{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_67168/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_67168","id":"gutenberg_67168","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/67168","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: Art","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Dragons","Mythology, Chinese"],"text":"THE CHINESE DRAGON\n\n                                   BY\n                            L. NEWTON HAYES\n\n                        WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY\n                           FONG F. SEC, LL.D.\n\n                                   \u9f8d\n\n                             THIRD EDITION\n\n                       COMMERCIAL PRESS, LIMITED\n                            SHANGHAI, CHINA\n                                  1923\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nThe subject of this little book is of general interest to people who\nare acquainted with things Chinese. The dragon has played a large part\nin Chinese thought through four thousand and more years. Even in these\ndays of the Republic it still fills an important place in Chinese life.\n\nThe dragon is one of the most common ornamental designs in China and\none meets it wherever one goes in this country. However, in spite of\nthe significance attached to the dragon, very little has ever been\nwritten concerning it in either Chinese or English. Only a few general\narticles on this subject have been published in magazines, and the\nreferences to it in books are very brief. No independent study of the\ndragon in book form has been made in either of these two languages\nuntil now.\n\nThe author is peculiarly fitted to undertake this piece of work. He was\nborn in China and speaks the Chinese language as a native. Thus he has\nhad the first-hand knowledge and the language to help him in his study.\nHe has been studying on the subject of the dragon for fourteen years.\nIn this time he has traveled over more than one half the number of\nprovinces of China. The study is therefore not the result of a few\nmonth\u2019s investigation, nor is it the product of research in only one\ncity or province. The author\u2019s acquaintance with the people and the\nlanguage of China have made it possible for him to go to original\nsources and to study the subject from every angle.\n\nPerhaps the last word on the Chinese dragon is not yet said,\nnevertheless it is safe to say that this treatise is as complete as our\npresent knowledge will permit. This little volume should be of value to\nall who are interested in China.\n\nThis account of the dragon will not only be of value to foreigners, but\nit will also be such to Chinese. The author has made this study a hobby\nfor many years and the result of his research is a splendid\ncontribution to the literature on China. It would be a good idea for\nmore people to take up the study of other phases of Chinese life in the\nsame way and thus help to interpret China to the West.\n\n\nFong F. Sec.                                               May 9, 1922.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nIn the spring of 1909 the writer had the honor of being a guest for a\nweek in the summer home of Dr. W. A. P. Martin, near Peking. Many\nresidents of the Capital during the decade preceding the Revolution,\nand for a number of years before that, knew \u201cPearl Grotto\u201d and visited\nthe venerable senior missionary of China, then lately retired from the\nPresidency of the Imperial Tung Wen College.\n\nDr. Martin was a scholar of the old school and enjoyed few pursuits\nbetter than that of reviewing his remarkable memory of the classical\nwriters. During the meals the old gentleman, then nearly eighty, would\nquote readily from Homer, Horace, and Virgil, and would ask his guest\nto translate the passages freely into English and to cite the books and\nchapters quoted.\n\nAfter a few days in this uncomfortable situation the guest began to\ncast about for some means of relief. At that time he had been in the\ncountry but a few months, and was just beginning a general study of\nChinese art. The dragon, among other objects of interest, particularly\nattracted his attention. It occurred to him to ask Dr. Martin some\nquestions about this creature whose form was so popular with the\nChinese. Accordingly a carefully prepared list of six or seven\nquestions about the dragon was launched one morning across the\nbreakfast table before the attack of Greek and Latin began. The first\nquestion met with a noncommittal reply, the second fared little better,\nand so on to the end. Then Dr. Martin admitted that this was one of the\nsubjects about which he knew very little. He was, however, very warm in\nhis desire to help find answers to these questions, and he referred his\nguest to his personal friend, Sir Robert Hart, the Inspector General of\nthe Imperial Customs, who had also lived fifty years in China.\nUnfortunately Sir Robert\u2019s replies were as vague as those of the\nretired Professor. The questions which were asked of these two eminent\nSinologues were also submitted to several other British and Americans\nin Peking, and later to many Chinese, but with similar results.\n\nIt soon became evident that if the searcher for light on \u201cThings\nChinese\u201d were to learn much about this creature which had challenged\nhis attention, he must look it up from original sources. He was later\nconvinced of this fact when he found it impossible to secure any\nsatisfactory information from books published in English. He then\nresolved that before he himself was fifteen years in the country he\nwould have answers to the seven questions which he had asked of his\nfriends in Peking. The contents of this brochure are the results of a\nstudy made in ten provinces of China over a period of fourteen years.\nWhile this volume is not offered as the final word upon this subject,\nit probably represents the most exhaustive study thus far given to the\nChinese dragon.\n\nThis book is not intended primarily for Sinologues and it contains no\nChinese characters. The volume is written for the average reader, who\nin his study of things Chinese, has little time to go to original\nsources. Most people do not wish to be burdened with long quotations to\nprove abstract hypotheses or to have Chinese characters inserted in the\ntext repeatedly to break the sequence.\n\nIf later interest in this subject justifies it, a larger work will be\nattempted and a more detailed presentation of the material thus far\ncollected will be made. The writer\u2019s purpose in this book has been to\nmake as clear a statement of the subject as could be done within the\ncompass of a small book, without introducing unnecessary material. If\nhe has succeeded in this endeavor, he will be more than gratified.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                                Page\n    Introduction                                 vii\n    Preface                                       ix\n    Illustrations                                 xv\n\n    CHAPTER ONE\n    The Place of the Dragon in Chinese Life        3\n\n    CHAPTER TWO\n    How the Dragon Idea Originated                10\n\n    CHAPTER THREE\n    The Varieties of Dragons                      15\n\n    CHAPTER FOUR\n    What Dragons Really Look Like                 23\n\n    CHAPTER FIVE\n    People Who Have Seen Dragons                  31\n\n    CHAPTER SIX\n    The Dragon in Western Mythology               38\n\n    CHAPTER SEVEN\n    Quaint Beliefs About the Dragon               45\n\n    CHAPTER EIGHT\n    How Dragons Control the Fortunes of Men       51\n\n    CHAPTER NINE\n    The Hold of the Dragon on China               57\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n    Bronze Dragon, Kang Hsi Period\n    Dragon Colonnade at Chufu          Frontispieces\n                                                Page\n    Emperor Kang Hsi in Dragon Robes               1\n    The Dragon Throne of the Recent Emperors       2\n    The Han Dynasty Dragons                        7\n    The Porcelain Dragon Screen                    8\n    The Dragon Staircase                          13\n    An Imperial Dragon                            14\n    Tablet to Confucius                           17\n    Dragon Gateway                                18\n    The Dragon Stone                              21\n    Dragon Eaves-Tile                             22\n    Dragon-Guarded Astrolabe                      25\n    Surrounded by Dragons                         26\n    A Dragon-Mounted Bell                         29\n    A Cloud Dragon                                30\n    Circular Dragon Eaves-Tile                    35\n    Chien Lung Vases                              36\n    A Living Dragon                               43\n    Two Porcelain Dragons                         44\n    The \u201cDragon Square\u201d                           49\n    The \u201cDragon Disk\u201d                             50\n    Emperor Kang Hsi on the Dragon Throne         55\n    A Dragon Lantern                              56\n    A Dragon Column                               59\n    The Gateway to the Dragon Well                60\n    The Dragon Tablet                             63\n    A Dragon Boat Race in Foochow                 64\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER ONE\n\nTHE PLACE OF THE DRAGON IN CHINESE LIFE\n\n\nThere are real dragons living in China to-day. These are not the\nhorrible monsters that some have imagined them to be. They are friendly\ncreatures highly revered by all the people. They possess marvelous\npowers and they occasionally permit themselves to be seen by mortal\neyes. Such is the belief of at least seven out of every ten Chinese.\n\nThe popular belief in the dragon is so deeply rooted and so widespread\nthat it is advisable for one to secure an accurate knowledge of the\nChinese idea of the venerated saurian if he desires to gain a truly\nsympathetic understanding of this remarkable people. Nearly every phase\nof Chinese life bears evidence of the influence of this unique member\nof the animal kingdom. Particularly is this true in the realms of their\nart, literature, folklore, zo\u00f6logy, history, and religion.\n\nChinese art employs dragon designs in endless variety. The graceful\nlines of its symmetrically proportioned body are found in every part of\nthe country painted upon silks and porcelain, woven into brocades,\ncarved on wood, embroidered upon satin, cast in bronze, and chiseled\nupon marble. It is the most characteristically Chinese of the many\nOriental designs which are so attractive to Western students of art.\n\nThe literature of the country abounds in references to this marvelous\ncreature as one may readily discover by even a cursory study of its\nbooks of history, poetry, letters, medicine, and fiction.\n\nChinese folklore is replete with countless entertaining stories of the\nwonderful feats of this great animal, while an infinite number of\nproverbs and old folks\u2019 sayings bear their testimony to the almost\nuniversal belief in its existence.\n\nPopular zo\u00f6logy places the dragon next to man, at the head of the list\nof all living creatures, thus occupying the position of the lion or\ntiger in our Western classification. Strictly speaking, Chinese natural\nhistory gives the dragon the rank of king only of scale-covered animals\nor creatures which live in the sea; the two fabulous creatures, the Chi\nLing and the Ph\u0153nix respectively, have first place above all beasts and\nother animals which live upon the earth, and all birds and other\ncreatures which fly in the air. But because the dragon is equally at\nhome in the air and on the earth, as well as in the sea, it has been\nranked as the ruler of all created life below man.\n\nChinese geomancy for ages has looked to the dragon as a means of\ndetermining the fates and fortunes of the \u201cSons of Han.\u201d Until very\nrecently comparatively few Chinese would build a house or bury a corpse\nwithout first consulting a geomancer, who would, in one way or another,\nrefer to its probable influence upon his action. It is, moreover, a\ngenerally accepted belief that every twelfth hour, day, month, and year\nof the lunar calendar are under the dragon\u2019s dominating control.\n\nChinese history records scores of appearances of the king of beasts\nthrough the four thousand or more years since the age of the three\nmythical rulers. Appearances of the dragon are connected with the\nstories of many prominent characters of China\u2019s past. Perhaps the most\nnoteworthy reference is one which states that two dragons as guards of\nhonor visited the home of Confucius on the day that great sage was\nborn. These frequent references to the dragon are considered, for the\nmost part, by the majority of Chinese scholars quite as authentic as\nthe statements about the famous worthies themselves.\n\nChinese religion places the dragon in the calendar of its deities as\nthe God of Rain and the Ruler of Rivers, Lakes, and Seas. As such it\nhas been worshiped for centuries. There are probably very few cities of\nany size in the whole country which, at least until the recent\nrevolution, were without a temple or shrine to the dragon king. This\ndeity was worshiped on the first and fifteenth of every month.\n\nIn the opinion of the writer dwellers in other lands commonly think of\nthe dragon in much the same light as they think of the centaurs, of\nGeryon or the Minotaur of Grecian fables: a strange mythical creature\nmerely the product of human fancy. It is also probable that most of\nthem think that the majority of Chinese consider it in the same way,\nbut this is a mistaken conception. It may be considered a very\nconservative estimate to state that at least three hundred and sixty\nmillion Chinese believe in the actual existence of dragons as firmly as\nother peoples believe that there are such animals as tigers roaming in\nthe jungles of Bengal and such monsters as walruses wandering over the\nicy stretches which border the arctic circle, though they themselves\nmay never have set foot upon the shores of India nor have crossed the\nArctic Sea.\n\nQuite recently the writer made a localized study of the universality of\nthe belief in dragons. One hundred representative Chinese of different\nages and walks in life in an important city were asked the following\nquestions: Do you believe in the present existence of the dragon? And\nwhat percentage of the people of China do you think hold this belief?\nEighty-two of the one hundred answered the first question in the\naffirmative. Regarding the universality of the belief in the dragon\nthese men estimated that at least eighty-six and six-tenths per cent of\ntheir fellow nationals believe in its existence. The above study bore\nout very accurately the writer\u2019s estimate of the extent of the popular\nbelief in the dragon. His judgment was based upon questions asked many\nscores of Chinese in ten different provinces of the country through a\nperiod of fourteen years.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER TWO\n\nHOW THE DRAGON IDEA ORIGINATED\n\n\nThe elaborate conception of the dragon which we find to-day in Chinese\nart and literature is undoubtedly a very different animal from the one\nwhich was responsible for the origin of the dragon idea. The fabled sea\nserpent, the alligator, the salamander, and the boa constrictor have\neach been regarded as the prototype of this unique creature. It is far\nmore likely, however, that some antediluvian saurian was the true\nsource from which the dragon idea has sprung. Back in the dawn of\nhistory some early member of the human race may have met with one of\nthese monstrous creatures which paleontologists tell us were, in some\nperiod of their development, equally at home on land and in the sea,\nand because of its gigantic size and marvelous powers attributed to it\na supernatural origin. In later ages, even the unearthed skeleton of\none of these monsters might have been sufficient to have led to the\ninception of the story. If this theory is correct it is easy to\nunderstand how through succeeding ages the belief could have grown and\nhow superstition and coincidence would have done their share to\nelaborate from the early monster the marvelous creature of the present\nday.\n\nAccording to the theory advanced above, the writer believes that the\nmost probable prototype of the dragon is the Brontosaurus of the\nMesozoic age, although the present conception of the dragon may easily\nhave sprung from such other prehistoric animals, as the plesiosaurus of\nthe same period or the Iguanodon of the Cenozoic age. Skeletons of\nthese giants of the saurian family and pictures of the reconstructed\nanimals indicate a striking resemblance to the graceful creatures that\ndominate the art of China.\n\nThe first appearance of the true dragon, according to the records of\nwhat is considered to be authentic Chinese history, occurred some\nforty-six centuries ago during the reign of Huang Ti, or Hsuan Yuan,\nthe third of the five great rulers. We are told that after this\npersonage had reigned one hundred and eleven years a large dragon\nappeared and took him to heaven upon his back. Since that day dragons\nhave been seen in every dynasty and by hundreds of witnesses, as\nChinese history abundantly attests. Dragon appearances were considered\nauspicious, and augured well for the affairs of state. In support of\nthis belief, it is interesting to note that when the late President\nYuan Shih-kai was trying to make himself emperor his friends made at\nleast one attempt to unearth what were supposed to be the bones of a\ndragon. This was done in order that the superstitious among his\ncountrymen might be led to feel that his desire to re\u00ebstablish the\nempire was according to the law of heaven.\n\nFor centuries it was the custom for anyone who saw a dragon, either\nhimself or through the magistrate of the district in which he lived,\nimmediately to announce the fact to the emperor. In early days history\nwas often counted from the appearance of a particular dragon.\n\nA popular fable relates that Y\u00fc Wang was able to end the great flood\n2297 B.C. only after he had succeeded in capturing the dragon, who was\nsaid to be responsible for the deluge. The animal was chained in heavy\nirons and imprisoned, after which the flood subsided. Ever since that\ntime all dragons, we are told, have trembled at the memory of the only\nman who ever conquered their kind.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER THREE\n\nTHE VARIETIES OF DRAGONS\n\n\nTo the majority of people the word \u201cdragon\u201d denotes one animal only.\nThere are, however, at least eight species of animals which bear this\nname. These are the Lung Wang, the Shen Lung, the Li Lung, the Chiao\nLung, the Ying Lung, the Chiu Lung, the Tsao Lung, and the Tu Lung.\nThey all belong to the genus dragon (Lung), but each has one or more\ncharacteristics which differentiates it from the others. For example,\nthe Li Lung, or Chih Lung, as it is also named, has and is the only\nspecies which possesses wings. It is, however, but one of these\nspecies, the Shen Lung, which will be considered at this time. Of the\neight varieties this is the one best known. The others may be dismissed\nwith a word. Dr. Williams, in his \u201cMiddle Kingdom,\u201d mentions only three\nvarieties and says that these are respectively dragons of the sky, of\nthe sea, and of marshes. However, it seems that the Chinese are not\ngenerally accustomed to make such a classification. They rather\nconsider that the one species, Shen Lung, controls and operates in all\nof these three spheres. Most of the other varieties are minor creatures\nwhich are practically unknown and have slight bearing upon this study.\nThe one exception to this rule is the Lung Wang, or dragon king. This\nspecies differs from the others in that its members possess a dragon\u2019s\nhead upon a human body. By some this dragon is said to answer to\nNeptune in Western mythology. Each ocean has a dragon king. The members\nof this species differ from those of the one in which we are the most\ninterested in that dragon kings rarely grow old and never die. The\nremaining varieties are all quite secondary and practically never\nappear in any form of art. These are mentioned only occasionally in\nChinese literature. This article will therefore be confined to an\naccount of the Shen Lung, or spirit dragon, the real dragon, the dragon\nwhich has held China in its spell since the days of Yao and Shun.\n\nAll true dragons are of two kinds: those which are such by birth and\nthose which become dragons by transformation from fish of the carp\nspecies. The transformed variety become dragons by leaping up the\nwaters of a certain cataract upon a western mountain stream. Large\nnumbers of carp swim once each year, we learn, to this waterfall known\nas the \u201cDragon\u2019s Gate.\u201d Here under the cataract they flounder about,\njumping and springing up out of the swirling waters; a few of them\nsucceed in getting over the falls to the higher waters above. Those\nwhich are successful in this effort become dragons. After the story of\nthis strange occurrence became known to the public, it was incorporated\ninto the life of the people in a popular saying, and scholars who\nsucceeded in passing the great triennial literary examinations were\nsaid to have \u201cpassed the Dragon Gate.\u201d The use of this figure was\ndoubtless to illustrate the difficulty of passing the examinations, for\nit implied that it was as difficult a task for a man to succeed at\nthese examinations as it was for the carp to leap up over the falls.\nThis figure has, in addition, the happy inference that even as the\ncarp, an ordinary fish, might become a mighty dragon, just so by this\nsupreme effort a scholar might become a master of arts, thus placing\nthe value of the transformation on a very high scale.\n\nOne ancient authority tells us that there is a class of these great\nsaurians which are known as \u201clazy dragons.\u201d These do not like to exert\nthemselves in the task of directing clouds which carry rain over the\nsurface of the earth. They sometimes make themselves small in size,\ndrop to the surface of the earth and hide in trees, under roofs of\nhouses, and even in the clothing of unsuspecting countrymen. The\nThunder God, learning of their desertion from their posts of duty,\nsends his messengers to search for them and when he discovers their\nlocation, kills them with thunderbolts during an electric storm, after\nthe manner of Zeus. This explains to many an unsophisticated man the\nfrequent destruction of life and property during thunderstorms. An\nepithet that in some parts of the country is often hurled at lazy\npeople is \u201cLan Lung,\u201d or \u201clazy dragon.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER FOUR\n\nWHAT DRAGONS REALLY LOOK LIKE\n\n\nComparatively few Chinese of the older generation seem to question the\nexistence of dragons or to doubt the marvelous powers usually\nattributed to them. In view of this fact it is surprising to find how\nignorant is the average person who holds this belief when asked to give\nan accurate description of the great creature. Perhaps this is not\nstrange, however, when we remember that there are apparently no books\nwhich purport to give any complete account of the dragon. The\ninnumerable references to it in Chinese literature largely deal with\nthe dragon\u2019s performances and say little about his appearance. In order\nto make a satisfactory study of the dragon one must, therefore, follow\na tedious process of collecting, eliminating, and co\u00f6rdinating a\nmultitude of stories, proverbs, and incidents from history, and make a\ncareful study of selected pictures and carvings, and if possible secure\ninterviews with those who profess to have seen the great king of the\nanimal creation.\n\nOne writer, who is anxious to make intelligible to the average person\nthe accepted representation of the king of all created life below man,\ndescribes the dragon in terms of animals with many of which we are\nquite familiar. He says that it has the head of a camel, the horns of a\ndeer, the ears of a cow, the neck of a snake, the body of a fish, the\nscales of a carp, the claws of an eagle, the eyes of a devil, and the\npaws of a tiger.\n\nThe bodies of all dragons, we are informed, are symmetrically divided\ninto three sections of equal length, these divisions being from the\npoint of the nose to the shoulders, from the shoulders to the thighs,\nand from the thighs to the tip of the tail.\n\nThe \u201cShoh Wen,\u201d a book written during the Tang dynasty, says that the\ndragon has the following marvelous powers: \u201cIt may cause itself to\nbecome visible or invisible at will, and it can become long or short,\nand coarse or fine, at its own good pleasure.\u201d This wonderful\nversatility, of course, makes it difficult for us to find any recorded\nstatement of the maximum length of this creature, since there is no\nlimit set for its expansion. Another book of the Tang dynasty helps out\na little, however, when it describes a certain dragon, which was found\ndead, as having been over one hundred feet long, while other accounts\nlead us to believe that the dragon at times assumes a size several\nmiles in length. The smallest size of which any statement has been\nfound was the length of a silkworm.\n\nIn color, dragons are differentiated as being red, yellow, blue, white,\nor black. During the Manchu dynasty, yellow was the imperial color, and\nthe yellow or golden dragon was designated the imperial dragon. In the\npreceding dynasty, the Ming dynasty, when red was the national color,\nit is believed that the red dragon was proclaimed, by decree of the\nemperor, the official dragon of the empire.\n\nEvery careful observer in the Far East has noticed a difference in the\nnumber of claws in the pictures of dragons\u2014some possessing three,\nothers four, and still others five claws. The smallest number is found\non the dragons of Japanese art. Ordinarily Chinese dragons have four\nclaws, while those of five were recognized as imperial dragons. The two\ntypes of Chinese dragons, with these slight variations, are, however,\none and the same species, and are identical in every other respect. An\nattempt has been made to prove that the variation of claws from three\nthrough four to five is a historic development, but we can find no\nconclusive proof to substantiate this theory. It is possible that the\nancient dragon designs of China have only three claws on each foot.\nJapan borrowed her art from China, and it is not unlikely that at the\nperiod when she borrowed this design the Chinese dragon was represented\nwith only three claws.\n\nIt is said of the carp that it always has exactly thirty-six scales in\neach row, leading from its head to its tail. After the same manner,\ndragons are described as possessing eighty-one scales in each series.\n\nThe true dragon has nine sons. Each is different in appearance from the\nother and each possesses his own peculiar characteristics. These\nchildren of the dragon are the variants in appearance from the general\nline which we are accustomed to look for in the dragon, and which we\noften see in carvings and architecture. The dragon heads on bells, on\nthe peak tiles of temples and palaces, on sword hilts, on monuments,\nand in similar places are representations of the progeny of the God of\nRain and do not portray that god himself.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER FIVE\n\nPEOPLE WHO HAVE SEEN DRAGONS\n\n\nIn spite of the fact that modern zo\u00f6logy has never included in the\npages of its textbooks descriptions and pictures of the dragon as a\ncreature of reality, yet there are men in China to-day who claim to\nhave seen these animals, some of which have been described very\naccurately. The writer has had the pleasure of conversing with several\nChinese who assert that they have seen the dragon at close range. He\nhas also secured, at secondhand, information from others who are said\nto have looked upon this most marvelous of creatures. All of the men\nwhom the writer interviewed were of sound mind and were accredited by\ntheir acquaintances with being men of reliable character. There is no\nreason to believe that any one of them were inebriate or under the\npower of hallucination at the time they witnessed the creatures of\ntheir description.\n\nA teacher in a Tientsin school related that he once saw a dragon in his\nnative province, Shantung. The animal had been killed, so it was\nbelieved, by the order of heaven, as a punishment for some misdeed, and\nhad fallen to the earth, where it lay as the center of attraction for\nhundreds of people who came in crowds from that whole countryside. Its\nappearance was identical with that of the popular pictures with which\nwe are familiar. A school servant, who was also a native of Shantung,\nand whose home was near the sea, declared that he once saw a dragon. He\ntold the writer that it was about fifteen feet long and that it fell to\nthe earth during a severe rainstorm. It, too, attracted a large crowd\nof spectators. Although this man was unable to give very satisfactory\ndetails, yet his unusual earnestness and apparent sincerity were\nconvincing evidence that he had really seen a monster of a remarkable\ntype.\n\nA third person, an elderly gentleman, who is a teacher of classics in\none of the schools of Nanking, informed the writer that when he was a\nyoung man a dragon fell one night from the sky and lay for twenty-four\nhours near his home. The country folk respectfully covered it with\nmatting, but he managed to raise the covering and saw its great cowlike\nhead, its four legs, and its scale-covered body. It was about fifty\nfeet long and blue in color. As in the other two cases, this dragon\ndisappeared from the earth during a heavy storm. It was generally\nbelieved that it came to life again and was taken up into the heavens\nupon a cloud, which formed beneath its body.\n\nThe artist who drew the picture of the cloud dragon recounted that,\nduring the thirty-fourth year of the Emperor Kuang Hsu, while he\nhimself was on his way to Peking to receive the seals of a district\nmagistrate, he came across a dragon lying upon the banks of the Yellow\nRiver in Shantung province. It was blue in color and was several tens\nof feet in length. The whole air was filled with a very offensive salt\nsea odor, and out of respect for the creature, which was supposed to\nhave fallen from heaven, the crowd of people that stood around was\nbusily engaged in sprinkling water upon its body. The head resembled\nthat of a cow and the artist said that except for the long eyebrows the\npicture of the cloud dragon represented very faithfully what he\nactually saw.\n\nAnother Chinese has related that a business partner of his, while on a\njourney up the Yangtze River, saw three dragons crossing a mountain\nrange near the shore. Every person on board was spellbound as they\nwatched the three monsters\u2014one yellow, another white, and the third\nblue\u2014as they majestically made their way with great undulating strides\nup the mountain side. The dragons passed by so near the boat that the\nobservers saw every detail of their heads and the lacelike scales of\ntheir bodies. The boat was respectfully stopped in mid-river, and only\nwhen the dragons had disappeared over the ridge did the boatmen resume\ntheir task at the oars.\n\nVarious stories have come to the writer, of dragons which have been\nseen either riding upon banks of fog or dangling from passing clouds\nduring great windstorms or rainstorms. Invariably these have been\ndescribed as having scale-covered bodies. One reasonable explanation\nfor the suspended dragons may be found in insipient tornadoes and water\nspouts which never reach the ground. There seems, however, to be no\nexplanation for the dragon visits described by the five observers,\nunless it be that strange monsters of the deep either crawled up out of\nthe river and lay on the bank, in a dormant state, or were sucked up by\nocean- or river-water spouts, and when the columns of water broke over\nthe land the creatures were dropped far from their natural habitat. Two\ndifficulties at once present themselves to combat this hypothesis. The\nfirst of these is the improbability that there are such creatures in\nexistence, and the second difficulty lies in the strangeness of their\ndisappearance after coming to the earth. As a possible explanation of\nthe first difficulty, we wish to ask whether it is not possible that\nthere are still existing in the depths of the sea and in great rivers\ncurious reptiles and strange monsters such as no human beings now\nliving have ever seen, the descendants of the mighty saurians which\nlived upon the earth long ages ago, and which geologists tell us later\nentered the sea, making that their more secretive habitat?\n\nAs an explanation for the disappearance of the dragon in these three\ninstances the writer notes two facts. The dragons in each case were\nseen on the banks of great rivers and in each case disappeared after a\nheavy rain. Might it not have been that the monsters were in reality\nnot dead but only unconscious, and that the heavy flood washed the\ncreatures back into the river whence they were carried out to sea?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER SIX\n\nTHE DRAGON IN WESTERN MYTHOLOGY\n\n\nThe dragon is not a conception of the Chinese mind alone. It also\noccupies a prominent place in the legends and literature of most of the\ncountries of Europe. Cicero in his \u201cde Divinatione\u201d (Book II, line 30),\nEuripides in his \u201cPhilostratus\u201d (Book I, line 2), and Homer in the\n\u201cIliad\u201d (Book II, line 309) all mention a dragon.\n\nThe Bible, in twenty-two references in the Old Testament and thirteen\ninstances in the New, refers to the dragon either allegorically or as a\nreal animal; however, in many of these passages, especially in the Old\nTestament, the word \u201cdragon\u201d is an unfortunate rendition, for in\nseveral places the writers of the Scriptures very evidently had the\nconception of an animal that was in all probability the modern jackal.\n\nThe myths and legends of Europe have preserved for us numerous dragon\nstories with which we are more or less familiar. Among others are the\ntale of Perseus, who rescued Andromeda from a dragon; the story of St.\nGeorge and the Dragon; the account of Sigfried, who killed a dragon at\nWorms; and the story of Beowulf, who in the early days of history\u2019s\ndawn dispatched a dragon after slaying Grendel.\n\nKing Arthur, who was spoken of as the \u201cdread Pendragon,\u201d is described\nby Tennyson, in his \u201cIdylls of the King,\u201d as sitting upon a veritable\ndragon throne which would vie in splendor with that of China\u2019s Manchu\nemperors. The vivid imagination of the poet laureate gives us this\npicture:\n\n\n       \u201cTo his crown the golden dragon clung\n        And down his robe the dragon writhed in gold\n        And from the carven work behind him crept\n        Two dragons gilded, sloping down to make\n        Arms to his chair, while all the rest of them\n        Through knots and loops and folds innumerable,\n        Fled ever through the woodwork till they found\n        The new design wherein they lost themselves.\u201d\n\n\nMany coast and river cities of England, France, Italy, and Egypt still\nproudly recount their local legends of cruel dragons which were slain,\nafter battles royal, upon near-by rivers or in adjacent seas. We may\nread of the Green Dragon of Mordiford, the Dragon of Norwich, the Great\nDragon of Pittempton, the Dragon of Naples, the Dragon of Arles, the\nDragon of Lyons, the Dragon of Marseilles, Sebec, the Dragon of the\nNile, and many more. These stories are proudly treasured as the sacred\ntraditions of their respective cities and countries.\n\nThe Chinese conception of the dragon presents a very different creature\nfrom that of the nations bordering on the Mediterranean and the\nAtlantic. It is true that there are a few points of similarity, but\nthere is only one to which we shall call attention at this time. That\nis regarding its keenness of eyesight. Both types are endowed with\nmarvelous vision. The Chinese dragon is deaf and it is explained that\nits eyes, through natural compensation, have attained an extraordinary\npower. His vision is so keen that he can easily distinguish a blade of\ngrass one hundred li away. In this connection it is interesting to\nrecall that the English word \u201cdragon\u201d is derived from the Greek\n\u201cdrakon\u201d (\u03b4\u03c1\u03ac\u03ba\u03c9\u03bd), which means \u201cto gaze\u201d or \u201cto see,\u201d and the classics\nmore than once refer to the animal as \u201csharpsighted.\u201d\n\nWe do not know who first attached the English name \u201cdragon\u201d to the\nChinese conception \u201clung,\u201d but it is hardly fair to the Oriental ruler\nof the sea to be branded with the stigma which accompanies the English\ndesignation. Since the recent revolution, several devout Westerners\nhave been heard to express their great satisfaction that the dragon\nflag has now forever disappeared. A misconception of the use of the\nword \u201cdragon\u201d had caused the speakers to confuse the evil monster\nmentioned in the book of Revelation with the animal so highly revered\nby the Chinese. The dragon of the Chinese differs from the generally\naccepted Western idea in three striking particulars: in appearance, in\ndisposition, and in the regard in which it is held.\n\nIn appearance, the European conception varies but slightly from the\ncreature which was its probable prototype, save for the addition of a\npair of wings. The Chinese species is developed to a higher degree. The\nlatter has a more massive head from which protrude two branching horns.\nThis species, with the single exception of the Chih Lung, or Li Lung,\nhas no wings but travels from place to place upon the clouds.\n\nA still greater difference between the two varieties exists in the\nmatter of disposition. The European dragon is usually portrayed as a\ncruel monster, the personification of all that is evil, and the enemy\nof man. Christian art represents it as opposed to law, harmony, and\nprogress and symbolic of sin and paganism. In this allegorical sense it\nis painted in struggles with St. George, St. Michael, and St.\nSylvester, who personified Christianity and enlightenment. Saints and\nmartyrs are pictured in the process of crushing the dragon beneath\ntheir feet. The Chinese dragon, on the other hand, is in this respect\nvery nearly its antithesis. It is a beneficent creature, a friend to\nman. It brings the rain which produces the crops that in turn supply\nhis food.\n\nThe third point of distinction between the two dragons lies in the\nesteem in which it is held. The Western species was a horrible,\nloathesome creature, shunned and dreaded by all mortals, while the\nAsiatic dragon is held in reverence and even worshiped by the Chinese.\nThis creature is in fact so highly revered that one of the most sacred\ntitles which was bestowed upon the emperors was \u201cThe True Dragon.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER SEVEN\n\nQUAINT BELIEFS ABOUT THE DRAGON\n\n\n\u201cThe whiskers of the dragon,\u201d according to a book of the Yuan dynasty,\n\u201care three feet long and purple in color. If dragon whiskers are\nmounted upon a crystal handle like a horsehair whip and are placed in a\nroom at night, flies and mosquitoes will not enter.\u201d We are further\ninformed that \u201cif this instrument is swished through the air it will\nmake such a noise that chickens, dogs, cows, and horses on hearing it\nwill try to hide. If dragon whiskers are placed in deep water all\nscale-covered animals will swim immediately to the spot, thinking that\ntheir master, the dragon, is there.\u201d\n\nA strange fire plays about the body of the dragon. This differs from\nthe fire with which we are familiar in that it blazes brightly when\nbrought into contact with water. If, however, terrestrial fire touches\nthe dragon flames, the latter will immediately be extinguished.\n\nAs long as the dragon has moisture in the form of water or clouds\nsurrounding its body, it retains its marvelous powers of motion and of\nmutability, but when this moisture dries up, the dragon becomes\npowerless and dies.\n\nIt is said that the blood of some dragons is red; of others, black.\nRubies are often supposed to be petrified drops of the red variety.\n\nWe are informed of the remarkable fact that dragons change their bones\nperiodically and as regularly as snakes shed their skins and deer their\nhorns. Dragon bones are supposed to be buried in many high mountains,\nand their presence has much to do with the determination of f\u00eang-shui.\nLofty peaks that are frequently tipped with clouds or enveloped in mist\nare believed to contain the bones of some great dragon which attract to\nthemselves the moisture of the passing clouds.\n\nThe saliva of the dragon, we are told, is purple in color, and is\nconsidered the most fragrant of all perfumes. It is said to be employed\nin the manufacture of a very valuable incense. \u201cDragon\u2019s saliva\nincense\u201d was formerly sent as a tribute to the emperor by one of the\nwestern provinces.\n\nOne writer expresses a remarkable theory of the dragon\u2019s posthumous\nstate. He says that when they die dragons turn into crabs. Dragons are\npunished for minor offenses, according to the will of heaven, by having\ntheir ears cut off; for greater offenses, by being sent to the earth,\nwhere they are exposed to the view of men in a state as if dead.\n\nThree things of which dragons are exceedingly fond are bamboo trees,\narsenic, and the flesh of swallows. The graceful branches of the bamboo\nare very pleasing to the eye of the dragon who, when there is no human\nbeing in sight, delights to lie under their shade and hear the wind\nrustling the leaves above. Arsenic, which is to mortal man a deadly\npoison, is food to the dragon. In fact, it is a favorite article of\ndiet, and dragons grow fat upon it. The delicacy, however, for which\nthe dragon has the greatest fondness, is swallows\u2019 flesh. Woe to the\nman who ever tries to cross a body of water in a boat after having\neaten a dish of roasted swallows, for a peculiar fragrance, which\ndragons are always able to detect, will cling to his person. The man in\nthe boat will be pursued by one of these animals, who will cause a\nstorm to rise, the boat will be upset, and the unfortunate person\nprecipitated into the water, where he will fall easy prey to the ruler\nof the sea. Under ordinary conditions the dragon shows no fondness for\nhuman flesh, but with such provocation we are told that he should be\nconsidered entirely excusable.\n\nAt the autumnal equinox, according to one source, the majority of\ndragons descend into the sea where they hibernate for six months. In\nfact, the home of dragons is on the floor of the ocean where they dwell\nin beautiful palaces. At the vernal equinox dragons leave the sea and\nascend again into the clouds. Destructive typhoons and equinoctial\nhurricanes along the coast, in the spring and autumn, are caused by the\ndisturbance of the waters when the great animals thus enter or leave\ntheir maritime home.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER EIGHT\n\nHOW DRAGONS CONTROL THE FORTUNES OF MEN\n\n\nThe surface of the earth is believed to be covered with a network of\ninvisible paths of the dragon known as Lung Mei. People who build their\nhouses or find graves for their dead upon one of these courses are\nextremely fortunate. The ruling emperors, however, made efforts to\nprevent their subjects from occupying the positions upon such\nauspicious sites. When Chao Ming, the founder of the Sung dynasty,\nwhile still an unknown young man in reduced financial straits, was\nforced to move his father\u2019s bones, he carried them in a reed bag and\nburied them by accident upon one of these dragon paths. As a result of\nthis fact, we are told, heaven smiled upon him and he himself not long\nafterward became an emperor.\n\nWithin the past few years, a young Chinese, who had been studying in\nJapan, committed suicide for political reasons while on his way across\nthe ocean. Because he was so well beloved he was buried by his friends\nin a beautiful mountain valley on a dragon path. The Board of Rites in\nPeking, on hearing of this, ordered the grave removed, sending telegram\nafter telegram to the local magistrates to have the coffin disinterred\nat once and taken to another spot. Since the Revolution, it is said\nthat the student\u2019s body has been taken back to its first resting place.\n\nWhen Chinese observe the natural phenomenon which in the West is\ncommonly described as \u201cthe sun drawing up water,\u201d they say that what is\nseen is the dragon sucking up water to form the clouds.\n\nWhen rain falls upon one man\u2019s field and not upon his neighbor\u2019s, or\nupon one half of a man\u2019s farm and not upon the other, one explanation\nwhich is advanced for this fact is that the line which marks the\ndivision of dry and wet land is directly beneath the boundary line of\nthe territory governed by two different dragons. One sees fit to order\nrain when the other does not. The territories controlled by the\ndifferent dragons are redistributed once each year, on the seventeenth\nof the third month, which is known as \u201cLi Hsia,\u201d \u201cThe Festival of the\nBeginning of Summer.\u201d\n\nA few amusing illustrations of the way in which dragon superstitions\nhave been allowed to play a leading part in Chinese life have come to\nthe writer\u2019s attention. A Tientsin district magistrate, about forty\nyears ago, tried to make an outlet from the Pei River in order to turn\noff the water at the time of a flood. After spending too much money in\nwhat proved to be an unsuccessful effort, he jumped into the river and\nwas drowned. The story goes that the flood immediately subsided and the\nofficial turned into a dragon. Shortly afterwards he was changed into a\nsnake and was captured. This creature was carried in state into\nTientsin City where it was placed in the dragon temple and was\nworshiped by the viceroy of Chihli province, who was none other than Li\nHung Chang. This official later became prime minister and held that\nposition for twenty years.\n\nIn the heart of Wuchang there is a steep hill which cuts the business\npart of the city into two sections. This hill is so steep that it is\npractically impossible to carry the traffic over it. Some Chinese claim\nthe hill to be the dwelling place of a tortoise, others of a serpent,\nand still others of a dragon. Some years ago, when Chang Chih Tung was\nliving in that city as viceroy of Hunan and Hupeh, he caused a tunnel\nto be cut through the hill so that communication from one business\ncenter to the other would be facilitated. Not long after this was\ncompleted, the viceroy began to suffer from a carbuncle on his neck.\nChinese and foreign physicians alike failed in their attempts to cure\nhim. At last a geomancer was consulted. \u201cI know the reason for your\nExcellency\u2019s illness,\u201d he said without hesitation. \u201cYou have caused the\ndragon\u2019s haunt to be penetrated. Block up the tunnel in the hill and\nyou will get well.\u201d The thing was done, the viceroy soon recovered, and\nfaith in the dragon on the part of the people of Wuchang was more\nfirmly established than ever. It might be added that since the\nRevolution the tunnel through the hill has again been opened.\n\nMany years ago large numbers of the students of Hangchow City failed to\npass the Chu Jen, or Master of Arts, Examination. The fact sorely\npuzzled the city magistrates, who lost much \u201cface.\u201d No explanation\ncould be found for this fact until a geomancer explained that a dragon\nliving in the mountain range northwest of the city had no room to wag\nhis head, and that a large section of one end of the range must be dug\naway before Hangchow students would be able to succeed. The geomancer\u2019s\nsuggestion was carried out, the dragon was given the chance he desired,\nand it is needless to say that since that time all has been well.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER NINE\n\nTHE HOLD OF THE DRAGON ON CHINA\n\n\nThe word \u201cdragon\u201d occupies a prominent place in the common phraseology\nof the country. Some illustrations of this fact are as follows:\n\nDeaf people are called \u201clung,\u201d a character formed by the combination of\nthe dragon and ear characters signifying a person with ears like a\ndragon (which we are informed is deaf).\n\nThe asparagus plant is known as \u201cdragon\u2019s beard grass.\u201d\n\nThe gentian flower is called the \u201cdragon\u2019s gall.\u201d\n\nA common variety of pine is known as \u201cdragon\u2019s tail pine,\u201d from the\nsupposed similarity of its branches to the tail of the dragon.\n\nAmaryllis lilies and also the blossoms of a certain locust tree are\ncalled \u201cdragon\u2019s claw flowers.\u201d This is no doubt on account of the\nshape of the flower clusters.\n\nFire engines are called \u201cwater dragons.\u201d\n\nLocomotives and water faucets are commonly designated as \u201cdragon\nheads.\u201d\n\nThe keel of a ship goes by the name of the \u201cdragon bone.\u201d\n\nWater spouts are known as \u201cdangling dragons.\u201d The name was probably\ngiven them by junkmen and fishermen who considered these to be the\ntails of dragons suspended from the clouds.\n\nSpirited horses are said to have \u201cdragon dispositions.\u201d\n\nBetrothal certificates are known as \u201cdragon-ph\u0153nix papers.\u201d\n\nWedding cakes are called \u201cdragon-ph\u0153nix cakes.\u201d\n\nThe published list of Master of Arts graduates was known as the\n\u201cDragon-Tiger Register.\u201d\n\nA large number of cities, prefectures, rivers, and mountains have the\ncharacter \u201cdragon\u201d incorporated into their names. One of the largest\nrivers of Manchuria and one of its three provinces are named Hei Lung\nKiang (Black Dragon River), because it is related that a large black\ndragon once made its appearance in its waters.\n\nOne of the most famous mountains of the province of Kiangsi is known as\nthe \u201cDragon-Tiger Mountain.\u201d\n\nPerhaps the most popular kind of tea in China is the \u201cDragon\u2019s Well\nTea.\u201d This received its designation from the fact that its original\nhome was in a valley of that name. Among the hills on the farther\nshores of Hangchow\u2019s beautiful West Lake is nestled a monastery, on the\nestate of which is a pool of crystal-clear water. From the depths of\nthis \u201cwell\u201d a dragon was once seen to rise. The \u201cDragon\u2019s Well\u201d is now\nthe name of the monastery and also of the surrounding hills. Tea of\nthis name, though it may never have grown near Hangchow, is as highly\nprized in distant Szechwan and in other distant parts of China as it is\nin the capital of Chekiang province.\n\nIn the excellent new encyclopedia recently issued by the Commercial\nPress, there are no less than 257 references to the dragon. Fifty-one\nof these are the names of cities or villages, twenty-four of mountains\nand rivers, and fifteen the names of flora of various genera.\n\nThe emperor\u2019s most reverential title was \u201cThe True Dragon,\u201d and in\nharmony with that idea the word \u201cdragon\u201d in the adjectival sense was\nused in names of all that had to do with his life and position. As an\nexample of this his throne was the \u201cdragon\u2019s seat,\u201d his hands the\n\u201cdragon\u2019s claws,\u201d the pen he used was the \u201cdragon\u2019s brush,\u201d the\nimperial robes were called \u201cdragon\u2019s garments,\u201d and the imperial glance\nwas known as \u201cdragon\u2019s eyes.\u201d\n\nThe \u201cDragon Tablet\u201d was the name given to the imperial tablet, which\nwas worshiped during the Ching dynasty in every large temple and\nmonastery in the land, and even in Mohammedan mosques. The inscription\non the tablet read as follows: \u201cTo the reigning Emperor. May he live\nten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand\nyears.\u201d The tablet received its name from the fact that it represented\nthe Emperor, \u201cThe True Dragon,\u201d and because it bore at its top a\ndragon\u2019s head.\n\nOne insignia of official rank, until the recent Revolution, was the\npicture-square embroidered in gold and silver thread and worn on the\nfront and back of official robes. The squares worn by civil officers\nbore the pictures of birds, while those of military officials were\ndecorated with the pictures of animals; each rank and grade having its\ncorresponding variety of bird or beast. The emperor, the princes, and\nthe prime minister were allowed the special privilege of wearing the\ndragon on one of these embroidered squares.\n\nThe round disk on the Chinese Dragon Flag, which is often pictured\nbefore the mouth of the dragon, is explained by some as a pearl, by\nothers as a huge spider metamorphosed into a ball. We are repeatedly\ntold in fables that dragons have a peculiar fondness for teasing\nspiders. A more satisfactory theory, however, is that the disk\nrepresents the sun. According to this explanation, the dragon is not\ntrying to devour that heavenly body, as some would lead us to suppose,\nbut is gazing with a great longing, for it desires to become like the\nsun in brilliance.\n\nIn referring to the Dragon Flag, the fact is worthy of notice that\nalthough this design appeared upon Chinese military banners through\nmany centuries, the selection of the dragon emblem as a national\ninsignia was of comparatively recent date. It is probable that the\ncustom of foreign nations of using national emblems had a large part to\nplay with the adoption of a national flag.\n\nThere is a feeling among many friends of China, and even among a few\nChinese as well, that the effect of the Revolution and the passing of\nthe Dragon Flag will very shortly kill out the dragon idea. This the\nwriter believes is impossible. A belief that has gripped the nation for\nover forty centuries is not to be shaken even by a great revolution,\nwhich, though cataclysmic in itself, yet in relation to the ages which\nhave passed, is little more than a ripple upon the surface of the sea\nof time. The dragon is neither a symbol of the Manchu dynasty nor a\ntype of absolute monarchy, and has nothing in common with either. The\nidea is distinctly a heritage of the Chinese race itself, and as such\nit will probably live as long as this people. It will survive at least\nuntil a generation after Western science has permeated and dominated\nevery seaside village, every mountain hamlet, and every inland city, to\nthe remotest bounds and limits of this vast Republic.","title":"The Chinese Dragon","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":8912}