Dragon King
Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:For-multi Template:Infobox Chinese
The Dragon King, also known as the Dragon God, is a Chinese water and weather god. He is regarded as the dispenser of rain, commanding over all bodies of water. He is the collective personification of the ancient concept of the lóng in Chinese culture.
There are also the cosmological "Dragon Kings of the Four Seas" (Template:Zhi).
Besides being a water deity, the Dragon God frequently also serves as a territorial tutelary deity, similarly to Tudigong "Lord of the Earth" and Houtu "Queen of the Earth".Template:Sfnb
Singular Dragon KingEdit
The Dragon King has been regarded as holding dominion over all bodies of water,Template:Efn and the dispenser of rain,Template:Sfnb in rituals practiced into the modern era in China. One of his epithets is Dragon King of Wells and Springs.Template:Sfnb
Rainmaking ritualsEdit
Template:See also Dragon processions have been held on the fifth and sixth moon of the lunar calendar all over China, especially on the 13th day of the sixth moon, held to be the Dragon King's birthday, as ritualized supplication to the deity to make rain.Template:Sfnb In Changli County, Hebei Province a procession of sorts carried an image of the Dragon King in a basket and made circuit around nearby villages, and the participants would put out in front of their house a piece of yellow paper calligraphed with the text: "The position [=tablet] of the Dragon King of the Four Seas {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Five Lakes, Eight Rivers and Nine Streams", sprinkle it with water using willow withes, and burning incense next to it. This ritual was practiced in North of China into the 20th century.Template:Sfnb<ref name="naoe1980"/>
In the past, there used to be Dragon King miao shrines all over China, for the folk to engage in the worship of dragon kings, villages in farm countries would conduct rites dedicated to the Dragon Kings seeking rain.<ref name="heibonsha-ryuoshinko"/>
Daoist pantheonEdit
Within the Daoist pantheon, the Dragon King is regarded the zoomorphic representation of the yang masculine power of generation. The dragon king is the king of the dragons and he also controls all of the creatures in the sea. The dragon king gets his orders from the Jade Emperor.Template:Citation needed
Dragon Kings of the Five RegionsEdit
Historically there arose a cult of the Five Dragon Kings. The name Template:Zhp is registered in Daoist scripture from the Tang dynasty, found in the Dunhuang caves.<ref name="wang.fang"/> Veneration of chthonic dragon god(s) of the five directions still persists today in southern areas, such as Canton and Fujian.<ref name="aratake"/> It has also been conflated with the cult of Lord Earth, Tugong (Tudigong), and inscriptions on tablets invoke the Template:Zhp in rituals current in Southeast Asia (Vietnam).<ref>Template:Harvp on Vietnamese custom; p. 53 on Lord Earth veneration with five dragon kings as ancillaries.</ref>
DescriptionEdit
The Azure Dragon or Blue-Green Dragon (Template:Zhi), or Green Dragon (Template:Zhi), is the Dragon God of the east, and of the essence of spring.Template:Sfnb The Red Dragon (Template:Zhi or Template:Zhi, literally "Cinnabar Dragon", "Vermilion Dragon") is the Dragon God of the south and of the essence of summer.Template:Sfnb The White Dragon (Template:Zhi) is the Dragon God of the west and the essence of autumn. The Yellow Dragon (Template:Zhi) is the Dragon God of the center, associated with (late) summer.Template:SfnbTemplate:Refn The Black Dragon (Template:Zhi), also called "Dark Dragon" or "Mysterious Dragon" (Template:Zhi), is the Dragon God of the north and the essence of winter.Template:Sfnb
Broad historyEdit
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Dragons of the Five Regions/Directions existed in Chinese custom,Template:Sfnb established by the Former Han period (Cf. §Origins below)Template:Sfnb The same concept couched in "dragon king" (longwang) terminology was centuries later,Template:Sfnb the term "dragon king" being imported from India (Sanskrit naga-raja),<ref name="tan_chung"/> vis Buddhism,<ref name="aratake"/> introduced in the 1st century AD during the Later Han.<ref name="lock&linebarger"/>
The five "Dragon Kings" which were correlated with the Five Colors and Five Directions are attested uniquely in one work among Buddhist scriptures (Template:Transliteration), called the Template:Zhp early 4th century.Template:EfnTemplate:Sfnb Attributed to Po-Srimitra, it is a pretended translation, or "apocryphal sutra" (post-canonical text),Template:Sfnb<ref name="sun"/> but its influence on later rituals (relating to entombment) is not dismissable.<ref name="sun"/>
The dragon king cult was most active around the Sui-Tang dynasty, according to one scholar,Template:Sfnb but another observes that the cult spread farther afield with the backing of Song dynasty monarchs who built Dragon King Temples (or rather Taoist shrines),<ref name="wang.fang"/> and Emperor Huizong of Song (12th century) conferred investiture upon them as local kings.<ref name="dore1917"/> But the dragon king and other spell incantations came to be discouraged in Buddhism within China, because they were based on eclectic (apocryphal) sutras and the emphasis grew for the orthodox sutras,Template:Sfnb or put another way, the quinary system (based on number 5) was being superseded by the number 8 or number 12 being held more sacred.Template:Sfnb
During the Tang period, the dragon kings were also regarded as guardians that safeguard homes and pacify tombs, in conjunction with the worship of Lord Earth.Template:Refn Buddhist rainmaking ritual learned Tang dynasty China by
The concept was transmitted to Japan alongside esoteric Buddhism,Template:Efn and also practiced as rites in Template:Transliteration during the Heian Period.<ref>Template:Harvp, p. 72 (abstract); pp. 76–77: "the gods of the Five Directions, called the Five Dragons (Template:Transliteration {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or the Five Emperors (Template:Transliteration {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}). "</ref><ref name="drakakis"/>
Five dragonsEdit
- (Origins)
The idea of associating the five directions/regions (Template:Zhi) with the five colors is found in Confucian classic text,Template:Refn
The Huainanzi (2nd cent. BC) describes the five colored dragons (azure/green, red, white, black, yellow) and their associations (Chapter 4: Terrestrial Forms),<ref>Template:Cite wikisource</ref><ref name="huainanzi-tr-major4.19"/><ref name="huang.fushan"/> as well as the placement of sacred beasts in the five directions (the Four Symbols beasts, dragon, tiger, bird, tortoise in the four cardinal directions and the yellow dragon.Template:Sfnb<ref>Template:Cite wikisource</ref><ref name="huainanzi-tr-major3.6"/>
And the Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals attributed to Dong Zhongshu (2nd cent. BC) describes the ritual involving five colored dragons.Template:Sfnb
Attestations of Five Dragon KingsEdit
Consecration SutraEdit
The apocryphal<ref name="sun"/> Template:Zhi (early 4th century, attributed to Po-Srimitra Template:Zhi), which purports to be Buddhist teachings but in fact incorporates elements of Chinese traditional belief,Template:Refn associates five dragon kings with five colored dragons with five directions, as aforementioned.Template:Sfnb
The text gives the personal names of the kings. To the east is the Blue Dragon Spirit King (Template:Zhi) named Template:Zhp, with 49 dragon kings under him, with 70 myriad myllion lesser dragons, mountain spirits, and assorted Template:Zhi demons as minions. The thrust of this scripture is that in everywhere in every direction, there are the minions causing poisonings and ailments, and their lord the dragon kings must be beseeched in prayer to bring relief. In the south is the Red Dragon Spirit King named Template:Zhp, in the west the White, called Template:Zhp, in the north the Black, called Template:Zhp and at center the Yellow, called Template:Zhp, with different numbers subordinate dragon kings, with minion hordes of lesser dragons and other beings.<ref name="yamaguchi.kenji"/><ref name="higashi2006"/> Though connection of poison to rainmaking may not be obvious, it has been suggested that this poison-banishing sutra could have viably been read as a replacement in the execution of the ritual to pray for rain (Template:Transliteration, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), in Japan.Template:Sfnp A medieval commentary (Template:Transliteration, copied 1310) has reasoned that since the Great Peacock (Mahāmāyūrī) sūtra mandates one to chant dragon names in order to detoxify, so shall offerings made to dragon lead to "sweet rain".Template:Sfnb
Divine Incantations ScriptureEdit
The Template:Transliteration ("five position") dragon kings are also attested in the Template:Zhp,Template:Efn<ref name="wang.fang"/> though not explicitly under the collective name of "five position dragon kings", but individually as "Eastern Direction's Blue Emperor Blue Dragon King ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}})", and so forth.<ref name="taishang_dongyuan_juan13"/> It gives a laundry list of dragon kings by different names, stating that spells to cause rain can be performed by invoking dragon kings.Template:Sfnb
Ritual processEdit
An ancient procedural instruction for invoking five-colored dragons to conduct rainmaking rites occurs in the Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals, under its "Seeking Rain" chapter (originally 2nd century B.C.). It prescribes earthenware figurines of greater and lesser dragons of a specific color according to season, namely blue-green, red, yellow, white, black, depending on whether it was spring, summer, late summer (Template:Interlanguage link), autumn, or winter. And these figures were to be placed upon the alter at the assigned position/direction (east, south, center, west, or north).Template:Refn
This Chinese folk rain ritual later became incorporated into Daoism.Template:Sfnb The rituals were codified into Daoist scripture or Buddhist sūtras in the post-Later Han (Template:Interlanguage link) period,Template:Sfnb but Dragon King worship did not come into ascendancy until the Sui-Tang dynasties.Template:Sfnb The rain rituals in Esoteric Buddhism in the Tang dynasty was actually an adaptation of indigenous Chinese dragon worship and rainmaking beliefs, rather than pure Buddhism.Template:Sfnb
As a point of illustration, a comparison can be made against Buddhist procedures for rainmaking during the Tang dynasty. The rainmaking tract in Atikūṭa {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}'s translated Template:Interlanguage link, (Book 11, under the chapter for Template:Zhi) prescribes an altar to be built, with mud figures of dragon kings placed on the four sides, and numerous mud-made lesser dragons arranged within and without the altar.Template:SfnbTemplate:Refn
Dragon Kings of the Four SeasEdit
Each one of the four Dragon Kings of the Four Seas (Template:Zhi) is associated with a body of water corresponding to one of the four cardinal directions and natural boundaries of China:Template:Sfnb the East Sea (corresponding to the East China Sea), the South Sea (corresponding to the South China Sea), the West Sea (Qinghai Lake), and the North Sea (Lake Baikal).
They appear in the classical novels like The Investiture of the Gods and Journey to the West, where each of them has a proper name, and they share the surname Ao ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, meaning "playing" or "proud").
Dragon of the Eastern SeaEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} His proper name is Ao Guang (Template:Zhi or Template:Zhi), and he is the patron of the East China Sea.
Dragon of the Western SeaEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} His proper names are Ao Run (Template:Zhi), Ao Jun (Template:Zhi) or Aó Jí (Template:Zhi). He is the patron of Qinghai Lake.
Dragon of the Southern SeaEdit
He is the patron of the South China Sea and his proper name is Ao Qin (Template:Zhi).
Dragon of the Northern SeaEdit
His proper names are Ao Shun (Template:Zhi) or Ao Ming (Template:Zhi), and his body of water is Lake Baikal.
JapanEdit
As already mentioned, Esoteric Buddhists in Japan who initially learned their trade from Tang dynasty China engaged in rainmaking ritual prayers invoking dragon kings under a system known as Template:Interlanguage link or Template:Transliteration, established in the Shingon sect founded by the priest Kūkai, who learned Buddhism in Tang China. It was first performed by Kūkai in the year 824 at Shinsen'en, according to legend, but the first occasion probably took place historically in the year 875, then a second time in 891. The rain ritual came to be performed regularly.Template:SfnbTemplate:SfnbTemplate:Sfnb
The Template:Transliteration ritual used two mandalas that featured dragon kings. The Great Mandala that was hung up was of a design that centered around Sakyamuni Buddha, surrounded by the Template:Interlanguage link, the ten thousand dragon kings, Bodhisattvas (based on the Template:Zhi, "Scripture of [Summoning] Great Clouds and Petitioning for Rain").Template:Sfnb<ref name="iwata-ch32"/>Template:Sfnb The other one was a "spread-out mandala" (Template:Transliteration {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) laid flat out on its back, and depicted five dragon kings, which were one-, three-, five-, seven-, and nine-headed (based on the Collected Dhāraṇī Sūtras).Template:Sfnb
Also, there was the "Five Dragons Festival/ritual" (Template:Transliteration {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) that was performed by Template:Transliteration or yin-yang masters.<ref name="drakakis"/>Template:Sfnb The oldest mention of this in literature is from Fusō Ryakuki, the entry of Engi 2/902AD, 17th day of the 6th moon.Template:Sfnb Sometimes, the performance of the rain ritual by Esoteric Buddhists (shōugyōhō) would be followed in succession by the Five Dragons Ritual from the Template:Interlanguage link.Template:Sfnb The Five Dragon rites performed by the onmyōji or yin yang masters had their heyday around the 10–11th centuries.Template:Sfnb There are mokkan, or inscribed wooden tablets, used in these rites that have been unearthed (e.g., from an 8–10th century site and a 9th-century site).Template:Sfnb
In Japan, there also developed a legend that the primordial being Banko (Pangu of Chinese myth) sired the Five Dragon Kings, who were invoked in the ritual texts or Template:Interlanguage link read in Shinto or Onmyōdō rites, but the five beings later began to be seen less as monsters and more as wise princes.Template:Sfnb
Worship of the Dragon GodEdit
Worship of the Dragon God is celebrated throughout China with sacrifices and processions during the fifth and sixth moons, and especially on the date of his birthday the thirteenth day of the sixth moon.Template:Sfnb A folk religious movement of associations of good-doing in modern Hebei is primarily devoted to a generic Dragon God whose icon is a tablet with his name inscribed on it, utilized in a ritual known as the "movement of the Dragon Tablet".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Dragon God is traditionally venerated with dragon boat racing.
In coastal regions of China, Korea, Vietnam, traditional legends and worshipping of whales (whale gods) have been referred to Dragon Kings after the arrival of Buddhism.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
BuddhismEdit
Some Buddhist traditions describe a figure named Duo-luo-shi-qi or Talasikhin as a Dragon King who lives in a palace located in a pond near the legendary kingdom of Ketumati. It is said that during midnight he used to drizzle in this pond to cleanse himself of dust.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Artistic depictionsEdit
- Longwang in art
- 大天后宮四海龍王神像.jpg
The Dragon Kings of the Four Seas at the Grand Matsu Temple in Tainan.
- 安平開臺天后宮四海龍王.jpg
The four Dragon Kings at the Temple of Mazu in Anping, Tainan.
Dragon Kings of BhutanEdit
Also the Kings of Bhutan are called the Dragon King as Bhutan in its native language is known as Drukyul which translates as "The Land of Dragon". Thus, while kings of Bhutan are known as Druk Gyalpo meaning Dragon King (Bhutan), the Bhutanese people call themselves the Drukpa, meaning "people of Druk (Bhutan)". Present King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck is the 5th Dragon King.Template:Citation needed
See alsoEdit
Template:Chinese folk religion
- Chinese dragon
- Dragon king theory
- Lạc Long Quân
- Nagaraja
- Prince Nezha's Triumph Against Dragon King
- Shenlong (神龍)
- Tianlong (天龍)
- Typhoon Longwang
- Watatsumi
- Ryūjin
- Wǔfāng Shàngdì - "Highest Deities of the Five Regions"
- Yinglong
Explanatory notesEdit
ReferencesEdit
CitationsEdit
SourcesEdit
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal pdf @ National Taiwan Normal University
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- Template:Cite book
- Template:Citation
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