A Happy Lunar New 2024: Facing Dragons @ The Gates: 龍門遭遇 By Eddy Eng

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龍 門 遭 遇  A Dragon Gate Encounter:

It was two days before the dragon year [8 Jan 2024] when I made an urgent SMS to Eddy Eng to write a piece for this blog. And he did, this good friend.  In all honesty he related his encounter with this fearsome beast at a garden gate; face to face. Eddy is a straight forward, no fuss gentleman and so are his stories.

Thank you Eddy, a different kind of story but a real one indeed...

The Chinese Dragon:

"Dear Andy,

The Chinese have been fascinated with the mythical dragon for more than 4,000 years. It is obviously the product of imagination of the ancient Chinese. It was imagined as a composite creature with the head of a camel, the eyes of a fiery demon, the horns of a deer, the claws of an eagle and the scales of a carp. Unlike the Caucasian dragon that spews fire and looks naughty and devilish, the Chinese dragon symbolises  divine power, strength, good fortune and benevolence. It can control the weather and the seas - a shaker and mover of heaven and earth. 

I was once asked by a local Chinese businessman to install a pair of dragons vying for a pearl on top of the wrought-iron gate that I supplied. As someone who would go out of the way to please a customer, I thought long and hard. How would I design the intricate dragons with a pearl shrouded with fire using wrought-iron. Would my guys be able to cut and  weld all the tiny pieces together. Would they think  it was another crazy idea from me. In the end, logic triumphed over passion. 

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A garden gate with a pair of dragons.

https://twitter.com/GoblinWriter/status/1741192813696672254

I went back, told the customer that to do the pair of  dragons with the precious pearl would be like a Caucasian dressed in Chinese robes. From an aesthetic  perspective, they would look incongruous. It was a clash of cultures. He gave a hearty laugh. 

On another occasion, I offered a  wall-mounted decorative wrought-iron dragon to a customer as a gift after having completed my work  to his massive house. The dragon was made with the finest German craftsmanship that came with a hefty price tag from my  German supplier. 

He said, "Eee! I don't want it! Your Caucasian dragon looks like a four legged snake. He had a point. 

To my friends who were born in the year of the  long nien [dragon year],  may I wish you good luck, good health and good fortune."

Written by: Eddy Eng.

Eddy Eng.

CNY 2012 Dragon Year 恭喜恭喜 鄧麗君 邓丽君 

テレサ・テン Teresa Teng.

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