In Chinese mythology, Zhulong is the red dragon with a human face associated with daylight, darkness, and candles.
Zhulong, also called the Torch Dragon or Torch-Dragon, appears in early Chinese mythological texts as a gigantic red being whose opening and closing eyes cause day and night. Some accounts say that its breath creates wind, while other traditions connect its body with the far north and the rhythms of the natural world.
The most important source is the Shanhaijing, or Classic of Mountains and Seas, a collection of geographical and mythological lore compiled over centuries in ancient China. Zhulong is not simply a storm dragon or a river dragon; its defining feature is its cosmic control of light and time.
It is sometimes confused with Yinglong, a winged dragon linked with rain and flood control. Those figures belong to different mythic traditions and have different identifying attributes.