The annals of Hwa-yang say: “Only at Wu-ch‘ing district does the earth meet the gate of heaven; the dragon which mounts to heaven and does not reach it, falls dead to this place, hence when excavating you find dragon-bones.”
The I-Tung-Chi says: “Twenty li west of Lin-fung-hien is a stone dragon, among the cliffs is a rock like a dragon. In a year of drought wash it, and it rains.” Again, it says: “At Yen-T‘ang there is a pond called Smoky Pond; it is north-east of the city ten li. Its depth has never been ascertained. It is reported that long ago a man caught a white eel, and was about to cook it, when an old man said, ‘This is the dragon of the river Siang; I fear calamity will follow.’ The man was angry, and, regarding the words as vain, proceeded. The next day the whole village was submerged.”
The Kwoh-Shi-Pu says: “At the time of the spring rains the carp springs through the dragon gate and becomes transformed. At the present time, in Fan-cheu of Shansi, there is a cave in the mountains; in it are many cast bones and horns of dragons. They are collected for medicine, and are of five colours. It is recorded in the Chw‘en that north of the Wu-t’ai hills, below the terrace, is Azure Dragon Pool, about one-third of an acre in extent. The Buddhist books say five hundred evil dragons are confined (here). Whenever it is mid-day a thick mist gradually arises. A pure priest and candidates for the priesthood may see it. If a nun or females approach then there is great thunder, lightning, and tempest. If they come near the pool, he certainly will belch forth poisonous breath and they will die at once. Foreigners say that in Piolosz there is a spiritual dragon which goes and comes among the granaries. When a servant comes for rice the dragon vanishes. If the servant comes constantly for rice the dragon does not suffer it. If there is no rice in the granaries, the servant worships the dragon, and the granaries are filled.”
Yuin-Chu-Tsih records: “If one sees a dragon’s egg in the lake or river there will certainly be a flood.”
The Nan-Pu-Sin-Shu says: “The dragon’s disposition is ferocious, and he fears bees’-wax, loves jade, and the King-ts‘ing delight to eat the flesh of cooked sparrows. For this reason men who eat sparrows do not cross the sea.”
The Pah-mung-so-yen says: “The perverse dragon, when rain is wanted, sneaks away into old trees or into the beams of houses. The thunder god pulls him out.”
Wu-ch‘ăn-tsah-ch‘ao says: “There is a great dragon which sloughed his skin on the brink of the Great Lake. Insects come out from his scaly armour. Instantly they are transformed into dragon-flies of a red colour. If men gather them they get fever and ague. If men now-a-days see these red dragon-flies they call them dragon-armour, also dragons’ grandsons, and are unwilling to hurt them.”
Pi-shu-suh-hwa says: “In Suh-chan and Hang-cheu the twentieth day of the fifth month is called the day of the separation of the dragons. Therefore, in the fifth and sixth months, whenever there is thunder, and the clouds crowd together, if they see a tail bent down, and stretching to earth from among the clouds, moving like a serpent, they say, ‘The dragon is suspended.’”
Tsu-tz say: “The spiritual dragon leaves the water and dwells in the dry place, and the mole, crickets, and ants annoy him.”
Kung Sun Hung replied to Tung Fang Shoh, saying: “Before the dragon has ascended he is of a sort with fish and turtles; after he has ascended the heavens his scales cannot be seen.”