Chinese archaeologists claim they have discovered material evidence explaining the belief that "Chinese people are descended from the dragon," an old saying that dates back thousands of years.

Their conclusion was based on the research results of many jade dragons unearthed at Niuheliang, a site of the Hongshan Culture dating back 5,500 to 6,000 years, in the northeastern province of Liaoning, said Guo Dashun, a leading member of the Archaeology Society of China, Monday.

Located between the counties of Jianping and Lingyuan, the Niuheliang ruins cover 50 square kilometers and have yielded such relics as prehistoric pottery and jade ware. Discoveries of the head of a "goddess of Hongshan" and an ancient kingdom ruins which consisted of altars, temples and tombs startled the world in 1984.

But what attracted the interest of archaeologists most were three jade dragons.

Guo said the dragon looked the same as the two jade dragons unearthed at the same area in 1984 and their shape was exactly like the pictographic character "long" (dragon) used in ancient China.

The Liaohe River runs through northeastern provinces of Liaoning and Jilin, the eastern part of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and northern Hebei Province and is regarded as one of the cradles of Chinese civilization.

Guo said the jade dragons unearthed in the region showed the dragon worshipped by Chinese people was a combination of several animals, with its original shape coming from pig, deer, bear and bird. It comes into the final shape through long-term artistic processing.

This evolutionary process is closely linked to the origin and development of Chinese civilization, Guo said.

(eastday.com February 24, 2004)