Argument & Counter-Argument

Argument: After the nineteenth century, through the exposure to Chinese dragons, American dragons have begun to transform from an enemy role to a power that could be harnessed, also changing the view on what power means.

My research question was how did the clash in American and Chinese dragons affect the portrayal of the dragons themselves and the people who would be affected by the stories of dragons? I am answering this question by first figuring out what the initial for of stories about dragons are and therefore the mindset in each country. Later I would look at how the two cultures came into contact and what effect they have on each other. This can be how the stories have changed or how the audience has changed.

My counter-argument will be coming from the idea of colonization of the Chinese dragon. The source, Western European Reinvention of China, by Joe Sample talks about how America and Europe has colonized the Chinese culture and the dragons and use dragons to represent the Chinese. I believe there was no colonization, since colonization implies that America has changed another culture, but the opposite is happening. The Chinese culture is affecting the American dragon in such a way that the representation of the dragon is changing over time, where as the Chinese dragon stays the same revered creature.