Four Dragons

In Chinese culture, dragons have always been the good guys. They bring good fortune and prosperity, and control the waters. They also symbolize power and authority. The first imperial dynasty of China claims to have descended from the dragons themselves.

There was a time when there were no streams, rivers, pools or lakes on earth. There was just the Eastern Sea, where four dragons lived: Long Dragon, Yellow Dragon, Black Dragon and Pearl Dragon.

Every day, the dragons would fly up and play hide-and-seek among the clouds. One especially hot day, there was not a cloud in the sky as Pearl Dragon soared high. From up there he could see people on earth putting out fruits and cakes and burning incense sticks. Soon, the other dragons joined him and they could see people praying.

‘Look at that sweet old lady,’ said the Long Dragon, pointing to a tiny, white-haired woman who knelt down, carrying her infant grandson on her back. Looking up at the cloudless sky, she prayed: ‘Oh God who resides in heaven! Can’t you see that our children have no rice to eat? There is no rain and our crops are long gone. What can we feed them with?’

The crops had died on the stalks, the grass was yellow and the earth had had cracked in the scorching heat of the sun.

‘How terrible! These poor folk have no food to eat. They will die if it doesn’t rain soon,’ said the Yellow Dragon.

‘Let’s go to the Jade Emperor and ask him to send them some rain,’ proposed the Long Dragon. So the four dragons flew to the heavenly palace, where the Jade Emperor lived.

The Jade Emperor was a powerful god and ruled over the heavens, the seas and the earth. He wasn’t very happy to see the four dragons barging into his palace.

‘What are you four doing here? Your place is in the sea. Go down at once!’ he ordered. The Jade Emperor wasn’t exactly your benevolent sort.

The Long Dragon stepped forward. ‘Please, Your Majesty! The earth is parched and the crops are withering away! The poor people have no food to eat. If you do not send the rains quickly, they’ll all die!’

‘All right, I’ll send some rain down tomorrow. But you dragons! Go back at once!’ he said and turned his attention to some fairies who were singing to him.

‘Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty,’ said the dragons and returned to the Eastern Sea.

Many days went by but not a drop of rain fell from the sky. The people took to eating grass and then the barks of trees. When even that was over, they started to eat white clay. The dragons watched all this from above and their hearts were filled with pity. They realized that the Jade Emperor did not care. If they wanted to help, they had to do it themselves.

As the dragons flew back to the Eastern Sea, the Long Dragon came up with an idea. ‘I think we can help them,’ he said.

‘How?’ asked the others in one voice. ‘Look, there is plenty of water here in the Eastern Sea. Why don’t we scoop it up and take it to the skies and make it fall as rain?’ The others agreed and at once got to work.

They flew back and forth, carrying the water up to the sky and blowing it down as rain. Soon, the rains fell on to the earth and crops began to grow. People rejoiced and soon there was enough to eat.

The sea god, tell-tale that he was, reported the matter to the Jade Emperor. He was livid. ‘Arrest them and bring them here,’ he ordered. He would teach those dragons a lesson they would never forget.

The four dragons were caught and brought to the Emperor. He summoned the mountain god and said, ‘Press upon them four of your mountains so that they never escape!’

Four mountains were brought to press them down but the brave dragons had no regrets. They turned themselves into four rivers and flowed down the mountain and thorough the valleys, finally going home to the sea. They became China’s four great rivers—Huang He (Yellow River), Yangtse (Long River), Zhujiang (Pearl River) and Heilongjiang (Black River).