Situated four or five miles west of the city of Hangchow is the center of the district that gives its name to what is perhaps the most famous tea in China. This is known as the “Lung Ching.” The tea takes its name from a pool of water called “The Dragon Well.” The walls of a monastery now surround the pool. This photograph shows the entrance to the temple grounds. The two characters over the arch form one of the best-known names in all China.
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Perhaps the most popular kind of tea in China is the “Dragon’s Well Tea.” This received its designation from the fact that its original home [[61]]was in a valley of that name. Among the hills on the farther shores of Hangchow’s beautiful West Lake is nestled a monastery, on the estate of which is a pool of crystal-clear water. From the depths of this “well” a dragon was once seen to rise. The “Dragon’s Well” is now the name of the monastery and also of the surrounding hills. Tea of this name, though it may never have grown near Hangchow, is as highly prized in distant Szechwan and in other distant parts of China as it is in the capital of Chekiang province.
In the excellent new encyclopedia recently issued by the Commercial Press, there are no less than 257 references to the dragon. Fifty-one of these are the names of cities or villages, twenty-four of mountains and rivers, and fifteen the names of flora of various genera.
The emperor’s most reverential title was “The True Dragon,” and in harmony with that idea the word “dragon” in the adjectival sense was used in names of all that had to do with his life and position. As an example of this his throne was the “dragon’s seat,” his hands the “dragon’s claws,” the pen he used was the “dragon’s brush,” the imperial robes were called “dragon’s garments,” and the imperial glance was known as “dragon’s eyes.” [[62]]
The “Dragon Tablet” was the name given to the imperial tablet, which was worshiped during the Ching dynasty in every large temple and monastery in the land, and even in Mohammedan mosques. The inscription on the tablet read as follows: “To the reigning Emperor. May he live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years.” The tablet received its name from the fact that it represented the Emperor, “The True Dragon,” and because it bore at its top a dragon’s head.
One insignia of official rank, until the recent Revolution, was the picture-square embroidered in gold and silver thread and worn on the front and back of official robes. The squares worn by civil officers bore the pictures of birds, while those of military officials were decorated with the pictures of animals; each rank and grade having its corresponding variety of bird or beast. The emperor, the princes, and the prime minister were allowed the special privilege of wearing the dragon on one of these embroidered squares. [[63]]
The Dragon Tablet
During the Manchu dynasty, practically every Buddhist and Taoist temple of any size had an imperial dragon tablet in a prominent place upon the altar. Usually this stood before the image. The words it bore were these: “To the reigning emperor. May he live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years.” In the gilded decoration about the characters three dragons twine themselves. Many such tablets may still be seen, although China has now been a Republic for ten years. This photograph was taken in Hangchow in March, 1922. The tablet stands on the altar in the Temple of the Great Buddha, which is situated upon the north edge of the West Lake.