A nationalist effort to rebrand the Chinese dragon
Officials in Beijing want a more friendly symbol for their country
The year of the dragon, one of the 12 creatures in the Chinese zodiac, began on February 10th. But some Chinese state media have been calling it the year of the loong in their English reports. Loong (pronounced like the English word “long”) sounds like the Mandarin term for dragon. It is more appropriate, says the state-run Beijing Daily, because Western dragons are evil monsters, whereas Chinese ones are noble and benevolent. The latter are said to bring good luck.
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This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Enter the loong”
From the February 24th 2024 edition
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