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Originally Posted by DrTKStern
...a dragon for the Emperor had 5 toes; a dragon for a high court official, 4 toes; and for a rich businessman, 3 toes.
On one foot it looks like 5 toes to me...4 easily visible, with 1 a bit up the foot.
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Regular Chinese dragons are all commonly depicted as having five toes nowdays, the Korean or Indonesian have four and the Japanese have three.
"Official interpretation back in the dynasty period: Five claws dragons are reserved for the emperors (five is the holy number in Five elements (Chinese philosophy), four claws dragon is reserved for kings, princes and certain high rank officials, three claws dragon are used by the general public (which is widely seen on China and other Chinese goods back in Ming dynasty). Since Korea and other nations only held the title of king (with respect to the emperor in China), they are only allowed to use four claw dragon.
Another interpretation: according to several sources, including historical official documents, ordinary Chinese dragons had four toes - but the Imperial Dragon had five. It was a capital offense for anyone - other than the emperor, his blood relatives, and the very few officials who were granted such an extraordinary privilege by the emperor - to use the five-clawed dragon motif.
Korean sources seem to oppose this theory, as the Imperial dragon in Gyeongbok Palace has seven claws, implying its superiority over the inferior Chinese Dragon; of course, this dragon image is hidden in the rafters of the palace and is not entirely in view, even to those who know it is there, suggesting that while the ancient Koreans viewed it as superior, they also knew that it would be offensive to the Imperial Chinese Court.
The Han style dragon is also 3 clawed, which explains how the 3 clawed dragon went to Japan in the Tang or pre-Tang period."
Depiction of Imperial Vietnamese dragons also follow the Imperial Chinese dragon's toe rule. Many beautiful Vietnamese artifacts have routinely been classified as "Chinese". Many are even in Chinese museums. This is a common practice the Chinese won't admit to---labelling an important Vietnamese artifact as Chinese.
A repost of the pic but with better contrast. Can't do much about the resolution.
Slraep