Daily in April will be posted a written story: 'How Dragons Shaped China'; the Hindu Ramayana from SITA's point of view; and from Korea, 'Taming of Tiger'; from my days of telling verbal stories at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. These tradi...
The First Dragon, P'angu, died after creating China. He left the Dragons, the Phoenix, the Unicorn, and the Tortoise, who deliver to the people P'angu's dreams.
اوووه! هذه الصورة لا تتبع إرشادات المحتوى الخاصة بنا. لمتابعة النشر، يرجى إزالتها أو تحميل صورة أخرى.
P'angu left his Father the sky; Yang and his Mother the earth, Yin. For centuries, Yin and Yang were serpents with human heads and then Dragons. As thousands of years passed, the Mother of P'angu was titled Queen Mother of the West and his Father King Father of the East. Today each transformed into humans dressed in the finest gowns of golden silk embroidered with dragons of bright colors. They are Celestial Dragons that hold up the heavens live in the royal temple on a golden mountain that reaches into the middle of the sky. One of P'angu brother draws the Sun God's chariot through the day. During the First Dynasty of the Earth Dragon, the Sun God helped humans; he gave medicine and herbs and the five crop stone to the farmers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P'angu friends the White Jade Dragon and the Gold Phoenix stayed in the universe, which we call the Milky Way. Dragon lived in a cave in the East, and Phoenix lived in a forest to the West of the Fairy Inlet. The Jade Dragon and the Phoenix were neighbors and greeted each other with bows of respect.
One day while Jade Dragon swam and Phoenix flew in the Fairy inlet they found a bright and radiant stone.
"Jade Dragon, look, a glowing stone."
"Phoenix shall we work on stone and make a pearl."
"Yes, Jade Dragon, let's start right now."
The Jade Dragon clawed the pearl with his claws. The Gold Phoenix pecked it with her beak. Day after day, year after year, until they formed a round, smooth, glowing pearl. Gold Phoenix was pleased; she went to Fairy Mountain and brought back dew drops to sprinkle on the pearl. Jade Dragon was pleased, he swam to through the Milky Way and brought back pure water to pour over the pearl, which held the grand power of the fairies. The Pearl controlled: the ebb and flow of the oceans; giving of wisdom to the owner; granting all wishes; the phases of the moon; and rain, thunder, lightning; as well as birth, death, and rebirth.
The Pearl glowed from inside, round and smooth and full of magic. All around flashed bright light. The Pearl grew as a great treasure.
Jade Dragon and Golden Phoenix both loved the Pearl. They placed their stone on a cloud in the Fairy Inlet in the middle of the Milky Way and watched. Wherever the light of the pearl flashed, trees grew greener, and hundreds of flowers bloom. Mountains became higher and brighter, and water plentiful. Farmers had large harvests of rice and millet.
One day the Queen Mother of the West walked out of her palace on to her grand golden terrace laced with plants. She saw in the Milky Way the beautiful shining glow of the Pearl that Jade Dragon and Golden Phoenix had shaped. She ordered her trusted guards to get the Pearl. The Jade Dragon and the Golden Phoenix slept when the Pearl disappeared.
This year the Queen Mother would have a special surprise for her 3,000 birthday party. The Pearl glowed from inside. All around flashed bright light. "My pearl is a large glowing treasure smooth and round. Full of magic." She knew the Pearl controlled: the ebb and flow of the oceans; giving of wisdom to the owner; granting all wishes; the phases of the moon; rain, thunder, lightning; as well as birth, death, and rebirth.
The Queen Mother of the West hid the magic stone beneath the earth down deep in nine caves with nine locks. She was the only one with the key.
When the Jade Dragon and the Golden Phoenix wake, their Pearl was gone for the cloud where they had placed it. They looked in the East, West, North, South and all places in between. Jade Dragon searched every cave and Golden Phoenix every corner of the Faery Inlet. The Faeries had not seen the pearl. Everyone in the Milky Way was sad. Day after day, year after year the Jade Dragon and the Golden Phoenix looked for their pearl.
The Queen Mother of the West celebrated her birthday. Her peach tree after 3,000 years had ripened fruits. The King Father of the East kept a record of all the gods, the Immortals, and all invited them to the party. The Queen Mother's guests would eat a peach to have Immortality for another 3,000.
Queen Mother of the West called her guest, "Before we eat the peaches I have a surprise to show everyone." The Queen Mother of the West stepped down into the mountain unlocking the gates to the nine caves. She placed the Pearl on a golden tray and carried the Pearl up into the garden. "My glowing treasure! So smooth! So round!"
The guests stood back struck with admiration.
The Pearl reached out with a luminous glow into the sky.
Queen Mother of the West held the Pearl up, "I, the Queen Mother of the West, mother of the first dragon P'angu, now have the Pearl and its power."
The Golden Phoenix saw the glow from their pearl. The piercing bright light flashed from below the Milky Way. "Jade Dragon, that is our Pearl's light."
The Jade Dragon poked his head from the Milky Way and saw the glow coming from the Golden Mountain "Yes, Golden Phoenix. Hurry let's bring the Pearl back."
They followed the light all the way to where the Queen of the West and the King of the East lived. From the sky descended the Jade Dragon and the Golden Phoenix into the Queen's garden and the party. All the guests move back.
"We search days and days, years and years, everywhere, all over for a stone we found in the Milky Way," said Jade Dragon.
"We carved, polished, and smoothed the surface over many years into this Pearl," spoke Golden Phoenix.
"Why is our treasure with the Queen Mother?" asked Jade Dragon.
"My guards found the Pearl sitting alone, forgotten," answered The Queen Mother.
"We placed the Pearl on a cloud to rest, the Pearl is not lost. You, Queen Mother of the West, stole our Pearl," accused Golden Phoenix.
"Today we saw our Pearl's glow flash into the sky. The flashes of light lead us to your mountain. Give us back our pearl," demanded Jade Dragon.
The Queen Mother knew the special powers the Pearl held, She was not about to give the Pearl to the carvers and owners.
"Give it back!" Jade Dragon clawed for the pearl.
"No, you left it!" Queen Mother of the West held tight. "I'm the Queen Mother of the Celestial Dragons; the Pearl is mine."
Golden Phoenix flew at her. "We shaped and put in the magic. The Pearl is ours!"
Dragon, Phoenix, and the Queen Mother grabbed at each other. The pearl slipped from the platter, rolled from the mountain, and fell through the air faster and faster. Dragon and Phoenix followed the Pearl to the earth. They watched it fall into a deep valley, hit a rock, and bits of their treasure flew into the dirt. Then the remaining Pearl sank into the large West Lake.
Silver Jade Dragon became a mountain on one side of the West Lake while Golden Phoenix became a mountain on the other side to guard the magic of the pearl. Even today at certain times one can see the pearl glow on the surface of the water. Since that time, dragons keep their precious stones under their chins for protection.
