A Tale Told by a Dragon

I am the ninth son of the ninth son of the Great High Dragon-King of the Eastern Sea, Ao Guang, whom all of his descendants call Grandfather.  During a great flood, during the early Xia Dynasty – which also was my eleventy-first birthday – my Grandfather provided a home for me.  The home was at first humble, small, and in the midst of a great misty bamboo forest, yet it was also a pristine clear brook with access to hot vents from deep within the earth creating springs up and down my brook.  I had not yet gained enough fortune or glory of my own; nor had I made a name for myself, where my Grandfather did not yet see fit to find a bride for me or servants of fish, turtles, snakes, and the like.  No, but I was content at being alone in my palace within the brook of the bamboo forest.

My brook had grown from a creek to a tributary then into a wide and deep stream over the next thousand years, yet remained heated and clear.  The bamboo forest grew tall and thick.  Each bamboo tree was as thick round as a human.  The mist from both my stream and from the mountains slowly inched through and lingered, hanging on each of the tallest bamboo braches.  From tiny heated tributaries, flowing and spilling from tiny waterfalls of the foothills of the mountains, came the principle warmth that, not only contributed to my stream and making it as a long wondrous spring, but also created the mystical beauty that surrounded the ever-so green and misty area.  The beauty of my stream became a legend and a wonder to mortals.  So much so, they built a small village nearby as well as shrines honoring me surrounding the stream and the edges of the forest.  It was then I finally started to build enough fortune and glory of my own; but it was too little too late.  For my stream, my home, became too wondrous that the villagers became too many and too greedy.

They stole my stream!  They dammed it up; for their own selfish needs!  They placed their dam, up current, leaving my palace dry, barren, and destroyed.  I was now homeless and forgotten.  I first sought shelter in the nearby bamboo forest, scaring away any villager, woodsmen, or anyone wanting wood from the forest.  Nevertheless, my deeds were in vain, there were too many, and they felt that their need of wood was too great.  Therefore, I sought shelter in a cave in a nearby mountain range, yet it was home already to demons.

I fought them and ran them out.  “This cave is now mine!” I yelled at them.  The demon tribe, the Blue Jade Monkey Demon Tribe, stole treasures from nearby villages for many generations; treasures of gold, silver, jewels, plates, goblets, swords, armor, shields, vases, tables, and more they acquired.  I now inherited the treasure and the cave – which was properly named “Blue Jade Cave,” for most of the interior was made from a greenish-blue jade. 

For over half a century, I slowly gathered fortune this way, by conquering over the demons that hid in the mountains of Taihang.  Some demons had more gold and silver, others had magical treasures like a Gourde of Plenty that provided anything that the bearer wanted, or the Silver Tooth Spear that could cut through mountains, or a more useful tool against the demons themselves, was the Gourde of Void, that sucked in any – and all – that the bearer wanted to be trapped.  I also won over missing both human and spirit daughters – kidnapped from the demons as slaves – at the same time of conquering golden treasures from the demons. After rescuing them they asked either to be returned to their homes, or to remain with me as servants or wives.  My ventures and conquests became famous, part by the stories of the ventures themselves and part by the peace I created, for the mortals around the mountains.  Many of the villages named me the great Dragon King Ao Tai, and built shrines and performed theatrical performances honoring my deeds as well a way to keep my efforts in protecting them.

After a century – of finding the Blue Jade Cave – the local (and lesser) gods of the mountains, forests, streams, hills, houses, wells, and trees celebrated loudly – within my new throne room in the Blue Jade Cave – over my absolute victory over ridding the mountains and valleys of fiends and demons and taming the man-eating beasts.  During the heights of the festivities, a figure stood in the entryway casting a red glowing shadow causing all my guests to change their glances over to the entry.  I called out “Who goes there?  Are you here to pay tribute?  Are you here for retribution against your fallen demon-brethren?  Who are you and why have you come?”  For a long moment the cave was quite waiting for a reply, my guests were getting nervous, but before I demanded an answer, an answer was made in reply.

“You should know me young one, I gave you a fine home, yet you squander your inheritance in this cave, like an outcast petty dragon-fiend!” the voice boomed through the cave, making my guests shake and sending them to their knees kowtowing.  I too was shaken, but because it was a voice I recognized, for it was my Grandfather, the Great High Dragon King of the Eastern Sea.

I quickly got down, kowtowing while crying out “Grandfather! Grandfather! Forgive me! Forgive me! My home was destroyed! I became homeless!”

“Homeless!? You had a home within my palace under the Eastern Sea.  Why did you not return if your palace, I gave you in the bamboo forest, was destroyed?” asked the Great Ao Guang.

“I was ashamed Grandfather.  The mortals dammed the stream.  Then, when I went to save the bamboo forest, they chopped it up.  So I sought refuge in a nearby cave within the mountains.  There I fought a demon monkey tribe that stole treasures from the humans for generations.  After my success, I decided to protect the mountains and remove the infestation of the demons and fiends that lived throughout the mountain range. Both mortals and immortals around and within the mountains began to respect me and honor me. The mortals, in their villages built shires and called me Ao Tai.  I gained treasures from the spoils, rescued daughters that are now either free or my servants and my wives.  I have…”

“Enough!  I have watched you from afar!  I know what you have done.  And out of all my children…” my Grandfather started as he approached me.  “Out of all my children, none have gained their own prestige through good deeds without help from me.  I am proud that you are a child from my line.”  I looked directly up at my Grandfather’s face, whom now was standing in front and towering over me.  His face was brilliant with a smile that stretched from ear to ear; his moth-eyebrows raised, and his eyes gentle and affectionate.  He grabbed me by the shoulders lifting me up, for our eyes to meet, and then embraced me.

Grandfather offered me a proper palace, near his, in the Eastern Sea.  He offered a proper dragon bride and sea servants with dragon treasures including dragon-pearls.

I kowtowed my Grandfather then said, “Grandfather, I am deeply honored.  But, may I ask what will happen to my current servants and current wives?  What will happen to the mortals within and around the mountains?  Who will protect them from demons and fiends that will most likely re-enter the mountains after my leave?  My apologies Grandfather, but I cannot leave when I am still needed.”

My Grandfather smiled larger than before, then started to laugh so loud that the cave started to shake.  “Oh my boy, you continue to surprise me!  If I can find you a proper home, respectable for a dragon’s palace, within these mountains, will you consent then?”  I nodded in response, then Grandfather said, “Good!  Follow me, I know of a grand place!”  I and my guests all followed, out of the Blue Jade Cave, down the mountain, and towards a bamboo forest.  There Grandfather pointed towards a small river, clear and pristine.

“How can this be!?  This cannot be my old home!” I said in wonder.

“It is, I smashed the dam letting loose the water, and redirected smaller brooks and tributaries to feed your new, but old, stream. It is know a river, the Wei River!” Grandfather finished with a bellowing laugh.

“It is named after me, my true name?” I asked in wonder.

“Yes Ao Wei.  Be proud of such a river, of such a home.  Take good care of it, protect the mortals, and be respectful of the surrounding mountains, for they begged me to help them to give you your home back as a way to pay homage to your great selfless deeds.”  Grandfather said.

I looked back to the local gods of the mountains, forests, streams, hills, houses, wells, and trees, and all of them kowtowed in appreciation.  I, in return, kowtow to them out of humbleness and for their great gift.

“Before I forget.” Grandfather said, while handing me a very large bag of pearls.  “The smaller ones,” Grandfather pulled one out showing me, “are for you wives and servants – though there are now some fish, turtle, and snake servants I called forth to serve you in your palace below the currents. However, these pearls will allow your mortal servants to live underwater, as well as preserving their youth as long as they have them on their possession.  The three larger ones are for you find purposes for” my Grandfather said with a wink; and as I held the silk-bag of pearls, he embraced me one more time before saying, “I must be heading off, but I will stop on by some time, but I expect you and your wives to come by to my palace in the Eastern Sea; your father, mother, and brothers and sisters all miss you.”  No sooner than he said that, he was in the sky as large as the mountains themselves and as long as the Yellow River, swimming in the clouds as a snake in water headed east.

So my story closes.  Though, this was how my story began, my story does still continue by ensuring the Wei River does not flood – or at least not as much to harm the mortals that live near – and patrolling the mountains continuing that they are safe and free from demons.  However, most of my time is either spent in my palace, with my family, or at local temples with their theatrical performances to request and beg that the river will not flood.  So if you see a red-golden snake with golden eyes and nine red spots on its square head, please be respectful, bow and say “Hello Ao Wei.”

Dragons: A Western/Eastern Comparison

There he lay, a vast red-golden dragon, fast asleep; a thrumming came from his jaws and nostrils, and wisps of smoke, but his fires were low in slumber. Beneath him, under his limbs and huge coiled tail, and about him on all sides stretching away across the unseen floors, lay countless piles of precious things, golf wrought and unwrought, gems and jewels, and silver red-stained in the ruddy light.  Smaug lay, with wings folded like an immeasurable bat, turned partly on one side, so that the hobbit could see his underparts and his long pale belly crusted with gems and fragments of gold from his long lying on his costly bed.  Behind him where the walls were nearest could dimly be seen coats of mail, helms and axes, swords and spears hanging; and there in rows stood great jars and vessels filled with a wealth that could not be guessed (Tolkien, 1978, p.184).

When thinking about a dragon, most modern (literary) imagery would come from the very notable description of Smaug, from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.  Smaug’s description is the epitome of a western dragon; bat-like wings, “red-golden,” serpentine: “coiled tail,” a collector of treasure, and living in a cave.  Later in the book, Smaug also shows intelligent qualities, something – though not always used with all dragons – that is not as rare in many dragons of both old and modern descriptions.  However, dragons are actually a very vague animal, not only within description, but by characteristic, qualities, abilities or powers, and even the word dragon is actually a very ambiguous word; yes, when we say “dragon” we have an archetypical image of what a dragon is and/or looks like.  However, which archetype are we thinking of?  Is it the archetypical dragon image of the Asian archetype; additionally, is it the Chinese dragon (the stereotype of all Eastern Asian dragons), the Middle Eastern, or Indian nagas?  Is it the archetypical dragon image of the western archetype, the European, the Aztec, the African, or the Egyptian version?  On the other hand, do we think of a non-mythical creature, like that of the komodo dragon; or do we think of how the term dragon use to mean, or even still, the ethnology of the word’s meaning?  In many to all cultures and languages, there is a dragon to describe this archetypical beast (mythical or no); furthermore, many to all cultures are also completely fascinated by this beast, for the mythical idea of this beast to live on even today.  Yet, out of all discussed above, I like to ask [three] things, whether to ponder or to actually find said []. First question is what exactly are the physical differences between the stereotypical Asian dragon and the stereotypical European dragon? This question is directed fully on the two most archetypical dragon image due to how prominent both images are to saturate in both respective cultures as well spilling-over into other cultures.  The second question is the differences in abilities or powers that each cultural dragon has, (i.e. breathing fire, transforming into a human-form, etc.,)?  Finally, the third question asks, what makes a dragon, or what are the qualities of a dragon, and are these qualities universal?  This question focus on the idea that, though a dragon of any culture may not have exact physical descriptions compared to other cultures, yet, nevertheless, there still a conceptual idea of a dragon within each and almost to all cultures around the world, but specifically – in this paper – to Western and Eastern cultures.

The dictionary (dictionary.com) shows how ambiguous dragon is, there are five different meanings; one, being of the mythical beast; two, being the archaic use being that of a large snake [though other dictionaries would claim also all reptiles/amphibians or dinosaurs]; three, being a biblical translation, being that of a snake or crocodile; fourth, being of another biblical meaning, referring to Satan, the Devil; and the fifth meaning is a description of a violent person.  The ethnology of the word ‘dragon’ supports the archaic meaning, dragon stems from the French drakon, which stems from Greek draco; both referring to a serpent; though now, the modern usage refers to the mythical beast that both inspires and haunts dreams and literature.

Within both Jorge Luis Borges’ (1969) The Book of Imaginary Beings, and Judy Allen and Jeanne Griffiths’ (1979) The Book of the Dragon books, dragons are separated into three different sets, the classical, the European, and the Chinese (or Asian).  However, in other sources (i.e. Wikipedia, the online Encyclopedia Britannica, etc.,) combines the classical and the European.  The possible reasons why Jorge Luis Borges’ and Judy Allen and Jeanne Griffiths’ (and possibly more) categorizes dragons in three ways, is that with classical dragons – that of the Greek, Roman, and ancient Middle Eastern cultures – are more serpentine than any other cultural-types; yet, other than for this reason, Borges, Allen and Griffiths do not make any other reasons why they categorized dragons into three sets.

The Western dragon is heavily influenced both by the classical dragons, from Roman, Greek and the Christian religion’s influences, and by the northwestern dragon, from dead pagan northern European religions – such as the Norse and Anglo-Saxon religions.  Therefore, Western dragons are more reptilian, all scales, most have horns, sometimes with bat like wings, some with bird-like wings, sometimes without wings.  Most to all Western dragons have the large bodies and all Western dragons (as well as Eastern) have tails.  Most European dragons do have legs, stout legs, like that of an elephant (or dinosaurs) but feet and claws like either a birds or lizards (even sometimes that of large predatory cats).  Some Western dragons may have either two or four legs; though there are some Western dragons that do not have legs.  In the more contemporary tales of Western dragons, the dragons are more “heavy, evil, earthbound, and hideous, the complete antithesis of the airy, benevolent, elegant dragons of the east” (J. Allen & J. Griffiths, p.46).  In modern media and literature, the western-style dragon has been shown as either a scientifically explained biological destructive force (Reign of Fire, 2002) or a magical intelligent beast that could be either good or evil (Dragonheart, 1996; & Pete’s Dragon, 1977).

Western dragon had only mainly fire as an ability or power; though more notable dragons in both literature and media were dragons that intellect and wits as a way to confuse humans. Western dragons also had their strength and massive size as well as their wings to use when defending or attacking. All of which makes Western dragons to be more of a – in a way – believable physical creature rather than the Eastern dragon attributes, which are more magical and incredible.

When describing the Asian-style dragon, Jorge Luis Borges explains that the Chinese dragon is either the cosmological entity – that of both the spiritual and/or philosophical – or the mythological being that is both part spiritual and part physical.  Chinese dragons are associated with clouds and bodies of water; a single river, stream, lake, pond, ocean, sea, or even a well has its own dragon or dragon king with a dragon family.  The appearance of a Chinese dragon is actually a chimera of different animal features.  According to H.J. Joly – via Judy Allen and Jeanne Griffiths’ The Book of the Dragon – the Chinese dragon and Japanese dragon have similar physical features, which being: 

It is the largest of scaly animals, and it has nine characteristics.  Its head is like a camel’s, its horns like a deer’s, its eyes like a hare’s, its ears like a bull’s, its neck like an iguana’s, its belly like a frog’s, its scales like those of a carp, its paws like a tiger’s, and its claws like an eagle’s. It has nine times nine scales, it being the extreme of a lucky number. On each side of its mouth are whiskers, under its chin a bright pearl, on the top of its head the ‘poh shan’ or foot-throat are reversed. Its breath changes into clouds from which come either fire or rain. The dragon is fond of the flesh of sparrows and swallows, it dreads the centipede and silk dyed of five colours. It is also afraid of iron (p. 34).

In most Chinese and Japanese literature, dragons either are benevolent beings or were benevolent beings that have become terrible demons that feast on humans. In addition, Chinese (and Japanese) dragons are able to change into a human-form and back to their true or dragon-form in a instant; other dragons – in different pieces of Chinese literature – can change in any form by either choice or forced by gods.  For example, in the Journey to the West – a classical and very well-known, through-out all of Asia, piece of Chinese literature – the main character Tang Sanzang (the Tang Monk) has a total of four disciples: Sun Wukong (the Monkey King), Zhu Bajie (Pig of the Eight Prohibitions), Sha Wujin (Sand Awakened to Purity), and Yulong Santaizi. The latter, Yulong Santaizi, is the third prince of a dragon-king, and was forced into being the Tang Monk’s horse – after eating the monk’s original horse – but also during one of their adventures, Yulong (the dragon-horse) changed from his horse-form into a lovely young maiden to sneak into a castle where his three companions were captured. Yulong, a young dragon, was able to change from a male human, to a horse, to a female human, and of course his dragon form throughout the entire series of the Journey to the West.

In the example of Chinese dragons being terrible demons, the Moss Roberts (1979) collection Chinese Fair Tales and Fantasies, the story the Sea Prince, tells of an island where a young man, Chang, ventures to; he find the island beautiful as well as a young maiden who accompanies him. The young maiden tells him about how she got on the island by way of a sea prince (a dragon); but as they talked:

As he was thinking a wind sprang up and rustled the trees, which leaned and bent with its force. “The sea prince!” cried the maid. Chang clutched his clothes and looked in astonishment: the maid was gone! Then he saw a giant serpent emerge from the trees, its body was a large bamboo. Hoping it would not notice him, Chang hid behind the tress, but it drew closer and began wrapping itself coil by coil around both the man and tree… The serpent raised its head and jabbed at Chang’s nose with its tongue. Blood poured out of his nose and formed a pool on the ground, and the serpent leaned down to drink it… It was more than a month before he [Chang] fully recovered from the attack by the beautiful girl who was a serpent spirit (p. 16).

Here, the young maiden was the dragon (or sea serpent), but also described as a serpent spirit, noting on both the physicality and spirituality of the being. Most often, in Chinese fairy-tale literature, any heavenly being can become a demon if the being is thrown out of heaven or its original spiritual home (e.g., under the sea with the Dragon King), because of its mischievous deeds. Being banished was a way to teach the spirit to become humble and repentant, however, many spirits become demons and feed off humans, which results in becoming a demon.

 Eastern dragons had many abilities and powers.  All Eastern dragons could fly but without wings, which denotes on the use of magic or that they are spiritual beings.  However, depending on whether the dragon was a heavenly dragon or a water dragon – such as both the Dragon King and his third prince Yulong in Journey to the West – which were also spiritual, also depended on their abilities.  Heavenly dragons had the abilities to bring about earthquakes, lightening, fire, and even the rain.  Water dragons brought about droughts, floods, rain, and even fire.  All dragons, more especially the water dragons, had special pearls, which had special powers, each pearl had different magic powers.  One, described in Journey to the West, held and preserved decaying – of death – from a king that was killed by a demon.  The demon stole the pearl from a local dragon king within a well of the king’s court; after killing the king the demon placed the pearl in his mouth and left him at the bottom of the well, so that the demon could take the king’s place and image.  Because the king did not age (decay), Sun Wukong (the Monkey King) found a way to resurrect the king and expose the fake, which then saved the kingdom.  Some pearls had the dragon’s fire or lightening powers, while others were minor pearls that were given to mortals so that they can breathe underwater.  One such pearl was given to a man so that he could live with a dragon princess that fell in love with him.

When comparing the Western and Eastern dragon, there are obvious differences; yet there are also several similarities.  One similarity is that both – Western and Eastern dragons – are serpentine.  The Western dragon was more serpentine than the Eastern, described as having scaly skin – like that of a snake; but the Eastern dragon did have many serpentine qualities, which do stand out.  A second similarity is that both dragons could fly.  Western dragons could fly by way of leathery bat-like wings; yet the Eastern dragon – though possessed no wings of any kind – could lift their bodies by way of magic. A third similarity is that both types of dragons had the use of fire; Western dragons were able to breathe fire, by blowing it out they could fight against knights in shining armor. Eastern dragon could use fire too; however, in the literature, it was very rarely mentioned, especially whether or not if the dragons breathed out like their Western cousins.

All in all, dragons do have a type over-encompassing conceptual archetype.  However, what that original archetype was and if there ever was an original archetype that instilled both wonder and fear into humanity, will never be known.  Furthermore and finally, it is known that dragons exist, if not only in humanity’s dreams – and nightmares – and will forever enrapture story-telling for generations to come.

References

Allen, J. & Griffiths, J. (1979).  The book of the dragon. London: Orbis Publishing Limited.

Borges, J.L. (1969). The book of imaginary beings.  (N.T. di Giovanni, Trans.). Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company Limited.  (Original work published 1967).

Courtland, J., Miller, R. W. (Producer), & Chaffey, D., &  Bluth, D. (Director).  (1977). Pete’s dragon [Motion picture]. United States: Buena Vista Distribution Company.

De Laurentiis, R. (Producer), & Cohen, R. (Director). (1996). Dragonheart [Motion picture]. United States: Universal Pictures.

Roberts, M. (Trans. & Eds.).  (1979). Chinese fairy tales & fantasies: The pantheon fairy tale and folklore library. Toronto: Pantheon Books.

Wu, Chengen (1993). The journey to the west. (W.J.F. Jenner, Trans.). Beijing: Foreign Languages Press.

Zanuck, R.D., Zanuck, L.F., Birnbaum, R., & Barber, G. (Producer), & Bowman, R. (Director). (2002). Reign of fire [Motion picture]. United States: Touchstone Pictures.

Morning Breath

You become a dragon in the morning,
did you know?
Wake up early, very early, just as the sun
rises beyond the color turning trees.
It’s best to do this just as you get out of that warm
cocoon that you slept in all night.
I also find comfort, and for a little warmth, 
to have a nice steamy dark cup of coffee 
in hand, sipping and smelling.
Step outside, the transformation is starting;
take a sip, then breathe in slow and deep, 
through your nose.
Then,
Blow out slow and small; now watch!
You are a dragon now!
Breathing smoke and steam into the air.
Now smile,
your childhood is back in your heart warming
what once was cold from days of work.
You are a dragon!
And here, in the mornings,
is your Dragon Morning Breath!