China

Chinese are the most sought-after of the Eastern Dragons. In Acient Chinese history, if a peasant wore a five-toed dragon (Chinese Dragon) in either jewelry or clothing, then he or she would be put to death, for these dragons were reserved for the Emperor alone.

• Kinabalu
• Lei Jen Zu
• Pai Lung
• Yu
• Footnotes

History: Kinabalu is said to have lived at the top of Mount Kinabalu in Borneo. This dragon owned a grand pearl that the Chinese Emperor desired. He sent many men to retrieve it, but the dragon killed most of them. So, the Emperor sent out Wee Ping and Wee San to get the pearl.

Wee San plotted a way to trick the dragon and steal the pearl. He decided to wait until the dragon went out to find food, and then he and his brother would, using a kite, fly to the top of the mountain. They captured the pearl, and then replaced it with an imitation. However, the dragon was not fooled, and he proceeded to chase the brothers, who were now on their ship.

As the dragon approached, Wee san ordered for the cannon ball to launched at the dragon. Kinabalu, thinking it was his precious pearl, swallowed the cannon ball and died.

Wee Ping, feeling a bit left out of the whole story, lied and said he was the one who came up with the idea for the pearl. He also said that it was he, not his brother, who managed to steal it from the dragon. Wee Ping wanted the pearl for himself.

Wee San wanted no more trouble over the silly pearl, so he said nothing and left China. Later, he became the happy leader of the Brunei. Wee Ping was not so lucky, for his lying brought him nothing but sadness.

Symbolism: Poor Kinabalu and his prized pearl! The story is primarily about lying and bravery; if you are weak and lie you will never be happy. This is symbolized through Wee Ping and Wee San, rather than Kinabalu, who seems to be just a second hand character in this story.

Physical Description: Kinabalu was most probably a dragon that looked much like a common Chinese dragon. It is interesting to note that when dragons hold pearls they are called Pearls of Wisdom.

Related Articles: Dragon Pearl

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History: Lei Jen Zu was the son of Lei, the Thunder Dragon. He was said to be born from an egg by a thunderclap from his father, although he was not born a dragon. The god of literature, Wen Wang, adopted him and cared for him.

As a hero, Lei Jen Zu had many adventures. One of them was the rescue of his adoptive father, who had been taken prisoner. The Thunder Dragon gave Lei Jen Zu two apricots, and he transformed into a dragon after he ate them. In his dragon form, he saved Wen Wang.

Symbolism: Lei Jen Zu can be a symbol of righteousness and heroism.

Physical Description: When he transformed, Lei Jen Zu became a huge green dragon, having wings and a boar's face. In addition, he had tusks, a pointed snout, and beautifully shining eyes.

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History: The legend of Pai Lung began on a stormy night. A young girl, answering the door to her home, found an elderly man outside in the storm in need of shelter. They allowed him in. However, when the old man was gone the next day, the young girl was discovered to be pregnant. Her parents, enraged by this, threw her out of the house.

When the child was born, it appeared to be just a small, white ball. So, this was tossed into the ocean. There, this ball became a magnificent white dragon. The girl, terrified and shocked, fainted and never again woke. Other variations of this story say that she was killed in a great storm, after which the white dragon rose into the sky. However, her reputation was not only repaired, but she was revered for being the mother of this magnificent dragon. Pai Lung, born from her, was the only white Dragon King.

The girl was buried under the foot of a hill, and people asked for favors, pardons, and so forth from the foot of a hill. A temple was erected on the summit of this hill, and a tablet is there which records this legend.

Symbolism: Unknown

Physical Description: Pai Lung was a five-toed Chinese dragon, brilliantly white.

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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.

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1. A History of Dragons
2. Giants, Monsters & Dragons by Carel Rose
3. Giants, Monsters & Dragons by Carel Rose
4. Mythical Birds and Beasts from Many Lands by Margaret Mayo and Jane Ray

For more information, see the Bibliography