87 



§ 13. Dragon's dens. 



We read in the Sheu shen lieu ki': "On mount K'iu in Wu- 

 ch'^ang (in Hu-kwang province) there was a dragon's den. Whenever 

 the inhabitants saw a divine k^iu ( ^L ) fly out of and into the 

 den, the year was dry, but when they prayed to this dragon 

 it rained". 



Another dragon's den is mentioned in the Cheh-kiang fung-chi, 

 "General Memoirs concerning Cheh-kiang",^ where we . read : 

 "On mount Pien in Hu-cheu there is a Yellow Dragon's Cavern. 

 At the top there is a spring which dashes forth fronj the cave,^ 

 called the 'Golden Well spring'; the cave is also called the 

 'Golden Well cave'. The cavern is so deep that one cannot see 

 its end. At the time of the Liang dynasty a yellow dragoX 

 appeared in it. For this reason King Yueh of Wu erected a shriiie 

 in order to sacrifice to the. dragon". Another dragon's den, 

 mentioned in the Kwah i chi, will be treated below in connection 

 with the Indian I^aga-kings (Ch. IX). 



§ 14. Dragon herds. 



According to the Shih cheu ki^ herds of dragons assemble at 

 Fang chang island in the centre of the Eastern sea. The Luh i 

 ki^ relates about a so-called "Blue smoke temple" situated on 

 an island. During several days a cloud of smoke hung above the 

 sanctuary. Suddenly one morning the waves leapt up violently, 

 a herd of dragons appeared at the surface and entered the Han 

 river. The big ones were several chang long, the small ones over 

 a chang. Some were yellow, others black, red, white or blue, and 



¥ . li ^ in M . 



2 ^ ^ ^ ^ (cf- Wylie, 1.1., p. 45: 16th century, revised 1684 and 1736), quoted 

 T.S., 1.1. Ch. 129, |g ^ ^, p. 136: »^J j\] t Ul ^ M f I *?l^ . TS 



^n^^<. ^^^M. *^^#?i^o 9^'^mM 



^ ~{^ fM bE ' ^'■'*'*'^° '" ^^^ ^^" dynasty ; p. 9a. 



4 ^ S fE 1 "Writings on Recorded Wonders", written by Tti KWang-t'ikg, a 

 Taoist priest who lived in the latter part of the ninth century (cf. De Groot, Rel_ 

 Syst, Vol. V, p. 630, note 2), quoted T. S. 1.1., Cli. 129, |£ ^ Zl. P- l^a. 



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