Tradition: Chinese mythology
Alternative Names: Jiang, Rainbow Dragon
Category: Dragon
The Myth
Hong is a strange Chinese dragon associated with the rainbow. It is depicted as a great serpentine or dragon-like creature with a head at each end of its body, forming the arched shape of a rainbow across the sky.
The oldest known representations of the Chinese word for “rainbow” depict an arched serpent or dragon with open-mouthed heads at both ends. Early Chinese tradition therefore connected the rainbow itself with a supernatural dragon. In some early representations, the creature was specifically shown with two dragon heads, one at either end of the arc.
Hong was associated with the changing of the weather. The appearance of a rainbow marked the end of rain and the return of clear skies. The dragon was therefore understood as a being capable of moving between the heavens and the earth: when ascending, the dragon could bring thunder and heavy rain, while its descent was associated with the ending of the storm and the clearing of the sky.
The rainbow thus became a manifestation of the dragon itself. What appeared in the heavens as a brilliant arc was imagined as the body of a supernatural dragon, with its two heads extending beyond the visible ends of the rainbow.
Sources
“Hong (rainbow dragon).” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 3, 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_(rainbow-dragon)