其他王室成员也能穿带有龙标志的袍子，但是他们袍子上的龙爪少，颜色也不同。

原文呈现

The Universal Dragon

Dragons can be friendly or fierce①，they can bring good luck or cause death and destruction②，but one thing is sure-people talk about them almost everywhere in the world.For a creature that doesn't actually exist③，that④'s quite something⑤.

In Chinese culture，dragons are generous⑥ and wise，although they can be unpredictable⑦.The dragon was closely connected to⑧ the royal family：the emperor's⑨ robes⑩ have a symbol⑪ of a gold dragon with five claws⑫.Other members of the royal family were allowed to wear⑬ dragon symbols，too，but with fewer claws and of a different colour⑭.According to⑮ popular⑯ belief，if you were born in the year of the dragon，you are intelligent，brave，and a natural⑰ leader.

But in the west，dragons had a different reputation⑱.The very first text in English，the Anglo－Saxon poem Beowulf，tells the story of a Scandinavian hero，Beowulf，who fights and kills a dangerous dragon but is himself killed in the fight.However，across the border⑲ in Wales，the red dragon which appears on the Welsh flag is a positive⑳ symbol，indicating\s\up7(21(21) strength and a sense of\s\up7(22(22) national identity\s\up7(23(23).

Why should the dragon have a different character\s\up7(24(24) in different parts of the world？Some experts believe it is due to\s\up7(25(25) the animals the myths\s\up7(26(26) grew out of.In the west，the idea of the dragon probably came from the snake-an animal which people hated and were afraid of\s\up7(27(27).

But in China，the idea of the dragon may have come from the alligator-a shy animal which lives in rivers，but which is usually only seen when there is plenty of water-a good sign for agriculture.So the Chinese dragon was a bringer of good fortune\s\up7(28(28).