110 



According to the Kiooh yii ', Confucius stated that " apparitions 

 ('1^, "strange beings") in the water are called lung (f|) and 

 wang-siang {^ ^), while apparitions between trees and rocks 

 are called khwei{^) and wang-liang (^^ i^)"- As tp these Mw^ez, 

 we learn from De Groot ^, who quotes the Shwoh wen ' and the 

 Shan hai king *, that this is a class of one-legged beasts or dragons 

 with human countenances, which were fancied in ancient China 

 to be amphibious and to cause loind and rain. The Shan hai king, 

 as quoted by De G-koot, describes them as follows: "In the 

 Eastern seas is a Land of rolling Waves, extending seaward over 

 seven thousand miles. There certain animals live, shaped as 

 cows with blue bodies, but hornless and one-legged. Whenever 

 they leave or enter the waters, winds are sure to blow, and 

 rains to fall. Their glare is that of the sun and the moon, their 

 voice is that of thunder. They are named khwei. Hwang the 

 emperor cax^ght some and made drums of their hides, which, 

 when beaten wich bones of the 'thunderbea^t', resounded over 

 a distance of five hundred miles, and thus struck, the world 

 under heaven with awe". "In this description", says De Groot, 

 "we immediately recognize the lung or Dragon, China's god of 

 Water and Rain". 



Further, De Groot ^ quotes the Tsz^ puh yii '^, which states the 

 following : " There are three species of drought-causing /jaA (^ '^). 

 Some are like quadrupeds; an other kind are transformations of 

 kiang shi (fg/', corpse-spectres), and both these species are 

 able to produce drought and stop wind and rain. But the princi- 

 pal, superior drought-demons, called' ^o A {or koh-tsze, :^^, ^ ■^), 

 cause still more damage; they resemble men but are taller, and 

 have one eye on the top of the head. They devour dragons, and 

 all the Rain-masters ( H ^fjj ) fear them much, for when they 



1 ^ ^ ' ascribed to Tso K'iu-ming, ^ ^[J M , the alleged author of the Tso 

 chw'en. Ch. V, :^ ^ , quoted by De Groot, Rel. Syst., Vol. V, p. 495 : J^ p^ 



2 L. I., pp. 496 sq. 



3 g^ A^ , a dictionary composed in the first century of our era by Hij Shen, 



i^'l^;Ch. V,2. 



4 Ch. XIV, ■J^%^^^,V 6b. 



5 Rel. Syst., Vol. V, p. 761. 



6 -^ ^ ^, written in the second half of the 18th century by Sui Yuen, 



15^ 1*1 • Riinnlomont Ch TTT 



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