in pools during winter and arises in the spring." "It is
the god of thunder, who brings good crops when he appears in the rice
fields (as rain) or in the sky (as dark and yellow clouds), in other
words when he makes the rain fertilize the ground" (p. 38).

In the _Shu King_ there is a reference to the dragon as one of the
symbolic figures painted on the upper garment of the emperor Hwang Ti
(who according to the Chinese legends, which of course are not above
reproach, reigned in the twenty-seventh century B.C.). In this ancient
literature there are numerous references to the dragon, and not merely
to the legends, _but also to representations_ of the benign monster on
garments, banners and metal tablets.[161] "The ancient texts ... are
short, but sufficient to give us the main conceptions of Old China with
regard to the dragon. In those early days [just as at present] he was
the god of water, thunder, clouds, and rain, the harbinger of blessings,
and the symbol of holy men. As the emperors are the holy beings on
earth, the idea of the dragon being the symbol of Imperial power is
based upon this ancient conception" (_op. cit._, p. 42).

In the fifth appendix to the _Yih King_, which has been ascribed to
Confucius, (i.e. three centuries earlier than the Han dynasty mentioned
by Mr. Minns), it is stated that "_K'ien_ (Heaven) is a horse, _Kw'un_
(Earth) is a cow, _Chen (Thunder) is a dragon_." (_op. cit._, p.
37).[162]

The philosopher Hwai Nan Tsze (who died 122 B.C.) declared that the
dragon is the origin of all creatures, winged, hairy, scaly, and
mailed; and he propounded a scheme of evolution (de Visser, p. 65). He
seems to have tried to explain away the fact that he had never actually
witnessed the dragon performing some of the remarkable feats attributed
to it: "Mankind cannot see the dragons rise: wind and rain assist them
to ascend to a great height" (_op. cit._, p. 65). Confucius also is
credited with the frankness of a similar confession: "As to the dragon,
we cannot understand his riding on the wind and clouds and his ascending
to the sky. To-day I saw Lao Tsze; is he not like the dragon?" (p. 65).

This does not necessarily mean that these learned men were sceptical of
the beliefs which tradition had forged in their minds, but that the
dragon had the power of hiding itself in a cloak of invisibility, just
as clouds (in which the Chinese saw dragons) could be dissipated in the
sky. The belief in these powers