Can you buy a “real dragon” for 498 yuan?
Recently, Apple’s official store released the OtterBox Lumen series Dragon Year protective case, with product information stating a collaboration with a well-known illustrator and vividly depicting the brave spirit of the dragon.
However, netizens quickly noticed that according to the understanding of “five claws for a dragon, four claws for a python,” the four-claw pattern on the Apple protective case doesn’t really resemble a dragon. And not long after, on the official Apple website, the Dragon Year wallpaper features a dragon designed with five claws.
At this point, the question arises: Does the Apple phone case really “refer to a python as a dragon”? How many claws does a dragon really have?
How many claws does a dragon have?
Historical records show that dragons don’t necessarily have only five claws. Dragons with one claw, two claws, three claws, four claws, and even no claws have all been documented.
An artifact from the late Shang Dynasty, currently housed in the Shanxi Museum, depicts a dragon with an obvious pair of horns on its head but without feet or claws.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, dragons were depicted with or without feet, and if they had feet, they could have claws or not. For example, in the middle of the Warring States Period, the bronze “Four Dragons and Four Phoenixes” design features dragons with three claws on their front two feet. In a later Warring States period silk painting titled “Imperial Figure Riding a Dragon,” the dragon has two claws on its front two feet. A jade artifact from the same period, called “Jade Dragon-shaped Pendant,” depicts a dragon with feet but without claws.
In the Qin and Han Dynasties, dragons were depicted with varying numbers of claws. A three-clawed dragon can be seen on a Qin Dynasty brick with dragon patterns. In a mural from the tomb of the King of Chu in the Western Han Dynasty, a long dragon is depicted with one claw per foot. In an Eastern Han Dynasty stone carving titled “Dragon and Tiger Holding a Disc,” the dragon has four claws.
Starting from the Wei and Jin Dynasties and through the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the image of dragons gradually standardized, with three-clawed dragons becoming more common. The dragon depicted in the Eastern Jin Dynasty’s “Luoshen Fu Tu” is considered a prototype for later dragons, featuring a dragon with three claws in the famous segment “graceful as a startled swan, flexible as a swimming dragon.”
Even during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, three-clawed dragons were prevalent. For example, the Zhaozhou Bridge built during the Sui Dynasty features dragons with three claws on its stone railing. In the tomb of Prince Jing of Huai’an in the Tang Dynasty, dragon patterns with three claws were found on artifacts. In the late Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties period, a jade belt with a dragon pattern unearthed from the tomb of King Wang Jian in Shu also features a three-clawed dragon.
By the time of the Song Dynasty, three-clawed and four-clawed dragons were common. The wooden carved dragons on the front corridor of the Jinci Temple, built in the Northern Song Dynasty, are some of the oldest existing examples of dragon sculptures, all featuring four claws. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Chen Rong’s painting “Nine Dragons” depicts dragons with four claws. Porcelain artifacts from the Song Dynasty also feature dragons with three or four claws. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas, USA, holds a “Dragon-pattern Vase with White Ground and Black Outlines” from the Song Dynasty, featuring a dragon with five claws.
From all this evidence, it is clear that by the Song Dynasty, the number of claws on a dragon was still diverse, with no clear rule specifying how many claws a dragon should have—three, four, or five claws could all represent a dragon.
So, when did the rule “five claws for a dragon, four claws for a python” become explicit?
The earliest record of the rule “five claws for a dragon” can be traced back to the Yuan Dynasty.
The “History of the Yuan Dynasty” records: “In the winter of the first year of Emperor Renzong Yan You, in the twelfth month, the regulation of clothing colors was established… The Mongols were not restricted, and when they saw people of various colors, they were not restricted either. Only the dragon and phoenix patterns (dragons referring to those with five claws and two horns) were not allowed.” Another record in the “History of the Yuan Dynasty, Criminal Law Section Four” states: “Regarding various chapter regulations, only the Mongols and the guards are not allowed to wear dragon and phoenix patterns; others are not restricted. Regarding dragons, those with five claws and two horns are meant.”
Highlighting the point, during the Yuan Dynasty, non-royals were not allowed to wear clothing with dragon and phoenix patterns, and this restriction applied even to the Mongols and the imperial guards. The official stance was repeatedly emphasized that dragons should have “five claws and two horns.”
So, if it’s not “five claws and two horns,” it’s not an officially designated imperial dragon. Dragons with four claws or three claws could be considered “folk dragons.” Therefore, the dragons depicted in the art and everyday items of literati and common people during the Yuan Dynasty often had four or three claws.
The strict differentiation between “five claws for a dragon and four claws for a python” truly became established in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Can the number of claws really distinguish between a dragon and a python?
Yes, but not entirely.
First, why did they need to distinguish “four claws for a python”?
Since the Ming Dynasty, the strict differentiation of “five claws for a dragon and four claws for a python” was, in fact, a manifestation of the continuous strengthening and improvement of the feudal hierarchy system.
The Ming Dynasty was established after the overthrow of the Yuan Dynasty, and Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, believed that “the clothing of the Yuan Dynasty is extravagant and flows into the common people, who dress, eat, and live like officials and ministers… There is no distinction between high and low, and the excessive ceremonies have failed. This is the failure of the Yuan Dynasty.” During his thirty years in power, he issued over a hundred decrees related to clothing, and subsequent emperors followed and continuously developed and improved this system.
Therefore, the Ming Dynasty’s clothing system surpassed any previous dynasty in its rigor and completeness, and the “python robe” was one of its manifestations.
In the Ming Dynasty, the “python robe” was a ceremonial attire worn by eunuchs, noble relatives, high officials, and foreign leaders. It could only be worn by those specially granted the privilege. Shen Defu, a Ming Dynasty writer, recorded in “Wanli Yehuo Bian”: “The python robe resembles the dragon robe, similar to the robe worn by the sovereign, but with one less claw. In the early years of the Zhengtong period, it began to be rewarded to tribal leaders.” In images from the Ming Dynasty depicting the emperor’s attire, the dragon always had five claws and two horns.
In the Qing Dynasty, the tradition of the “python robe” continued, following the Ming Dynasty’s system of “five claws for a dragon and four claws for a python.” The “Illustrated Regulations of the Imperial Qing Dynasty” detailed the regulations for wearing the python robe, and the usage of python patterns was differentiated based on the wearer’s rank. Many recorded instances of python patterns even had four claws.
Here comes the problem.
Based on evidence from the Forbidden City Museum’s digital collection, the Three Gorges Museum in Chongqing, the Capital Museum, the China Agricultural Museum, and the Shanghai Museum, not all python robes from the Qing Dynasty were embroidered with four-clawed pythons; some featured five-clawed pythons or dragons, and in fact, the five-clawed python pattern appeared more frequently.
In other words, by the Qing Dynasty, relying solely on the number of claws was insufficient to distinguish between a dragon robe and a python robe.
In the later period of the Qing Dynasty, the distinction between python patterns and dragon patterns became very subtle, and it was no longer possible to rely solely on the number of claws to differentiate between python and dragon robes. The differentiation between python and dragon robes had to consider factors such as color, pattern, and the wearer’s rank.
In terms of color, five claws might indicate a “python.”
The Qing Dynasty had a clear system of color restrictions for clothing. For example, bright yellow was reserved for the emperor and empress, with the crown prince’s attire mainly using apricot yellow, slightly inferior to bright yellow. The python robe for imperial princes was in a golden yellow color. Princes and dukes, if granted, could also wear it, while others wearing python robes mostly used blue or stone blue as the main colors, with the latter restricted to officials below the fifth rank.
For example, the python robe of the crown prince in the digital collection of the Forbidden City Museum has a five-clawed pattern, but since the apricot yellow color is reserved for the crown prince, it is considered a python robe, not a dragon robe. Therefore, it would not be called a “five-clawed dragon” on this python robe.
In terms of the number of patterns, five claws might also indicate a “python.”
In the later period of the Qing Dynasty, the number of python patterns on the python robe would decrease based on the wearer’s rank, but the claws remained five.
For example, records from the “Qing Bai Lei Chao” state: “For civilian officials wearing python robes, first to third ranks have nine python patterns with five claws; fourth to sixth ranks have eight python patterns with five claws… For military officials wearing python robes, first to third ranks have nine python patterns with five claws; fourth to fifth ranks have eight python patterns with five claws…”
As seen from the above content, the wearer’s rank is also a determining criterion for distinguishing between python and dragon robes.
Regardless of whether the embroidered pattern on a python robe features a four-clawed python, a five-clawed python, or a five-clawed dragon, if the wearer is of high rank and entitled to be addressed as “dragon,” then it is considered a dragon robe, regardless of the number of claws. Conversely, even if a prince, official, or consort wears a python robe with five claws, it is still referred to as a python robe and not a dragon robe.
As for Apple’s Dragon Year phone case, having “four claws” doesn’t necessarily mean it represents a python, but it also doesn’t necessarily represent a dragon.