CHINESE SUPERSTITIONS - University of Oregon

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ARTICLE XIX.
THE DRAGON-KINGS.
Lung-wang || 3£ (1).
In Article 4, Chapter X, of the V th volume of this series, the
dragon has been described as a mysterious being, soaring
in the
clouds, controlling thunder and rain, and pouring out his blessings
upon the parched earth ; also as a mystic power residing in
mountains and hills, and directing the streams that issue there-
from (2). In the present article, we intend dealing with dragonkings,
Lung-wang |jji ^E, that is mythological personages, who
belonged originally to India, but were borrowed by Buddhism, and
thus introduced into China. In Hinduism, they
are known as
Nagas (3), or serpent-demons. From the third century B.C., they
were represented in human form, with a spread cobra's hood behind
the head ; after the twelfth century, they were represented with a
body ending in a serpent's tail. The more modern representations
are that of a cobra with the hood spread (4). In China, dragon-
kings, Lung-wang fj| 3i, are tutelary spirits of seas, rivers and
lakes, and are considered to protect and confer benefits on those
who worship them (5).
(1) Lung-wang f| 3E, or Hai-lung-wang #| fg 3E, Sea-dragon king, or
Neptune of the Chinese. He is a Naga, whose palace is at the bottom of the
l
ocean, North of M Meru. Williams. Dictionary of the Chinese Languague.
(2) Chinese Superstitions. Vol. IV. p. 405-406 (Geomancy).
(3) Nagas are a class of snake-gods, with human faces, who live in the
lower regions below the earth, or under the waters. Monier Williams. Bud-
dhism, p. 220.
(4) Getty. The Gods of Northern Buddhism, p. i54. — Grunwedel and
Burgess. Buddhist Art in India, p. 43-45.
(5) Eitel. Sanscrit-Chinese Dictionary, p. 78 (Nagas or Dragon-demons).