Dog and Dragon Origami

Origami (so what’s the China connection?)

Origami is the word for Japanese paper folding, but there is also a tradition of paper folding in China. Some historians believe that it started not longer after Ts'ai Lun invented paper in China in A.D. 105. Many say both paper and paper folding were introduced to Japan in the late 6^th century by Buddhist monks. Unfortunately, there are no records of Chinese paper folding, and the oldest Japan records are from 1797 (in the 18^th century). Separately paperfolding originated in Spain (Arabs brought the secret of paper to them in the 12^th century).

Children can benefit from origami in many ways – the listening skills, sequencing, fine motor, attention, math skills (geometry, congruence, symmetry). I just saw a piece on the web about how it helps in using both sides of the brain. Whether you research it or not, Enjoy!

For THE YEAR OF THE DOG:

Look at these great origami dog sculptures, or this Grand Dragon (instructions are not available for it) - only if you will still be willing to try something simpler. Directions are available for the rest of the origami that is listed.

For a simple origami dog face you need only a square of paper and a pencil or something to draw the face. You can also make it "talk". (Or try a similar cat.) This dog's head uses a different approach.

There are some (easy but) harder dogs too. The "Patient dog" can be folded two different ways, one with a tail and one without. One might be easier for you to do than the other.

If you are interested, learn more about Origami Basics.

To try this advanced dog you may also need to download the turkey instructions which is the base.

Dragons are generally harder to fold. My friend Lorna found some simple ones from Tammy Lee. One based on the fortune teller you probably learned in school and a basic dragon puppet. When you are ready, Marc Kirschenbaum’s Rearing Dragon (page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4, page 5, page 6) is a high intermediate dragon. This Eastern Dragon [PDF file of instructions] is a also high intermediate.

The Year of the Pig starts in 2007 I am ready with a pig, pig's head and a picture of The World's Largest Origami Pig. When the cycle begins again in two years, with the year of the rat, I will want to remember this simple mouse and these which I can not fold!

For more see my Musical Mandarin Paperfolding entry.

Eastern Dragons

The dragons of China, Japan and Korea are all slightly different – and of course each land believes that all Eastern Dragons originated there. A nice overview of Eastern Dragons, their differences, the types of dragons, life stages and other interesting information can be found on her Black Drago pages at Eastern Dragon Overview. Look here for her details on Dragon Types.

The Circle of the Dragon by Kylie McCormick (drago) looks like “the place” to go for online information on Eastern Dragons. Amanda and Donna Quinn have other pages full of information on Eastern Dragons and their anatomy and lots of linked pages from the Somerland Gallery home page. I liked the Sommerland and Black Drago sites because they give references for the information they have.

Clair Russell has some dragon illustrations – and more dragon links. I like someone else's Chinese Dragons' Physical Description page - although perhaps it is because when you move the cursor 5 little dragons follow it around. (I did not see any references of bibliography on this webpage but I may have missed it.) The page seems to have been set up originally in honor of Chinese New Year 2000/4698 , The Year of the Metal Dragon.

I also like this Legend of the Chinese Dragon.

These pages are full of information. Some of it explicitly said it was free to use for educational purposes, but if you want to use any of it, be sure to follow the copyright and reference information for each page. For more see Chinese Dragon Culture.

Parade Photos

Enjoy photos from previous years' San Francisco Chinese New Year parades.

Not from New Year's - but here is a video slip of a Parade Dragon.

Other photos:

Lion dancers must show their courage by dancing close to the exploding firecrackers.

The dancing unicorn is distinguished by its narrow horselike jaw.

The feisty red-faced lion prepares to solve a ritual puzzle.

The shaggy yellow costume of the northern lion totally conceals the dancers who perform an entertaining acrobatic show

A bit on Dragons

While the European dragons from the days of castles and knights in shining armor are usually mean beasts to be killed, Chinese dragons are much more benevolent. Show your students pictures of dragons from different cultures. Read some of the descriptions (head of a horse, tail of a snake, antlers of a deer; or head of a camel, eyes of devil, ears of an ox, scales of a carp, claws of an eagle; or paws of a tiger, neck of a snake, belly of a clam, talons of a hawk or batlike wings) or learn more about Eastern Dragons. Eric Kimmel wrote The Rooster's Antlers: A story of the Chinese Zodiac (with beautiful papercut illustrations) which is a tale of how the dragon got its antlers.

Many elementary students are familiar with thinking maps. Perhaps they could use them and create a bubble map to describe a Chinese dragon and a double bubble map to contrast Western and Eastern dragons. I have been told that in Iran, the "year of the dragon" is the "year of the whale". I could see some interesting "compare & contrast" lists coming out of that!

Dragons for Dancing
The traditional head for the lion dance or the dragon dance is of paper mache with a hinged jaw. Both seem to have eyes that open and close and often ears that can wiggle. Creating one can be a classroom project especially if you can get if you have the art teachers cooperation.

Heads for a preschool dragon have successfully been made from turning a brown paper grocery bag (with handles) inside out and decorated. Decorated boxes and laundry baskets have also been sued. The body can be fabric or even bulletin board paper (although the later would need to be recreated each year).

Dragon Puppets or Decorations
A tissue box, egg carton or other small cardboard box can be used as the head. Even brown lunch bags have been used. The top of an egg carton cut in half makes a nice shape, (everyone finds it easier to paint the inside red for the mouth or fire before it is folded or reattached). Then small paper plates or eggcups can be glued on the eyes. Covering the head with paper is also fine. Making a paper mache head would be the most authentic but is more involved. For a small (personal sized) dragon, pipe cleaners make nice horns/antlers.

Some teachers have each student create their own and some have one dragon with a very, very long tail or body so that everyone can help decorating it. If the tail becomes too long, it might get unsafe to use for a parade dragon dance. (Here's a clip of a parade dragon dance. Wikipedia's Dragon Dance entry has only still pictures.)

For More on Chinese Dragons, especially in the Zodiac, see:
www.jade-leaves.com/ginkgo/zodiac/zodiacdragon.shtml

Updated: 3/2007