Chinese dragon: Did you mean...?

Wooden screen depicting the Shinto god Susanoo defeating the dragon with eight heads, 19th century. Susanoo was the god of storms and Yomi, the underworld. Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas, Texas.

Porcelain bowl decorated with dragons chasing pearls. From the noted porcelain centre of Jingdezhen, Ming dynasty, 1573-1620. Height: 9.4 cm. Diameter: 14.9 cm. The British Museum, London.

Oracle Bones (also known as Dragon's Bones) were the shoulder blades of oxen or plastrons of turtles (the flat underside of the turtle's shell) which were used in the Shang Dynasty of China (c. 1600-1046 BCE) for divination. The symbols carved...

Detail from the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, built in 6th century BCE by king Nebuchadnezzar II; part of the Gate is now reconstructed in Pergamon Museum in Berlin.

Although the bow and crossbow were the weapons of choice for much of China's history, the sword played its part, especially when warriors were forced to dismount and face the enemy at close quarters. Widely used from around 500 BCE, swords...

The bow was the most common weapon in ancient Chinese warfare and the skill of using it was the most esteemed martial art for millennia. Archers were used as infantry, chariot riders, and cavalry over the centuries, and while the weapon's...

A Chinese jade dragon. Zhou Dynasty, 5th-4th century BCE. Height: 9 cm. The British Museum, London.

There were over 200 gods and goddesses worshipped throughout ancient China, but if one were to count every deity or spirit, the number would be over 1,000. Each town, village, city, field, farm, and sometimes even separate plot in a graveyard...

The chariot was used in Chinese warfare from around 1250 BCE but enjoyed its heyday between the 8th and 5th century BCE when various states were constantly battling for control of China. Employed as a status symbol, a shock weapon, to pursue...

While ancient Chinese warfare was often characterised by large armies in pitched battles, siege warfare and the sacking of cities were also regular features. Huge earth walls with towers and encircling ditches or moats became the normal strategy...