Yinglong’s Family Tree

Yinglong was the eldest of all dragons in Chinese lore. His name meant “proper conduct dragon,” showing how he set an example for all of his kind. Unlike any other dragon, Yinglong had wings in addition to his stag horns, snake neck, camel head, demon eyes, cow ears, clam belly, fish scales, eagle claws and tiger legs.

In addition to Yinglong, Chinese legend features a number of dragons with specific roles to play.

Chulong, the Homeless Dragons, inhabit desolate areas such as mountains, marshes, and the bottom of the sea.

Dilong, the Underground Dragons, watch over rivers and streams. In some tellings, these are female dragons who mate with Shenlong.

Feilong are Cloud Dragons, who dwell among the clouds and mist.

Fucanglong, the Dragons of Hidden Treasure, live in the underworld and guard its buried wealth. When a Fucanglong comes out of the ground to report to the heavens, a volcano is formed.

Huanglong, like Yinglong, is an individual and one of the eldest dragons. He bestowed the gift of writing upon Fu-Shi, one of the mythical Five Emperors. Later, when a monster named Kung Kang had torn a hole in the sky, Huanglong filled that gap and his light restored life to the land. Day and night, months and seasons were synchronized with Huanglong’s breathing. Another version of this tale is called The Candle Dragon.

Jiaolong are Hornless Dragons, most likely similar to crocodiles, who are the rulers of all reptiles.

Longwang are the four Dragon Kings, each ruling one of the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Seas. These dragons appear in several legends, including The Eight Immortals Cross the Sea and The Rabbit and the Dragon King.

Panlong, the Coiling Dragons, live in ponds and lakes. These dragons have not yet been called to heaven.

Shenlong, the Spiritual Dragons, are rainmakers who watch over humanity. They are associated with storms and thunder.

Tianlong, the Celestial Dragons, serve the gods directly by guarding their heavenly palaces and pulling their chariots.

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A few of my other books:

Aunt Ursula’s Atlas, Lucy D. Ford’s short story collection and Masters of Air & Fire, her middle-grade novel.

The Grimhold Wolf, my Gothic werewolf fantasy, and my epic fantasy, The Seven Exalted Orders.

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Yinglong

Yinglong are Chinese dragons associated with technological innovations in flood control. In various legends told over thousands of years, Yinglong most often appears as a sub-type of Chinese dragons, yet in some cases it seems the stories refer to a specific individual dragon.

Written accounts of Yinglong appear as early as 400 B.C.E. These dragons are associated with a group of mythical ancient rulers known as the Three Sovereigns and the Five Emperors (perhaps 2850 – 2070 B.C.E.). Each of these rulers is said to have invented some important technology — for instance, harnessing the power of fire — often with the guidance of dragons.

The most common tale regarding Yinglong is that he came to the aid of humanity during a time of relentless floods. A succession of kings had been trying to solve this problem. It wasn’t until the time of King Yu that progress was made. For whatever reason, Yinglong had sympathy for King Yu. Descending to the Earth, the dragon drew lines in the mud with its tail. Yu recognized that this was a map of China, and the lines from the dragon’s tail indicated where canals could be built.

By implementing Yinglong’s design, King Yu not only diverted dangerous floods from inhabited areas, but allowed better irritation of rice fields. He ultimately divided the land into the nine provinces that formed the backbone of Chinese identity for many centuries. King Yu also is credited with founding the Xia Dynasty, China’s earliest known civilization.

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A few of my other books:

Aunt Ursula’s Atlas, Lucy D. Ford’s short story collection and Masters of Air & Fire, her middle-grade novel.

The Grimhold Wolf, my Gothic werewolf fantasy, and my epic fantasy, The Seven Exalted Orders.

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Dragon Encounters 21

I’m late posting today because I was at an amazing literary conference held by the Inland Northwest chapter of SCBWI. But I did see this amazing dragon image in the portfolio display. This dragon was one of several illuminated beasts in a series. Thanks so much to the artist, Hannah Charlton, for allowing me to share it here.

“Dragon,” by Hannah Charlton, 2017, used with permission.

The gold ink Hannah used is really spectacular and gives her work a special appeal.

 

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A few of my other books:

Aunt Ursula’s Atlas, Lucy D. Ford’s short story collection and Masters of Air & Fire, her middle-grade novel.

The Grimhold Wolf, my Gothic werewolf fantasy, and my epic fantasy, The Seven Exalted Orders.

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Kur, Part 2

This is the second of two legends related to Kur, a Sumerian dragon god who ruled in the underworld.

In this telling, Kur’s foe is the hero-god Ninurta. Ninurta had his origins as a god of agriculture, specifically barley. As Sumerian life changed, with small farming villages becoming powerful city-states, Ninurta’s role also became more martial. Eventually he was something like Hercules in Greek myth — a hot-tempered god who ran around having adventures while the other gods minded their celestial business.

Ninurta had a marvelous weapon, a mace called Sharur, which could talk and change its shape to that of a winged lion. As the story begins, Ninurta is feeling down because he hasn’t had a good fight lately. Sharur suggests that he take on Kur, who after all is evil and a force for destruction. After extensive flattery by Sharur, Ninurta takes on this challenge.

At in the previous version, Ninurta travels to Kur’s domain and is met with a shower of falling rocks. The battle goes poorly, and he is forced to flee — possibly by flying on Sharur’s back. After Sharur exhorts and encourages him, Ninurta returns to the fray. This time he is attacked with boulders, but he summons all his courage and might. At the end of the battle, Kur lies dead. Sharur extols his master’s great achievement. But…

Kur’s celestial business was to keep the abyssal sea separated from the fertile land. Without him, there is no one to hold back the tides. The sea begins to rise, slowly but surely, until salt water threatens to cover all the land. No fresh water can reach the crops. Soon people are desperately hungry.

When Ninurta learns what is happening, he knows he has to make this right. Returning to the battlefield, he discovers that salt water is ceaselessly flowing from the place where Kur’s body lies. Acting quickly, Ninurta gathers up all the boulders he and Kur hurled at each other during their battle. With these he builds a mighty wall. Ninurta’s stone dam diverts the salt water back into the sea. This allows the Tigris River to run clear. With fresh water restored, the people can once again grow crops. They praise Ninurta as their savior.

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A few of my other books:

Aunt Ursula’s Atlas, Lucy D. Ford’s short story collection and Masters of Air & Fire, her middle-grade novel.

The Grimhold Wolf, my Gothic werewolf fantasy, and my epic fantasy, The Seven Exalted Orders.

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Kur

In ancient Sumeria (3300 – 2270 BCE), legends told of a savage dragon god who existed at the dawn of creation. Their lore held that the world was composed of three parts: the surface Land, an oceanic Abyss, and between them a space known as Irkala, the Underworld. This was the domain of the gigantic serpent, Kur.

Various deities had paired off during the creation of the world. Anu, god of the stars, captured and married Uras, goddess of the heavens, while Enlil, the storm god, married the earth goddess Ninlil. Not to be left out, Kur abducted the goddess Ereshkigal and made her his queen in Irkala.

This offended the water god, Enki, and he set off to avenge Ereshkigal. Enki descended to Irkala in a boat made of reeds. Kur saw him coming and attacked with a shower of stones while trying to swamp the boat with swirling tidess. Enki fended off the attack. Kur tried again with a rain of boulders and raging waves, but still Enki’s boat survived.

At last Kur himself came in person and the battle was joined! One can only imagine the foam and fury as two water gods made war. Enki prevailed and installed himself as Lord of the Abyss, but Ereshkigal either could not or would not return from captivity. She remained in Irkala as an independent and powerful Queen of the Underworld.

As for Kur, the myths do not state his fate. He may well have survived, for shortly afterward the waters began to rise. Soon all life on Earth was threatened. Check back on Wednesday to learn which deity was next to take on the dreaded Kur!

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A few of my other books:

Aunt Ursula’s Atlas, Lucy D. Ford’s short story collection and Masters of Air & Fire, her middle-grade novel.

The Grimhold Wolf, my Gothic werewolf fantasy, and my epic fantasy, The Seven Exalted Orders.

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Dragon Encounters 20

So this was in the grocery store yesterday…

Soda on a Shelf, September 2017

 

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A few of my other books:

Aunt Ursula’s Atlas, Lucy D. Ford’s short story collection and Masters of Air & Fire, her middle-grade novel.

The Grimhold Wolf, my Gothic werewolf fantasy, and my epic fantasy, The Seven Exalted Orders.

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Tough Travels: Dragons

I don’t often reblog, but Nicola Rossi posted this on her excellent Thoughts on Fantasy. I can’t say it better than she did, so check out her recommended dragon books! Tough Travels: Dragons

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A few of my other books:

Aunt Ursula’s Atlas, Lucy D. Ford’s short story collection and Masters of Air & Fire, her middle-grade novel.

The Grimhold Wolf, my Gothic werewolf fantasy, and my epic fantasy, The Seven Exalted Orders.

 

 

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