This year, many official media took advantage of the Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon to vigorously promote the change of the translation of "dragon" to loong, which is really a wise move and reflects the self-confidence of traditional culture.
The translation of "dragon" as loong has actually been around for a long time, but it has always been a small number of folk voices, with a relatively small scope and limited influence. If there is the blessing of the official announcement of the national education and culture department and the external propaganda department, the effect will be even better, and in the future, the translation of the name loong will be widely promoted and a consensus will be formed around the world.
Western dragons and Chinese dragons are actually two different species, nor are they the same concept. The Western dragon is a fire-breathing monster, a symbol of ugliness and evil, and usually represents **, while the Chinese dragon is a symbol of goodness and beauty, representing auspiciousness and authority, and is connected to the roots of Chinese culture. Due to historical reasons, the two share the same name, which is easy for people to misunderstand and confuse, and form a wrong cultural perception. Therefore, it is very necessary to use different words to denote the Western dragon and the Chinese dragon, respectively.
This year, state media took the lead in translating "dragon" to loong as a good start. However, we also need to change the Chinese translation of the name of the Western dragon dragon, and it can no longer be called "dragon", otherwise it is still easy to be confused with the Chinese dragon loong.
So what kind of Chinese name is better for dragon?
Some people suggest transliterating dragon as "獗change", "獗耿", and "drag root", while others translate it as "giant beetle" according to its meaning. These two translations do distinguish the Western dragon from the Chinese dragon, but it sounds obscure and I don't know what it is.
There are two significant differences between the Western Dragon and the Chinese Dragon, the Western Dragon will breathe fire, the Chinese Dragon will spew water, the Western Dragon has wings, and the Chinese Dragon has no wings. Based on these two points, the Western dragon can be translated as fire dragon, flame dragon, pterosaur or fire pterodactyl, and the name pterosaur has been used by a winged dinosaur, so it is recommended to translate dragon as fire dragon, flame dragon or fire pterosaur, in short, it is more appropriate to call it "fire dragon".
On the one hand, this translation is not only different from the Chinese dragon, but also reflects the characteristics of the Western dragon. On the other hand, it retains the shadow of a dragon, because dragons and dragons still have many similarities, such as they both have the prototype of snakes, which are more similar in shape, and they are both huge species with supernatural abilities. Some people may worry that the translated name still has the word "dragon" and will be considered a type of dragon, but this worry is not necessary, just like no one thinks of "dinosaur" as a kind of "dragon".
Dragon and dragon have their own different English and Chinese names, and by extension, over time, people's concepts will change, and they will no longer be confused, but will naturally think that these are two different species and two different concepts.