A yellow dragon robe was worn only by the emperor, and mostly for festivals and other celebrations. The Chinese culture recognizes not one but nine dragons, per the LTL Language School.

As a reward for turning up, the Emperor named a year in the ... the ox and so comes in at number three in the Chinese zodiac. Image caption, The dragon isn't so fearsome as legend suggests.

Editor's note: The Chinese zodiac ... it was assigned to fifth place by Emperor Xuanyuan. Folktales say that, since then, people have worshipped the dragon, praying to it for plentiful rain ...