ShanghaiDaily 报道黄佶提议把龙的翻译修改为 Loong

Scholar says to use ‘Loong’ instead of ‘Dragon’
December 7th, 2006
来源：http://worldsnews.net/read-news/76498/scholar-says-to-use-loong-instead-of-dragon/

A SCHOLAR in Shanghai recently appealed to translate China's image with "loong" in English, instead of "dragon," which symbolizes aggressiveness in western countries, local media said today. Huang Ji, an assistant professor with Shanghai's East China Normal University, said in his blog on a local news Website (www.xmnext.com) that he preferred to use the creative word "loong," instead of "Dragon," to describe the country's icon.

The word "loong" derives from the word "long," which means "dragon" in pinyin. But to avoid confusion with the English word, an extra "o" is added. "It would be the best way to avoid misunderstandings for foreigners, while at the same time, keeps the image that represents Chinese people's bravery and persistence for thousands of years," Huang said.

The first description of the word "dragon" in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English published in 1993 says --- "dragon: a large fierce, imaginary animal with wings and the power to breathe out fire," Huang quoted on his blog. "Our image obviously has nothing to do with the original meaning of dragon," he said. "In China, it represents luck and happiness."

Huang's remarks came after the reports of another local professor, Wu Youfu, who said China should abandon its current image, according to a previous report Wu, a professor associated with the public relations department of Shanghai International Studies University, denied the reports after his initial statement aroused numerous complaints from experts and netizens. Wu deemed that the symbol can be modified by adding more harmonious elements to upgrade China's image.

Huang said he's been making efforts to arouse public awareness to the repercussions of using "dragon" as China's image, and has written to the country's Culture Ministry and the organizing committee of the Beijing Olympics 2008 on this issue. However, the suggestion hasn't been adopted yet, Huang said.