task 004: gods & monsters
j i n mó as jiaolong
often defined as a "storm dragon"; it is hornless according to certain scholars and said to be aquatic or river-dwelling. ancient texts chronicle that the yue people once tattooed their bodies to ward against these monsters. in english translations, jiao has been variously rendered as "flood dragon", "scaly dragon", or even "kraken". they are often thought in the same terms as the naga.
it is a sea monster.
spiritually akin to the crocodile, and perhaps originally the same reptile, was a mysterious creature capable of many forms. most often it was regarded as a kind of dragon, but sometimes it was manlike, and sometimes it was merely a fish. all of its realizations were interchangeable.
"slaughter when you hit the water."