Abstract:This paper mainly explores the cultural connotations of dragon in Chinese and English. Recently, in the background of the Internet information age and the development of cultural globalization, the information communication between people is more convenient, faster and frequent. An increasing number of people have chance to go abroad to live, work, study and travel. Therefore, cross-cultural communication is becoming increasingly significant in our daily life and also has become an indispensable communication skill. There are some differences between the English and Chinese cultures, which may give rise to misunderstanding and conflicts during cross-cultural communication. In order to achieve cross-cultural barrier-free communication, it is advisable to conduct in-depth research into the different cultures among different countries. This paper, through exploring the cultural connotations of dragon in English and Chinese, aims to make the reader be aware of the cultural differences between the East and West, avoiding unnecessary misunderstanding and conflicts in cross-cultural communication.

Key words: Cross-cultural communication; Chinese and English culture; Dragon

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

Introduction-1

I.   The Cultural Connotations of Dragon in Chinese-5

A.Dragon's Image in Buddhism-5

B.Dragon’s Reference in Chinese Literature-5

C.Dragon’s Allusions-6

II.  The Cultural Connotations of Dragon in English-9

A.Dragon in Literature-9

B.Dragon in Bible-9

C.Dragon’s Image in Films-11

III.  A Comparison of Dragon’s Cultural Connotations in Chinese and English-13

A.Comparison of Dragon’s Image-13

B.Comparison of Dragon’s Symbolic Meaning-14

Conclusion-17

Bibliography-19

Acknowledgments-21