Note 27 — Chapter V · Chinese Dragon Lore
Reading edition
The dragon, as has been indicated, is essentially the Chinese water-god. “The ancient texts … are short,” says de Visser, “but sufficient to give us the main conceptions of old China with regard to the dragon. He was in those early days, just like now, 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 of earth, the idea of the dragon being the symbol of imperial power is based upon this ancient conception.”27