The 4 Dragons: A Chinese Tale
Once upon a time, there were no rivers and lakes on earth, but only the
Eastern Sea, in which lived four dragons: the Long Dragon, the Yellow Dragon,
the Black Dragon and the Pearl Dragon.One day the four
dragons flew from the sea into the sky. They soared and dived, playing at
hide-and-seek in the clouds."Come over
here quickly!" the Pearl Dragon cried out suddenly."What's
up?" asked the other three, looking down in the direction where the Pearl
Dragon pointed. On the earth they saw many people putting out fruits and cakes,
and burning incense sticks. They were praying! A white-haired woman, kneeling
on the ground with a thin boy on her back, murmured:"Please send
rain quickly, God of Heaven, to give our children rice to eat…"For there had been
no rain for a long time. The crops withered, the grass turned yellow and fields
cracked under the scorching sun."How poor the
people are!" said the Yellow Dragon. "And they will die if it doesn't
rain soon."The Long Dragon
nodded. Then he suggested, "Let's go and beg the Jade Emperor for
rain."So saying, he
leapt into the clouds. The others followed closely and flew towards the
Heavenly Palace.Being in charge of
all the affairs in heaven, on earth and in the sea, the Jade Emperor was very
powerful. He was not pleased to see the dragons rushing in. "Why do you
come here instead of staying in the sea and behaving yourselves?"The Long Dragon
stepped forward and said, "The crops on earth are withering and dying,
Your Majesty. I beg you to send rain down quickly!""All right.
You go back first, I'll send some rain down tomorrow." The Jade Emperor
pretended to agree while listening to the songs of the fairies."Thanks, Your
Majesty!" The four dragons went happily back.But ten days passed,
and not a drop of rain came down.The people
suffered more, some eating bark, some grass roots, some forced to eat white
clay when they ran out of bark and grass roots.Seeing all this,
the four dragons felt very sorry, for they knew the Jade Emperor only cared
about pleasure, and never took the people to heart. They could only rely on
themselves to relieve the people of their miseries. But how to do it?Seeing the vast
sea, the Long Dragon said that he had an idea."What is it?
Out with it, quickly!" the other three demanded."Look, is
there not plenty of water in the sea where we live? We should scoop it up and
spray it towards the sky. The water will be like rain drops and come down to
save the people and their crops.""Good
idea!" The others clapped their hands."But,"
said the Long Dragon after thinking a bit, "We will be blamed if the Jade
Emperor learns of this."I will do
anything to save the people," the Yellow Dragon said resolutely."Let's begin.
We will never regret it." The Black Dragon and the Pearl Dragon were not
to be outdone.They flew to the
sea, scooped up water in their mouths, and then flew back into the sky, where
they sprayed the water out over the earth. The four dragons flew back and
forth, making the sky dark all around. Before long the seawater became rain
pouring down from the sky."It's
raining! It's raining!""The crops
will be saved!"The people cried
and leaped with joy. On the ground the wheat stalks raised their heads and the
sorghum stalks straightened up.The god of the sea
discovered these events and reported to the Jade Emperor."How dare the
four dragons bring rain without my permission!" The Jade Emperor was
enraged, and ordered the heavenly generals and their troops to arrest the four
dragons. Being far outnumbered, the four dragons could not defend themselves,
and they were soon arrested and brought back to the heavenly palace."Go and get
four mountains to lay upon them so that they can never escape!" The Jade
Emperor ordered the Mountain God.The Mountain God
used his magic power to make four mountains fly there, whistling in the wind
from afar, and pressed them down upon the four dragons.Imprisoned as they
were, they never regretted their actions. Determined to do good for the people
forever, they turned themselves into four rivers, which flowed past high
mountains and deep valleys, crossing the land from the west to the east and
finally emptying into the sea. And so China's four great rivers were formed --
the Heilongjian (Black Dragon) in the far north, the Huanghe (Yellow River) in
central China, the Changjiang (Yangtze, or Long River) farther south, and the
Zhujiang (Pearl) in the very far south.
Source: Chinese Folklore