A blue and white five clawed dragon bowl, China, presumably Republic with Guangxu mark.

Historically, the Chinese dragon was associated with the Emperor of China and used as a symbol to represent imperial power. The founder of the Han dynasty Liu Bang claimed that he was conceived after his mother dreamt of a dragon. During the Tang dynasty, Emperors wore robes with dragon motif as an imperial symbol, and high officials might also be presented with dragon robes. In the Yuan dynasty, the two-horned five-clawed dragon was designated for use by the Son of Heaven or Emperor only, while the four-clawed dragon was used by the princes and nobles. Similarly during the Ming and Qing dynasty, the five-clawed dragon was strictly reserved for use by the Emperor only.