Dragon Kings (Longwang)
The Dragon Kings are the dragon rulers of the seas, rivers, and lakes in Chinese religion and folklore, rain-giving lords who live in crystal palaces, take human form, and answer to the Jade Emperor.
| Also known as | Longwang, Lóng Wáng, Lung Wang, Dragon King, Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, 龍王, 龙王, Ryūō, Yongwang |
|---|---|
| Type | dragon |
| Tradition | Chinese (Buddhist and folk religion) |
| Category | Myth |
| Associated with | The Four Seas; the East Sea Dragon King's palace off China's east coast |
| Earliest source | Kumārajīva's Chinese translation of the Lotus Sutra, naming eight nāga (dragon) kings, 406 CE |
| Wings | No |
| Breathes fire | No |
| Guards treasure | Yes |
| Nature | Ambivalent |
Who the Dragon Kings Are
The Dragon Kings, or Longwang, are the dragons ordinary Chinese people actually prayed to. Each sea had its king, the most important being the four kings of the East, South, West, and North Seas, and in folk religion every river, lake, pool, and even well could have a dragon king of its own. Because they controlled rain, villages built Dragon King temples and held ceremonies to end droughts or stop floods.
Origins and Sources
Chinese rain dragons are ancient, but the title "dragon king" came largely from Buddhism. Indian texts spoke of nāgarāja, serpent kings who lived in jeweled palaces under the waters, and Chinese translators rendered this as longwang. Kumārajīva's translation of the Lotus Sutra in 406 lists eight great dragon kings in the Buddha's audience, among them Sāgara, the king of the ocean. In the same sutra Sāgara's young daughter, the "dragon girl," attains Buddhahood in an instant. Native beliefs about river gods and rain dragons merged with these imported kings, and by the Tang and Song dynasties the Dragon Kings had become part of official and folk religion.
Famous Stories
- The tale of Liu Yi, a Tang dynasty story by Li Chaowei, tells how a scholar carries a letter from the mistreated daughter of the Dragon King of Dongting Lake to her father's underwater palace. Her fierce uncle, the Qiantang River dragon, flies off to rescue her.
- Journey to the West, the 16th-century novel, names the four sea kings as the brothers Ao Guang, Ao Qin, Ao Run, and Ao Shun. The Monkey King takes his magic staff from Ao Guang's palace. In another episode the Dragon King of the Jing River secretly changes the amount of rain heaven ordered and is executed for it.
- Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen Yanyi) tells how the boy god Nezha kills the East Sea Dragon King's third son.
Appearance and Powers
The Dragon Kings are dragons in their true form, but they usually appear as crowned human rulers in robes. They command armies of fish, shrimp, and crabs, keep treasure in palaces of crystal and coral, and send rain only when heaven orders it. They are powerful but not all-powerful, and the stories often show them as proud, frightened, or punished officials.
Legacy
Dragon Kings spread to Korea as Yongwang and to Japan, where they blended with the sea god Ryūjin. Dragon King temples still stand across China. Read more on our page on Chinese Dragon Kings, and compare a Japanese undersea palace in A Stay at the Waters Kingdom.
Related
- Lóng (Chinese dragon): The lóng is the Chinese dragon: a long, scaly, usually wingless creature with four clawed legs that rules rain, rivers, and seas and became the emblem of the emperor and of Chinese culture.
- Ryūjin: Ryūjin is the dragon god of the sea in Japanese myth and folklore, who rules from the undersea palace Ryūgū-jō, controls the tides with magic jewels, and was claimed as an ancestor of the imperial family.
- Nāga: Nāgas are serpent beings of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain tradition, often cobras or half-human figures with cobra hoods, who live in underwater or underground kingdoms, guard treasure, and control rain and water.
- Yong (Korean dragon): The yong is the Korean dragon, a benevolent water and weather spirit that brings rain, guards the sea, and protects kings and the nation, often shown holding the wish-granting jewel called the yeouiju.
- Phaya Naga: The Phaya Naga is the great serpent king of Thai and Lao Buddhist folklore, a crested, often many-headed serpent believed to live in the Mekong River and to guard temples, water, and the Buddhist faith.
- Chinese Dragons
- A Stay at the Waters Kingdom
- Dragons Across Cultures
Sources and Further Reading
- Burton Watson, trans., The Lotus Sutra (Columbia University Press, 1993)
- Wu Cheng'en, The Journey to the West, trans. Anthony C. Yu (University of Chicago Press, 1977–1983; rev. ed. 2012)
- M. W. de Visser, The Dragon in China and Japan (Amsterdam: Johannes Müller, 1913)
- Lihui Yang and Deming An, Handbook of Chinese Mythology (ABC-CLIO, 2005; Oxford University Press, 2008)
Cite this entry: “Dragon Kings (Longwang),” Draconika Encyclopedia of Dragons, https://www.draconika.com/dragons/dragon-kings.