Basic Information

Alternative names: P'i-han
Alternative spellings: Bi-an
Type/Species: Long
Origin: Taoist Mythology, Chinese Mythology

About Bian

Bian was one of the nine sons of the dragon. Unlike his siblings, there was no complaint lodged against him by his neighbors. [4] Some claim that his ferocity [1] earned him his position supervising doorways to great prisons. [5] Others claim that his love of litigation [3] and his wisdom and eloquence made him a good candidate for ensuring the guilty remained inside. [5]

When the dragon visited his son, he witnessed Bian settling a dispute between two merchants by weighing their goods carefully with the same scale. [4] Thus, his father ordered that his image be placed over prison gates to keep guard over the comings and goings. [3]

Physical Description

Bian was a traditional long dragon. [4]

As a motif, his image appeared rarely. Art featuring. Bian consisted largely of his head placed on the ends of projecting beams found under the eaves of palaces and temples. [2]

Quick Facts

  • Bian was one of the nine sons of the dragon. [4]
  • He had great wisdom [5] and loved litigation. [3]
  • He settled a dispute between two merchants, which his father witnessed. [4]

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Footnotes

  1. Bates 52
  2. Bates 53
  3. De Visser 101
  4. Young 9
  5. Young 10

For more information on footnotes and references, please see the bibliography.