63 



learned men, at which Tung Fang-soh spoke as follows: 'I made 

 a journey to the north pole, and came to a mountain planted 

 with fire, which neither the sun, nor the moon ever illumines, 

 but which is lighted to its uttermost bounds by a hlue dragon 

 by means of a torch which it holds in its jaws' " '. 



The dragon being full of Yang, it is quite logical that he 

 should diffuse light, as we have also seen above (Ch. II, § 1, p. 44). 

 The Tih lin ^ says : "A black dragon , vomits light and makes 

 Darkness (Yin) turn into Light (Yang)". 



§ 2. Nature of the dragons. 



In KwAN Chung's philosophical work entitled Kioan tsze^, "The 

 philosopher Kwan", we read the following: "Those who, hidden 

 in the dark, can live or die, are shi (^, a plant the stalks of 

 which are used in divination), tortoises and dragons. The tortoise 

 is born in the water; she is caused to disclose (what she knows) 

 in the fire, and then becomes the first of all creatures, the 

 regulator of calamity and felicity. A -dcagon^Jnthe water cov ers 

 himself with five colour^'Therefore heis a ^o^T'ijhmfT'^h.Q 

 desires to"lTecdme-STirall7 he assumes a shape resembling that of 

 a silkworm, and if he desires to become big, he lies hidden in 

 the world. If he desires to ascend, he strives towards the clouds, 

 and if he desires to descend, he enters a deep well. He whose 

 transformations are not limited by days, and whose ascending 

 and descending are not limited by time, is called a god {sheny\ 



The philosopher Han Fei * says: "Ah, a dragon, as being an 



2 ^ ;J5ijJ, an old divinatory work quoted T. S., Sect. -^ ^, Ch. 130, f| ^ 



3 ^ jy. , ascribed to Kwan Chung, ^ '^tjt , who died in B. C. 645. Ch, XV, p. 



4- - 39, y^mm-ikmm'^mm-c^mmmMm^o 



4 Han Fei Isze, ^^^ ^ (4th century B. C), Ch. IV, nr \% |^ ||. P- 9" = 



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