39 



and the dragons ascend to the sky" \ for this is the time when 

 the abundant rains come down, a blessing to mankind. 



§ 2. Shu king. 



In the Shu king * we read the following words of the Emperor 

 Shun to Yu: "I wish to see the emblematic figures of the an- 

 cients: the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountain, the dragon, 

 and the variegated animals (pheasants) which are depicted (on 

 the upper sacrificial garment of the Emperor)". So we see that 

 even in the early times of Shun's predecessors, i. e. in the days 

 of Hwang Ti (who is said to have reigned in the 27th century 

 B. C.) and Tao, the dragon belonged to the six symbolic figures 

 painted on the upper garment of the Emperor. This was, no 

 doubt, due to its blessing power as rain-giving god of thunder 

 and clouds. 



§ 3. Li ki. 



The Li H^ says: "What is called the four ling (g)? The 

 unicorn, the phoenix, the tortoise and the dragon, thqy are called 

 the four ling. As the dragon is considered to be a domestic 

 animal, fishes and sturgeons do not fl.ee away" *. Couvreur trans- 

 lates ling by : "animaux qui donneht des presages", but it has a 

 stronger meaning, as we may learn from De Groot's Religious 

 System ^ Therefore I should prefer to translate it by "spiritual 

 beings'". The effective operation of the tsing (^) or vital spirit 

 of these four creatures is, indeed, enormously strong, and there- 

 fore they may be justly called "the four spiritual animals par 

 excellence". It is no wonder that their appearance was considered to 



1 Yih w6i, ^ M ^ M M^ ^'' q""*®*^ '" *^^ famous encyclopaedia entitled 

 KHn ting ku kin fu shu tsih chHng, ^^"^-^0^^^ (published in 

 4725, cf. De Groot, J.l. Vol. I, Introd. p. XXI), which we henceforth, shall quote as 

 T.S.J Sect. ^ ^, Ch. 127, ft ^ ^ #' ? ^*= it S M. M WJl f I 



AM ^ . Sect. ^ 5^ , Yih Tsih ; Legge, Sacred Books of the East, Vol. Ill, Part 



II, Book IV, § i, p. 58. 



3 Ch. VII, Li un, jj^ ^ , art. 3, nr 10: Codvreub, Li ki, Vol. I, p. 524. 



^"^m^^k. 5 Vol. ly, p. 12. 



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