnam's land of fish and rice. The winding rivers rush into the sea like nine dragons, so Vietnamese people are accustomed to calling the Mekong River Delta the "Nine Dragons Plain." Hanoi, the capital, is over a thousand years old. 1,000 years ago, Taizu of the Li Dynasty of Vietnam moved the capital here and renamed it "Thang Long". A rising dragon is a flying dragon, and Li Taizu hoped that his dynasty would soar like a giant dragon.
According to research by Vietnamese scholars, the image of the Vietnamese dragon is abstracted based on the images of animals such as crocodiles and snakes. In different historical periods, the image of the dragon will be different, and it can be seen in the sculptures and paintings of each period.
As time goes by, although the appearance of the dragon has changed, the supreme and eternal meaning given to it has always remained unchanged. Compared with other animals in the Chinese zodiac, Vietnamese people have a special liking for dragons. Nowadays, many Vietnamese people still like to name their boys with the word "dragon". In addition, whether they are officials or businessmen, they will often place a dragon sculpture on their desk to pray for a smooth career and prosperous wealth.