TREASURESRS OF WISDOM by Wendy Yukihiro

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

PEARLS & DRAGONS
OF ALL THE JEWELS THAT GET WASHED DOWN TO THEIR UNDERWATER PALACES, DRAGONS VALUE PEARLS BEYOND ALL ELSE AND FOR THIS REASON THEY ARE A GREAT PERIL TO PEARL -DIVERS, WHOM THEY SEE AS THIEVES. IN CHINA IT IS BELIEVED THAT PEARLS ARE DROPLETS THAT FALL LIKE RAIN FROM THE MOON INTO THE SEA, WHERE THEY ARE OFTEN SWALLOWED BY OYSTERS. SO IT FOLLOWS THAT THE PEARL THAT DRAGONS LONG FOR MOST OF ALL IS THE MOON ITSELF. MANY HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO GO MAD WITH INFATUATION AND TRY TO STEAL IT FROM THE SKY. SO FAR ALL HAVE FAILED, BUT PEOPLE WORRY THAT ONE DAY SOME DRAGON MAY SUCCEED.

The story of this love has been fixed in the stars with the constellation of the dragon forever chasing the moon across the sky. It is also celebrated in the timing of the Chinese New Year, When the moon rises just beyond reach of the starry dragon, a sign of hope that the mistress of tides and fruitfulness will always escape such rash and consuming lust.
Some dragons are also said to have tried to swallow the sun, but the Chinese say it is always doomed to be burned to a cinder. With the moon there is some doubt, but not with the sun. For this reason many Chinese magistrates
"THE PEARL THAT DRAGONS LONG FOR MOST OF ALL IS THE MOON ITSELF. MANY HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO GO MAD WITH INFATUATION AND TRY TO STEAL IT FROM THE SKY. SOME DRAGONS ARE EVEN SAID TO HAVE TRIED TO SWALLOW THE SUN."
have the figure of a dragon trying to swallow the sun embroidered on their silken robes and wall hangings. It is to declare to the world that it is as impossible for them to be bribed as it is for a dragon to swallow the sun. Whether this is actually true is of course as subject to human vagary as in any other part of the world. Besides common pearls and the moon, there are other pearls associated with dragons.
One legend says that long, long ago there lived a Jade Dragon in a cave on the east bank of the Celestial River (the Milky Way). In the jungle on the far bank lived a Golden Phoenix and the two were great friends.
One day on an island in the river they found a shining pebble and were so enchanted by its beauty that they decided to fashion it into a pearl such as the world had never seen before. So for many months and even years; the jade dragon and golden phoenix. stayed on the island carefully grinding and polishing the gem and bathing it in the waters of the Celestial River till finally it was a perfect shining sphere, by which time they had grown so close to each other that they remained on the island guarding their treasure. This pearl was no common gem and the light it gave off was no common light. In the glow of its radiance spring, summer and autumn ruled together all year round on the island. The trees grew tall, the plants lush and flowers and fruits grew in such abundance that finally the enchanted island caught the attention of the Queen Mother of the West, Xiwangmu. When she learned the cause of magic her heart filled with longing for the pearl, so one night she sent a servant to steal it while the Jade Dragon and Golden Phoenix were sleeping. Then she hid it away in her innermost treasury behind nine locked doors.
The Jade Dragon and Golden Phoenix were distraught when they woke to find their treasure was gone.....
Day and night they searched the island, then the river and then the mountains and forests nearby all to no avail. Then one day they happened to be passing the Queen's mother's palace at Kunlun and saw it filled with a silvery radiance they recognized. The Queen Mother was holding a great feast to celebrate her birthday and on impulse, unable to keep the secret any longer, she had brought out the stolen pearl for her guests to admire. They were all gazing in wonder and admiration when suddenly in burst the Jade Dragon and Golden Phoenix and accused the Queen Mother of having stolen their treasure. she was furious and ordered her guards to throw them out. In the struggle that followed, the pearl was tossed through a window and began to fall towards the distant earth. The dragon and phoenix chased it through the air but could not catch up till it landed in a clear green lake. Unable to part with their treasure, the two creatures settled down beside the lake and to this day  Jade Dragon Mountains and Golden Phoenix Mountain still guard the lake in the far west of China.