Jiao is a dragon in Chinese mythology, often defined as a “scaled dragon”; it is hornless according to certain scholars and said to be aquatic or river-dwelling. It may have referred to a species of crocodile. The jiao 蛟 character combines the “insect radical” 虫, to provide a general sense of insects, reptiles or dragons, etc., and the right radical jiao 交 “cross; mix”, etc. which supplies the phonetic element “jiao”. The original 交 pictograph represented a person with crossed legs. (Wikipedia 2023)
Illustration of jiao from Gujin Tushu Jicheng 古今圖書集成 [Complete Collection of Illustrations and Writings from the Earliest to Current Times] (1725)
