신화를 믿어요?

I first saw this tablet, carried on a tortoise-like beast, standing cospiciously near the entrance of Bulguksa. The history of Bulguksa was inscribed on the tablet. Initially, I thought the tortoise-looking beast was a part of Korean mythology. However, after my visit to Beijing, I realised that the beast was actually a Chinese mythological creature.

Chinese legend has it that Dragon has nine sons and its eldest son is this tortoise-looking beast called Bixi (赑屃). Bixi was believed to be the strongest among the nine sons of the Dragon. But it also looked the most different from the Dragon because of its carapace. Hence, Bixi was made to do the unglamorous work of carrying stone tablet on its back.

This legend about the Dragon's nine sons is probably one of those very badly made-up legend that I have heard. In Chinese mythology, there are more than nine mythological creatures but to fit the number 'nine' (nine is considered a 'heaven' number by the Chinese) that befits the heavenly status of the Dragon, different groups of people chose their own set of 'nine sons of the Dragon' for the legend. Since there is no truth to a legend I am not losing sleep over which version of the legend is more correct.

Surprisingly, Singapore has its own "mythological" creature called the "Merlion" (a creature with a head of a lion and a body of a fish). Legend has it that Merlion was once a guardian of the people living in Temasek (which is Singapore in ancient time) protecting them against natural calamity. For Singaporeans, we would laugh off this legend because we know very well that Merlion is created as an icon to promote tourism in Singapore. The legend about the Merlion is a bit too hard to swallow for us. Anyway, the Merlion legend is meant for the tourists. Then again, tourists would never mind being entertained by any legend that comes their way.