The dragon was the symbolic guardian to the gods, and was the source of true wisdom. An amalgam of several creatures, including monitor lizards, pythons and the Chinese alligator, the polymorphic dragon was a water spirit, responsible for bringing the rains and thus ensuring the survival of crops. The Dragon played an influential and beneficial role in Chinese culture. The Dragon style is an imitative-style that was developed based on the imagined characteristics of the mythical Chinese dragon. 'dragon shape rubbing bridges') of Shaolin Boxing are based on the mythical Chinese dragon. The movements of the Southern Dragon style (traditional name Lung Ying) ( Chinese: 龍形摩橋 pinyin: lóng xíng mó qiáo Cantonese Yale: long4 ying4 mo1 kiu4 lit.