{"id":4345,"date":"2024-05-10T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-10T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/?p=4345"},"modified":"2025-09-22T22:33:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T14:33:44","slug":"the_truth_about_dragons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2024\/05\/10\/the_truth_about_dragons\/","title":{"rendered":"Leg\u00adend of the True Drag\u00adon: A Fairy Tale Where East and West Meet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u200b\u200b<\/span><\/p>\n

In the world of chil\u00addren\u2019s books, mag\u00adic and myth are more than just com\u00admon themes; they offer young read\u00aders a win\u00addow into their inner poten\u00adtial and a glimpse into the won\u00adder and diver\u00adsi\u00adty of the world beyond. \u201cThe Jour\u00adney of the Drag\u00adon,\u201d the 2024 Calde\u00adcott Medal Sil\u00adver Medal win\u00adner, embod\u00adies this vision. Com\u00adbin\u00ading beau\u00adti\u00adful illus\u00adtra\u00adtions with poet\u00adic text, it tells a mov\u00ading tale of inner strength and cul\u00adtur\u00adal inte\u00adgra\u00adtion from a unique per\u00adspec\u00adtive.<\/span><\/article>\n

<\/p>\n

\u200b<\/span>\n
The inner cov\u00ader of \u201cDrag\u00adon Quest\u201d<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u200b\u200b<\/span>Like many tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal myths and fairy tales, the pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnist begins the sto\u00adry by embark\u00ading on a jour\u00adney to ful\u00adfill their des\u00adtiny. While these quests are often intense, with knights slay\u00ading drag\u00adons or sub\u00addu\u00ading tigers, ulti\u00admate\u00adly lead\u00ading to the emer\u00adgence of a skilled and com\u00adbat\u00adive hero. How\u00adev\u00ader, the \u201cepic adven\u00adture\u201d in \u201cDrag\u00adon Quest\u201d begins with a bed\u00adtime con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtion in a child\u2019s bed\u00adroom. The rich palette of warm col\u00adors and soft water\u00adcol\u00ador effects immerse the moth\u00ader and child in a tran\u00adquil and warm atmos\u00adphere. The \u201cmost pre\u00adcious secret\u201d shared by the moth\u00ader at this moment offers a sense of secu\u00adri\u00adty, even if it requires a relent\u00adless adven\u00adture.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200b<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Moth\u00ader and child in the bed\u00adroom<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u200b<\/span>The boy\u2019s (baby\u2019s) mis\u00adsion is not to engage in a con\u00adflict or con\u00adfronta\u00adtion, to slay mon\u00adsters, save princess\u00ades in dis\u00adtress, or suf\u00adfer the suf\u00adfer\u00ading of the peo\u00adple. Instead, it is to dis\u00adcov\u00ader the pow\u00ader\u00adful mag\u00adic with\u00adin his own heart. His mis\u00adsion is to dis\u00adcov\u00ader the truth about dragons\u2014what exact\u00adly are drag\u00adons? And what does drag\u00adon have to do with us?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200b\u200b<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>
The author, Liang Wan\u00adjun, is also the moth\u00ader of two boys.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u200b<\/span>You know, 2024 is the Year of the Drag\u00adon in Chi\u00adna, and the author, Liang Wan\u00adjun, hap\u00adpens to be Chi\u00adnese. For the Chi\u00adnese peo\u00adple, we are proud to call our\u00adselves descen\u00addants of the drag\u00adon. So, what exact\u00adly does the drag\u00adon mean? How\u00adev\u00ader, the author cur\u00adrent\u00adly lives in the Unit\u00aded States, and her two chil\u00addren are of mixed race, born from mar\u00adriages with West\u00adern par\u00adents. In tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal West\u00adern cul\u00adture, the drag\u00adon is often seen as the embod\u00adi\u00adment of evil and destruc\u00adtion. So, how can \u201cdescen\u00addants of the drag\u00adon\u201d nav\u00adi\u00adgate such a cul\u00adtur\u00adal land\u00adscape? You see, this is a tru\u00adly pro\u00adfound ques\u00adtion, one that touch\u00ades upon iden\u00adti\u00adty and cul\u00adtur\u00adal inte\u00adgra\u00adtion, and touch\u00ades upon the most fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal aspect of growth: know\u00ading your\u00adself.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200b\u200b<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Eng\u00adlish ver\u00adsion inner page image<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u200b<\/span>This bed\u00adtime leg\u00adend revolves around a boy who, inspired and encour\u00adaged by his moth\u00ader, embarks on a remark\u00adable jour\u00adney of self-dis\u00adcov\u00adery and under\u00adstand\u00ading the world. In the sto\u00adry, he jour\u00adneys into two dis\u00adtinct forests, each inhab\u00adit\u00aded by a grand\u00admoth\u00ader, rep\u00adre\u00adsent\u00ading his East\u00adern and West\u00adern her\u00aditage. Each grand\u00admoth\u00ader presents him with two dis\u00adtinct images of a drag\u00adon: the West\u00adern drag\u00adon, sym\u00adbol\u00adiz\u00ading strength and brav\u00adery, and the East\u00adern drag\u00adon, rep\u00adre\u00adsent\u00ading wis\u00addom and tol\u00ader\u00adance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200b<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Grand\u00admoth\u00ader from the East<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u200b<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Illus\u00adtra\u00adtor Han\u00adna Cha \ucc28\ud638\uc724<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u200b<\/span>Cha Ho-yun\u2019s illus\u00adtra\u00adtions are excep\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly skill\u00adful, employ\u00ading strik\u00ading con\u00adtrasts of col\u00ador and detail to vivid\u00adly depict the dif\u00adfer\u00adences between these two cul\u00adtures and explore the pos\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty of har\u00admo\u00adnious coex\u00adis\u00adtence. Born and raised in the Unit\u00aded States, this Kore\u00adan-Amer\u00adi\u00adcan illus\u00adtra\u00adtor, a grad\u00adu\u00adate of the Rhode Island School of Design, is well-versed in both West\u00adern artis\u00adtic tech\u00adniques and tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal East\u00adern paint\u00ading. Beyond the cozy bed\u00adtime scene in a child\u2019s bed\u00adroom, she employs two oth\u00ader dis\u00adtinct artis\u00adtic approach\u00ades to depict a boy\u2019s jour\u00adney to find a drag\u00adon in dif\u00adfer\u00adent forests.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200b\u200b<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Ori\u00aden\u00adtal Drag\u00adon by Che Haoyun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u200b<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The West\u00adern Drag\u00adon Cre\u00adat\u00aded by Che Haoyun<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u200b<\/span>When search\u00ading for West\u00adern drag\u00adons, she pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly drew on medieval or Goth\u00adic visu\u00adal ele\u00adments asso\u00adci\u00adat\u00aded with West\u00adern drag\u00adons. Frames with intri\u00adcate lines and pat\u00adterns, the dec\u00ado\u00adra\u00adtive and sym\u00adbol\u00adic pat\u00adterns fur\u00adther enhance the mys\u00adti\u00adcal and leg\u00adendary atmos\u00adphere. Ele\u00adments resem\u00adbling shields, swords, and oth\u00ader knight\u00adly accou\u00adtrements echo the tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal tale of knights slay\u00ading drag\u00adons. In con\u00adtrast, when search\u00ading for East\u00adern drag\u00adons, the can\u00advas\u00ades are more spa\u00adcious and open, incor\u00adpo\u00adrat\u00ading ele\u00adments of Chi\u00adnese ink paint\u00ading. The del\u00adi\u00adcate, flow\u00ading lines and cool\u00ader tones of blue and green high\u00adlight the divin\u00adi\u00adty and ele\u00adgance of East\u00adern drag\u00adons. In fact, in this sto\u00adry, the West\u00adern drag\u00adon is not the embod\u00adi\u00adment of evil. Its pri\u00adma\u00adry col\u00adors, fiery red and gold, empha\u00adsize its might and mas\u00adsive size, as well as its rel\u00ada\u00adtive\u00adly pos\u00adi\u00adtive image as a guardian of trea\u00adsure (against fool\u00adish knights). Through these metic\u00adu\u00adlous\u00adly designed illus\u00adtra\u00adtions, Che Haoyun not only demon\u00adstrates the out\u00adward dif\u00adfer\u00adences between the two drag\u00adons but also explores the deep\u00ader dif\u00adfer\u00adences in their cul\u00adtur\u00adal sym\u00adbol\u00adism.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>
Eng\u00adlish ver\u00adsion inside page \u2014 Faced with two kinds of drag\u00adons, how to make an inner choice?<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u200b<\/span>In addi\u00adtion to win\u00adning the Calde\u00adcott Sil\u00adver Medal, \u201cQuest for the Drag\u00adon\u201d also won the Asian Pacif\u00adic Amer\u00adi\u00adcan Lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture Award, which rec\u00adog\u00adnizes out\u00adstand\u00ading lit\u00ader\u00adary works that depict the life expe\u00adri\u00adences of Asian Pacif\u00adic Amer\u00adi\u00adcans, enhances the vis\u00adi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty of these works in main\u00adstream soci\u00adety, and pro\u00admotes the under\u00adstand\u00ading and respect of the cul\u00adture and his\u00adto\u00adry of the Asian Pacif\u00adic com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty in the whole soci\u00adety.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200b<\/span><\/p>\n

The award cita\u00adtion for this book reads:\u201cStun\u00adning imagery and a cap\u00adti\u00advat\u00ading sto\u00adry\u00adline skill\u00adful\u00adly pave a path for explor\u00ading iden\u00adti\u00adty and a child\u2019s own mixed cul\u00adtur\u00adal her\u00aditage.\u201d <\/strong><\/span>Author Liang Wan\u00adjun skill\u00adful\u00adly presents the com\u00adplex\u00adi\u00adty of iden\u00adti\u00adty and cul\u00adtur\u00adal her\u00aditage through the sto\u00adry of a fam\u00adi\u00adly, with the wise guid\u00adance of two grand\u00admoth\u00aders. Through the per\u00adspec\u00adtive of the lit\u00adtle boy in the book, we wit\u00adness the explo\u00adration of cul\u00adtur\u00adal iden\u00adti\u00adty, a process that is not one-way but mul\u00adti\u00addi\u00admen\u00adsion\u00adal, full of inter\u00adsec\u00adtions and inter\u00adac\u00adtions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200b<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u200b<\/span>The deep\u00ader theme of the sto\u00adry is about inner strength -\u201cThe pow\u00ader\u00adful mag\u00adic that lives with\u00adin you\u201c<\/strong><\/span>This mag\u00adic draws from both the wis\u00addom and tol\u00ader\u00adance of the East\u00adern drag\u00adon and the strength and courage of the West\u00adern dragon\u2014either drag\u00adon rep\u00adre\u00adsents the true spir\u00adit of the drag\u00adon. Through the fusion of these two pow\u00ader\u00adful forces, the boy learns to accept his dual iden\u00adti\u00adty and how to use this inner strength to face life\u2019s chal\u00adlenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200b<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>
Liang Wan\u00adjun and Che Haoyun took a pho\u00adto at the award cer\u00ade\u00admo\u00adny<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u200b<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDrag\u00adon Jour\u00adney\u201d isn\u2019t just a sto\u00adry com\u00adpar\u00ading East\u00adern and West\u00adern drag\u00adon cul\u00adture; it\u2019s also a sto\u00adry about grow\u00ading up, self-dis\u00adcov\u00adery, and cul\u00adtur\u00adal iden\u00adti\u00adty. With pro\u00adfound cul\u00adtur\u00adal insights, it offers young read\u00aders a valu\u00adable per\u00adspec\u00adtive on how to under\u00adstand and cher\u00adish their own diverse cul\u00adtur\u00adal back\u00adgrounds. Think about it: every\u00adone has a drag\u00adon with\u00adin them. By under\u00adstand\u00ading and accept\u00ading this drag\u00adon, we can dis\u00adcov\u00ader our truest strength.<\/span><\/p>\n

Writ\u00adten in Bei\u00adjing on May 10, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n

Sketch drawn by Che Haoyun<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u3010About the illustrator\u2019s Chi\u00adnese name\u3011<\/p>\n

Kore\u00adan illus\u00adtra\u00adtor Han\u00adna Cha (\ucc28\ud638\uc724) only wrote her Eng\u00adlish name in the Eng\u00adlish ver\u00adsion.Her offi\u00adcial web\u00adsite<\/a>Hannacha.com lists the Kore\u00adan name \u201c\ucc28\ud638\uc724\u201d but not the Chi\u00adnese name! How\u00adev\u00ader, I know that the Kore\u00adan name is pho\u00adnet\u00adic, so there must be a Chi\u00adnese name. Judg\u00ading by the pro\u00adnun\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion, the last name is most like\u00adly \u201cChe,\u201d but there are so many pos\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adties for the first name that it\u2019s impos\u00adsi\u00adble to guess.<\/p>\n

As a rule, we don\u2019t con\u00adtact cre\u00adators direct\u00adly, so we asked our pub\u00adlish\u00ader to inquire. How\u00adev\u00ader, after repeat\u00aded inquiries, the Amer\u00adi\u00adcan side was adamant that \u201cshe does\u00adn\u2019t have a Chi\u00adnese name,\u201d so any trans\u00adla\u00adtion would be accept\u00adable. In des\u00adper\u00ada\u00adtion, I ini\u00adtial\u00adly resort\u00aded to trans\u00adlat\u00ading it as \u201cChe Han\u00adna.\u201d But that name is just too strange! Fur\u00adther\u00admore, it seems dis\u00adre\u00adspect\u00adful.<\/p>\n

Unable to accept this, I tried to con\u00adtact her per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adly. I left mes\u00adsages explain\u00ading the sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion via social media and email. In the email, I specif\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly men\u00adtioned my great admi\u00adra\u00adtion for the Kore\u00adan illus\u00adtra\u00adtor Baek Hee-na (\ubc31\ud76c\ub098). Ini\u00adtial\u00adly, due to irre\u00adspon\u00adsi\u00adble pub\u00adlish\u00ading agents, we trans\u00adlat\u00aded her name as \u201cBai Xi Na,\u201d a prac\u00adtice only cor\u00adrect\u00aded ten years lat\u00ader. I did\u00adn\u2019t want such a regret\u00adtable sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion to hap\u00adpen again.<\/p>\n

I was par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly hap\u00adpy to hear Han\u00adna quick\u00adly reply to my email, but she explained she was\u00adn\u2019t sure how to write the Chi\u00adnese char\u00adac\u00adters for her name and need\u00aded to ask her par\u00adents! Fun\u00adny enough, she actu\u00adal\u00adly got the name wrong the first time she sent me. Luck\u00adi\u00adly, she quick\u00adly real\u00adized it and emailed back to cor\u00adrect it to \u201c\u8eca\u93ac\u6600\u201d (Car \u93ac\u6600). Since she rarely uses it, she had to talk to her par\u00adents before final\u00adly con\u00adfirm\u00ading it.<\/p>\n

Final\u00adly fig\u00adured it out! I was so hap\u00adpy and incred\u00adi\u00adbly grate\u00adful to her! I even looked it up in the dic\u00adtio\u00adnary. Hon\u00adest\u00adly, we rarely use the two Chi\u00adnese char\u00adac\u00adters for \u201c\u9550\u6600.\u201d It turns out that \u201c\u9550\u201d can be pro\u00adnounced the same as \u201c\u7693,\u201d mean\u00ading bright, while \u201c\u6600\u201d means sun\u00adlight. So, the two-char\u00adac\u00adter phrase should be under\u00adstood as \u201cbright sun\u00adshine.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, I sent her anoth\u00ader email to tell her that judg\u00ading from the mean\u00ading of the Chi\u00adnese char\u00adac\u00adters, this is a very beau\u00adti\u00adful name, rep\u00adre\u00adsent\u00ading the spe\u00adcial bless\u00ading of the per\u00adson who gave it the name. In Eng\u00adlish, it should be\u201cvery bright sun\u00adlight\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Gaoyun hap\u00adpi\u00adly wrote back, say\u00ading she was over\u00adjoyed to learn that her name in Chi\u00adnese had such a beau\u00adti\u00adful mean\u00ading. \u201cIt\u2019s a name that my grand\u00adpa has giv\u00aden to me, so the fact that part of his influ\u00adence will be in this book is now extra mean\u00ading\u00adful to me.\u201d\u201cIt\u2019s the name my grand\u00adfa\u00adther gave me, so it means a lot to me that some of his influ\u00adence will remain in this book.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, isn\u2019t this what \u201ctrans\u00adla\u00adtion\u201d is all about?<\/p>\n

Argen\u00adtine Primera Divisi\u00f3n on August 15, 2024<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n

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