Note 26 — Chapter V · Chinese Dragon Lore
Reading edition
The Chinese dragon is as closely connected with water as was the serpent form of Osiris with the Nile in ancient Egypt, and as was Indra with the “drought dragon” in India. The dragon dwells in pools, it rises to the clouds, it thunders and brings rain, it floods rivers, it is in the ocean, and controls the tides and causes the waters to ebb and flow as do its magic pearls (the “Jewels of Flood and Ebb”), and it is a symbol of the emperor. The Egyptian Pharaoh was an “avatar” of Osiris, or Horus,26 and the Chinese emperor was an “avatar” or incarnation of the dragon. As water destroys, the dragon is a destroyer; as water preserves and sustains, the dragon is a preserver and sustainer.