Origin: Chinese Mythology
History: In China, the supreme god of the heavens was the Yellow Emperor. He looked down upon Earth and saw that people were evil and filled with wickedness. So, the Yellow Emperor ordered the rain god to make endless rain.
This rain caused a great flood, and everything - people, animals, and plants - began to die. Only one of the gods looked down and was moved to pity over this. His name was Kun, the grandson of the Yellow Emperor. He pleaded with his grandfather to make the rains stop, but the Yellow Emperor did not stop it.
Kun met an old tortoise, who told him that in order to stop the rain he needed magic mud. The tortoise also explained that the Yellow Emperor had a jar of it inside his treasury, so Kun stole it and went down to Earth.
Wherever he sprinkled the mud, islands grew and the water was sucked up. As quickly as he could, Kun went over the Earth, spreading this magical mud and making new land. Sadly, the Yellow Emperor saw what Kun was doing, and sent the fire god down to kill him.
Kun saw the fire god coming, so he transformed himself into a white horse and tried to hide. Still, the fire god send down lightning, which struck Kun and killed him on top of a mountain.
Kun lay dead, and the time passed. Something inside of him grew, and, from his dead body, a new life sprang. This was Kun's sun, Yu, a beautiful golden dragon.
Yu flew up to the heavens to see his great grandfather, the Yellow Emperor. He begged him to end the flood, identifying himself as Yu, son of Kun, who had returned to complete his task.
The Yellow Emperor then made Yu the rain god. He allowed him the amount of magic mud that could be piled upon the old tortoise's back.
Yu thanked the Yellow Emperor and went to work. He made the flooding rains stop, but much of the land remained under the water. So, he and the old tortoise went down to Earth, sprinkling the magic mud as they went. After this was done, Yu used his tail to plow the mighty rivers of China.
While carving the Yellow River, they came upon an obstacle: rocky cliffs. As Yu carved a chasm into these cliffs, he declared it to be the Dragon's Gate, which would always be sacred to dragons.
Since the people saw Yu save them and re-carve the Earth, they begged him to be their emperor. With that, Yu transformed into a human and lived on Earth as the Chinese Emperor.
Symbolism: Yu was a sign of the rebirth of not only Kun, but also of China.
Physical Description: Yu had five toes, and he was one of the important, golden-colored dragons of the East. Undoubtedly, he probably had an exceptionally beautiful mane in addition to this.
- Mythical Birds and Beasts from Many Lands by Margaret Mayo and Jane Ray
For more information about these footnotes, please see the bibliography.
Privacy Policy | Disclaimer |
Contact | Home
© Kylie 'drago' McCormick.
Last updated: 5 October 2009