According to Su, the earliest decorative pattern of the dragon looked more like a small reptile. But after the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), it evolved into a larger, four-legged beast.
"The Sui Dynasty is a watershed period when the dragon is finalized into something that looks like a combination of a reptile and a quadruped," Su said. "The pattern carries on until today."
Visitors to the museum will be able to see the somewhat ambiguously shaped dragon totem applied widely on daily utensils, such as plates, vases and pots passed down from the centuries before China turned into a republic.
Despite suggestions that the dragon is no longer a popular motif for furniture and household items in modern design, Su maintains that the dragon is not to be forgotten.
"It carries weight in our society symbolically and aesthetically. For example, the year of the dragon causes the birth rate to jump. And we still call ourselves the children of the dragon."
He is right. And the exhibit does a masterful job of reminding visitors just how intertwined the dragon is in Chinese culture.
RSS