A RECORD OF ALL THINGS UNDER HEAVEN
As gathered from the oldest accounts that remain
PROLOGUE — CHAPTER TEN
On the Matter of the Four Dragon Kings — 四海龍王 — Si Hai Long Wang
They are called the Si Hai Long Wang — 四海龍王.
Si — 四 — means four.
Hai — 海 — means sea. Ocean. The great waters that surround the land.
Long — 龍 — means dragon.
Wang — 王 — means king. Sovereign.
Together — 四海龍王 — the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas.
They govern the four bodies of water that surround the known world. East. South. West. North. They govern rainfall. They govern tides. They govern floods and droughts. They govern the weather that reaches the land from the sea. They govern the creatures of the deep.
They are subordinate to the Jade Emperor — 玉皇大帝 — Yu Huang Dadi. They receive his decrees. They execute his commands. They report to his court. They are governors of water — 水官 — shui guan — within the celestial bureaucracy.
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On the oldest records.
The Shanhaijing — 山海經 — the Classic of Mountains and Seas — records gods of the four seas.
They are not dragons.
The god of the East Sea in the Shanhaijing has a human face and a bird's body. He stands on two red serpents. He uses two serpents as earrings.
The god of the South Sea has a human face and a bird's body. He also stands on two serpents and uses two serpents as earrings.
The gods of the West Sea and North Sea are described similarly.
These are the oldest gods of the four seas on record. Half-human, half-bird, standing on serpents, using serpents for decoration. They are not the dragon kings of the later traditions. They are something older.
The transformation of these gods into dragon kings was gradual. It was shaped by Buddhist influence — 佛教影響 — Fojiao yingxiang — which arrived in China and brought with it the concept of the Nāgarāja — the Serpent King — the divine ruler of the ocean who governs rain and waters. The Chinese Long — 龍 — dragon — and the Indian Nāga — serpent — were identified with each other. The old gods of the four seas became Dragon Kings.
The Buddhist Lotus Sutra — 妙法蓮華經 — Miaofa Lianhua Jing — records eight great dragon kings. Among them: Sagara — the Dragon King identified with Ao Guang — 敖廣 — the king of the East Sea. Sagara's eight-year-old daughter attained enlightenment and offered a pearl to the Buddha. This story connected the Dragon King of the East Sea to Buddhist teaching.
The Dragon Kings as they are now understood — as four brothers governing four seas from crystal palaces beneath the waves — are largely a creation of the Tang dynasty — 唐朝 — Tang Chao — and Song dynasty — 宋朝 — Song Chao — periods.
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On their names and titles.
The Emperor Xuanzong — 唐玄宗 — Tang Xuanzong — of the Tang dynasty gave official imperial titles to the four dragon kings:
The Dragon King of the East Sea received the title: Guangde Wang — 廣德王 — King of Broad Virtue.
The Dragon King of the South Sea received the title: Guangli Wang — 廣利王 — King of Broad Benefit.
The Dragon King of the West Sea received the title: Guangrun Wang — 廣潤王 — King of Broad Moistening.
The Dragon King of the North Sea received the title: Guangze Wang — 廣澤王 — King of Broad Beneficence.
These were official state titles. The emperor recognized the Dragon Kings as part of the official state religion. Their temples received state support.
In 1137, during the Song dynasty — 宋朝 — Song Chao — the Dragon King of the South Sea appeared as a sanctioned deity for the first time in official records, alongside the rest of his family. From this point, the Four Dragon Kings replaced the older gods of the four seas in both popular perception and official state religion.
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On Ao Guang — 敖廣 — Dragon King of the East Sea.
His name: Ao Guang — 敖廣. Also written Ao Guang — 敖光 — meaning Brilliant Radiance. Also called the Azure Dragon King of the East Sea — 東海青龍王 — Donghai Qinglong Wang.
He governs the East Sea — 東海 — Dong Hai — the Yellow Sea and the waters to the east of China.
He is the eldest brother — 長兄 — zhangxiong — among the four.
He is associated with the Azure Dragon — 青龍 — Qinglong — one of the Four Symbols of Chinese cosmology. Azure. Blue-green. The color of spring growth. The color of new wood.
He is associated with the season of spring — 春 — chun.
He is associated with the element of Wood — 木 — mu.
He is associated with the direction East — 東 — dong.
His undersea palace is the Crystal Palace — 水晶宮 — Shuijing Gong. It is described in the old texts as a palace of incomparable beauty. Its architecture was later said to have inspired the legendary craftsman Lu Ban — 魯班 — in his earthly constructions.
He is depicted as a regal figure wearing imperial robes. He carries a luminous pearl — 明珠 — mingzhu — that represents wisdom and authority over water.
He is the most frequently mentioned of the four dragon kings in Chinese classical literature. He is also the most frequently humiliated.
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On what Ao Guang lost.
The Ruyi Jingu Bang — 如意金箍棒 — the As-You-Will Gold-Banded Cudgel.
This weapon was originally a pillar of iron — 鐵柱 — tie zhu — used by Da Yu — 大禹 — to measure the depth of floodwaters during the Great Flood. Da Yu used it to gauge how deep the waters were and how much remained to be drained. When his work was complete, the pillar was left in the sea.
It sank to the bottom of the East Sea.
It became the Pillar That Holds Down the Sea — 定海神針 — Ding Hai Shen Zhen. It stabilized the tides. Without it, the ebb and flow of the ocean had no regulator.
Ao Guang could not move it. His entire court could not move it. It weighed thirteen thousand five hundred jin — 一萬三千五百斤 — yi wan san qian wu bai jin. No one in the East Sea had the strength to wield it.
Then the Monkey King came.
Sun Wukong — 孫悟空 — arrived at the Crystal Palace seeking a weapon. He had been advised by his seniors that the Dragon Kings of the seas possessed great treasures. He arrived uninvited. He demanded to be shown weapons.
Ao Guang presented him with weapons from the armory. A halberd — 戟 — ji. A great sword — 大刀 — da dao. Spears — 矛 — mao. None of them were heavy enough. None of them fit his hand. He broke several in demonstration.
Ao Guang's wife told him: the iron pillar in the depths has been glowing with a strange light for some time. She believed the pillar was waiting for its true owner.
Sun Wukong descended to the pillar.
It began to glow.
He commanded it to shrink to a manageable size.
It obeyed.
He declared it satisfactory.
He took it.
The sea went into confusion. The tides lost their regulation. The ebb and flow of the East Sea were disrupted. The pillar that had held down the waters for thousands of years was gone.
Ao Guang had no power to stop him.
In addition to the pillar, Sun Wukong demanded armor. Ao Guang gave him golden chain mail — 鎖子黃金甲 — suozi huangjin jia. A phoenix-feather cap — 鳳翅紫金冠 — fengchi zijin guan. Cloud-walking boots — 藕絲步雲履 — ousi buyun lü.
He left.
Ao Guang reported the extortion to the Jade Emperor.
The Jade Emperor took no immediate action.
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On the humiliation by Nezha — 哪吒.
Nezha was the third son of Li Jing — 李靖 — the commander of Chentang Pass — 陳塘關. He was born already a warrior. He was seven years old when the incident occurred.
He was bathing in a stream near the East Sea. He used his red silk sash — 混天綾 — Huntian Ling — the Universe Ring — to stir the water. The stirring caused shockwaves that reached the Crystal Palace beneath. The palace shook.
Ao Guang sent the Yaksha Li Gen — 夜叉李艮 — to investigate. Li Gen surfaced and was rude to Nezha. Nezha killed him.
Ao Guang sent his third son Ao Bing — 敖丙 — to investigate the death of Li Gen. Ao Bing arrived in his war form. He and Nezha fought. Nezha killed Ao Bing. He stripped the dragon tendons — 龍筋 — long jin — from Ao Bing's body. He brought the tendons to his father as a gift.
Ao Guang emerged from his palace in a rage. He went to confront Li Jing. He demanded satisfaction. Li Jing could not control his son. The matter escalated.
Ao Guang gathered his three brothers. All four Dragon Kings united. They brought their armies to Chentang Pass. They took Li Jing and his wife as hostages.
Nezha, to free his parents, offered himself.
He told Ao Guang: take my body. My bones and flesh to my father. My organs to you, as satisfaction for your son.
He performed a ritual self-dismemberment — 割肉還母,剔骨還父 — ge rou huan mu, ti gu huan fu — cutting the flesh to return to his mother, stripping the bone to return to his father. He separated his body into its components. Flesh. Bone. Organs. He returned each to its source.
Ao Guang accepted the organs.
He ascended to heaven to present the matter to the Jade Emperor.
On the way to the celestial court, he was intercepted by Nezha — who had been reborn from lotus flowers by his teacher Taiyi Zhenren — 太乙真人.
Nezha beat Ao Guang severely. He tore scales from his skin — 剝龍鱗 — bo long lin. He caused him to bleed. He reduced the Dragon King to a humiliated, lizard-like state — 蜥蜴之形 — xiyi zhi xing.
He released him only after extracting a promise not to pursue the matter further.
Ao Guang limped to the celestial court.
The celestial court did little.
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On Ao Qin — 敖欽 — Dragon King of the South Sea.
His name: Ao Qin — 敖欽.
He governs the South Sea — 南海 — Nan Hai — the South China Sea.
He is associated with the Red Dragon — 赤龍 — Chi Long — or the Vermilion Dragon — 朱龍 — Zhu Long.
He is associated with the season of summer — 夏 — xia.
He is associated with the element of Fire — 火 — huo.
He is associated with the direction South — 南 — nan.
He is younger than Ao Guang. His exact position in the birth order relative to Ao Run and Ao Shun is not consistently recorded across all texts.
He is associated with the warmth and vitality of the southern seas. The monsoon rains — 季風雨 — jifeng yu — that bring life to southern China fall within his domain. The tropical storms that destroy coastal settlements also fall within his domain.
He is venerated by fishermen and sailors in coastal regions of southern China.
He appears in the texts most often as one of a group — alongside his brothers — rather than individually. His individual story is less developed than Ao Guang's.
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On Ao Run — 敖閏 — Dragon King of the West Sea.
His name: Ao Run — 敖閏. Also called Ao Jun — 敖君. Also called Ao Ji — 敖吉.
He governs the West Sea — 西海 — Xi Hai.
The West Sea is Qinghai Lake — 青海湖 — Qinghai Hu — the largest lake in China. It is in the Qilian Mountains — 祁連山 — Qilian Shan — of Qinghai province — 青海省 — Qinghai Sheng. It covers more than four thousand square kilometers. It is a saltwater lake. It is large enough to be called a sea.
One account records how Ao Run came to govern it.
The Dragon King their father called all four brothers together when they had grown. He told them they should each have their own domain. He assigned Ao Guang the East Sea. He assigned Ao Qin the South Sea. He assigned Ao Shun the North Sea. He intended to keep Ao Run beside him.
Ao Run said: I will be the King of the West Sea.
His father laughed. He approved.
Ao Run went west. Beyond the Nine Provinces of China he found no sea. He reached the southern foot of the Qilian Mountains. He was exhausted. He wept. He said: how can I be King of the West Sea without a West Sea?
He climbed to the top of the mountain. He made a great storm. The storm was not sufficient.
The Jade Emperor saw this. He took pity on the youngest brother. He sent the Lord of Thunder — 雷公 — Lei Gong. The Mother of Lightning — 電母 — Dian Mu. The Earl of Wind — 風伯 — Feng Bo. The Youth of Cloud — 雲童 — Yun Tong. Together they created Qinghai Lake. Lightning, thunder, storms carved out a lake of more than five thousand square kilometers. Its depth exceeded twenty meters.
This became the West Sea.
Ao Run is associated with the White Dragon — 白龍 — Bai Long.
He is associated with the season of autumn — 秋 — qiu.
He is associated with the element of Metal — 金 — jin.
He is associated with the direction West — 西 — xi.
His son Yulong — 玉龍 — Jade Dragon — became the white horse of the monk Tang Sanzang — 唐三藏 — the pilgrim of the Journey to the West.
His daughter Ao Cinxin — 敖寸心 — also known as the Dragon Girl of the West Sea — 西海龍女 — Xihai Longnü — is recorded in several texts.
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On Ao Shun — 敖順 — Dragon King of the North Sea.
His name: Ao Shun — 敖順. Also called Ao Ming — 敖明.
He governs the North Sea — 北海 — Bei Hai.
The North Sea is Lake Baikal — 貝加爾湖 — Beijialer Hu — in what is now Siberia. It is the deepest lake in the world. It contains approximately twenty percent of the world's unfrozen surface fresh water.
He is associated with the Black Dragon — 黑龍 — Hei Long — or the Dark Dragon — 玄龍 — Xuan Long.
He is associated with the season of winter — 冬 — dong.
He is associated with the element of Water — 水 — shui.
He is associated with the direction North — 北 — bei.
He is the coldest and most remote of the four. His domain is the most inhospitable. He is the least frequently mentioned in the major classical texts.
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On the Crystal Palace — 水晶宮 — Shuijing Gong.
Each Dragon King rules from an underwater palace — 水府 — shuifu — the Water Palace.
The palace of the East Sea is the most described. It is called the Crystal Palace — 水晶宮 — Shuijing Gong.
Its halls are constructed from coral — 珊瑚 — shanhu. Its columns are jade — 玉 — yu. Its floors are pearl — 珍珠 — zhenzhu. Its light comes from luminescent stones — 夜明珠 — ye mingzhu — night-shining pearls — that need no flame.
The Crystal Palace has a treasury — 藏寶閣 — cangbao ge — a treasury of rare and powerful objects accumulated over countless years at the bottom of the sea. Objects dropped by shipwreck. Objects lost by gods. Objects carried into the deep by rivers from every corner of the world. The Dragon King possesses what the sea receives.
The palace also has a court — 龍宮朝廷 — long gong chaoting — a miniature celestial bureaucracy. Ministers. Generals. Functionaries. The court of the Dragon King mirrors the court of heaven above and the court of earth below. All courts mirror each other. This is the principle.
One account records that the Crystal Palace served as a model for the famous craftsman Lu Ban — 魯班 — the patron god of carpenters and builders — in designing structures on land. The beauty of the underwater architecture inspired earthly architecture.
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On the duties of the Dragon Kings.
They control rain — 雨 — yu.
Rain falls where the Dragon Kings direct it. Drought — 旱災 — hanzai — occurs when the Dragon Kings withhold it. Flood — 洪水 — hongshui — occurs when the Dragon Kings release too much.
They are required to follow the Jade Emperor's schedule — 天庭雨令 — Tian Ting yu ling — the Heavenly Court's rain orders. The schedule specifies: how much rain falls in each province, on each day, at each hour.
The Dragon Kings cannot release rain without a celestial decree — 天命 — Tianming. If they do, they are punished.
The Fengshen Yanyi — 封神演義 — records: the four dragon kings were once punished by the Jade Emperor for bringing rain to earth without permission during a time of great drought. They had acted from compassion. They saw the people suffering and released rain without waiting for the decree.
Compassion without authorization is still a violation. They were punished.
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On the Eight Immortals and the East Sea.
The Eight Immortals — 八仙 — Ba Xian — were crossing the sea to attend the Pantao Banquet — 蟠桃會 — hosted by Xiwangmu.
They chose to display their individual abilities rather than taking a cloud or a boat. Each used their own object to cross. Lü Dongbin — 呂洞賓 — used his sword — 劍 — jian. Han Xiangzi — 韓湘子 — played his flute — 笛 — di.
Ao Guang's crown prince Mojie — 摩羯 — saw Lan Caihe — 藍采和 — crossing on a jade tablet of unusual beauty. He coveted it. He kidnapped Lan Caihe. He took the jade tablet.
Lü Dongbin threw his flaming gourd — 火葫蘆 — huo hulu — into the East Sea to boil it dry. Ao Guang released Lan Caihe but refused to return the jade tablet.
Lü Dongbin killed Mojie. He killed Ao Guang's second son as well.
Ao Guang mobilized his armies. He fought the Eight Immortals. He lost.
The Eight Immortals made good on their threat. They actually began to boil the East Sea dry. Ao Guang fled to the South Sea.
He recruited his three brothers. All four Dragon Kings together fought the Eight Immortals. They lost again.
Ao Guang filed a complaint with the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor sent the celestial army. The celestial army fought the Eight Immortals. The Eight Immortals recruited Sun Wukong.
The matter was eventually resolved diplomatically. The jade tablet was returned. Lan Caihe was freed.
The account does not record what happened to Mojie.
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On their relationship to the rain rituals.
In times of drought, the emperor performed rain rituals — 祈雨儀式 — qi yu yishi — directed to the Dragon Kings.
The Dragon Kings were petitioned. Offerings were made. Officials went to their temples. Prayers were spoken. The specific Dragon King whose sea was nearest to the affected region was addressed first.
If the drought continued, more dramatic measures were taken. The Dragon King's statue was brought out of the temple and exposed to the sun — 曝曬 — poushai. The logic: if the Dragon King would not bring rain, he would feel the drought himself.
If the drought still continued, the statue was threatened. In recorded cases, the statue was beaten.
These acts were not considered impious. They were considered appropriate pressure on a subordinate official who had failed in his duty. The Dragon King was an official. Officials were accountable. Accountability had physical expression.
If rain finally came after these measures, the statue was returned to the temple and honored with offerings of gratitude.
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On the Yellow Dragon — 黃龍 — Huang Long.
The four Dragon Kings govern four directions.
The center — 中 — zhong — is not governed by any of the four.
The center is governed by the Yellow Dragon — 黃龍 — Huang Long. He is the Dragon of the Earth — 土龍 — tu long. He is associated with the Yellow Emperor — 黃帝 — Huangdi. Some texts say the Yellow Emperor is the reincarnation of the Yellow Dragon. Some texts say they are the same being in different forms.
The Yellow Dragon is not one of the four brothers. He stands apart from the four brothers. He is older. He is the central principle. He is what the four directions surround.
Five dragons. Four seas. One center. This is the complete structure.
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On what they govern and do not govern.
The Dragon Kings govern rain — 雨 — yu. Rivers — 河 — he. Seas — 海 — hai. Tides — 潮汐 — chaoshi. Storms — 風暴 — fengbao. Floods — 洪水 — hongshui. Droughts — 干旱 — ganhan. The creatures of the deep — 深海生物 — shenhai shengwu. The treasures at the bottom of the sea.
They do not govern the land.
They do not govern the dead.
They do not govern immortality.
They do not govern the human soul.
They govern water. Water is everything that flows. Water is what sustains the land without belonging to the land. Water is what the Dragon Kings are.
END OF CHAPTER TEN