Pao-pòh-tz says: “There are self-existent dragons and there are worms which are changed into dragons.” Again, he says: “Among the hills the Ch‘ăn day, called the rain master, is a dragon.” Hwai-nan-tsz said: “The Chuh-Lung is north of the goose gate concealed in the Wei-Ü mountain.” The Shan-hai-king says the god of the Chung-shan is called Chuh-Lung. When he opens his eyes it is day, when he shuts his eyes it is night. His body is three thousand li long.
The Shui-hing-chu says: “The Yulung considers the autumn days as night. But the dragon descends in the autumn and hibernates in the deep pools; how then can he say that autumn is night?” It also says: “There is a divine dragon in the vermilion pools at Kiao-chew. Whenever there was a drought, the village people obstructed the upper tributaries of the pool, and many fish died; the dragon became enraged at such times, and caused much rain.”
The Kwah-ti-t‘u says: “At the dragon pool there is a hill with four lofty sides, and within them is a pool seven hundred li square; a herd of dragons live there, and feed upon the many different kinds of trees. It is beyond Hwui-ki forty-five thousand li.” Again, it says: “If you do not ride on a dragon you cannot reach the weak waters[327] of the Kwan-lun hill.”
The Poh-Wuh-Chi says: “If you soak the dragon’s flesh in an acid (and eat it), you can write essays.” Again, it says: “The Tiao-sheh is in form like a dragon, but smaller. It likes danger; hence it is appointed to guard decayed timber.” Again, it says: “The dragon lays three eggs. The first is Ki-tiao. He goes ashore and cohabits with the deer or deposits his semen at the water’s edge, where it becomes attached to passing boats or floating wood and branches. It appears like a walnut, it is called Tsz-chao flower, and constitutes what is mentioned in the Tao-ch‘u as dragon-salt.” Again, it says: “Below the dragon-gate every year in the third month of spring, yellow carps, two[328] fish, come from the sea, and all the streams, with speed to the contest. But seventy-one can ascend the dragon-gate in a year; when the first one ascends the dragon-gate there is wind and rain. It is followed by fire which burns his tail, and then he is a dragon.”
The Shih-I-Ki says: “East of the hills of Fang-chang there is a dragon plain where there are dragon skins and bones like a mountain: spread out they would cover one thousand five hundred acres. To meet him when he sloughs his bones is like the birth of a dragon. Or it is said the dragons constantly wrangle at this place. It is enriched with blood like flowing water.”
The Shuh-I-Ki says: “In the P‘uning district there are the isles where the dragons are buried. Fu-loo says the dragons shed their bones at these isles, the water now contains many dragon-bones, in these mountains, hills, peaks, and gorges. The dragons make the wind and rain. There are dragons’ bones everywhere, whether in the deep or shallow places; there are many in the ground. Teeth, horns, vertebral columns, feet, it seems as though they are everywhere. The largest measure one hundred feet or exceed one hundred feet. The smallest are two feet or three or four inches. The bones are everywhere. Constantly when looking for anything they are seen.” Again, it says: “It is told of the Kuh mountains in Ki-cheu that when the dragon is a thousand years old, he enters the mountains and casts his bones. Now there is a dragon hill, from the midst of the hill issues the dragon’s brains.”
The K‘ié-Lan Records at Loh-yang[329] say: “You cannot trust the hills in the west. They are too cold. There is snow both winter and summer. In the hills there is a pool where a bad dragon lives; long ago some merchants rested near the pool, until the dragon became enraged, abused, and killed them. A priest,[330] Pan-T‘o, heard of it, and, leaving his seat to the pupils, went to the kingdom of Wuchang to learn the Po-lo-man incantations; he mastered them in four years, and returned to his seat. He went to the pool and invoked the dragon. The dragon was transformed into a man, repented, and followed the king. The king then removed.” Again, it says: “To the west of the kingdom of Wuchang there is a pool in which the dragon prince dwells. There is a monastery on the banks of the pool, in which there are more than fifty priests. Whenever the dragon prince does anything marvellous, the king comes and beseeches him, using gold, precious stones, pearls, and valuables, throwing them into the pool. Afterwards they are cast up and the priests gather them. This monastery relies upon the dragon for food and clothing and the means to assist people. Its name is ‘Dragon Prince Monastery.’”
The Ts‘i-ti records say there is a well in the city of Ch‘áng-ping at the brambles; when the water is disturbed a spiritual dragon comes and goes. So the city is called the dragon city.
The Shi-San-Tsin records say Ho-li has also the name Dragon Gate. Great fish collect below it, in number one thousand. They cannot ascend. If one ascends it is a dragon. Those which do not ascend are fish. Hence it is called the “Pao-sai-lung-man.” (Great carp ascend the dragon gate and become dragons; those which do not ascend prick the forehead and strike the cheek.) Again, it says: “The Lung-sheu mountains are sixty li long; the head enters the Wei waters, the tail extends to the Fan streams. This head is two hundred feet high; his tail descends gradually to a height of fifty or sixty feet. It is said that long ago a strange dragon came out from south of the mountains to drink the Wei waters. The road he travelled became mountain. Hence the name.”
The Kiao-Cheu-Kí says: “In Kiao-chi at Fung-ki-hien there is a dyke with a dragon gate; the water is one hundred fathoms deep. Great fish ascend this gate and become dragons. Those which cannot pass, strike the cheek and puncture the forehead, until the blood flows. This water is continually like the Vermilion pool.”