shrinemaidens: EAST ASIAN MYTHOLOGY MEME: [1/9] CHINESE GODS AND GODDESSES | LONG MU Long Mu [龍母]

shrinemaidens:

EAST ASIAN MYTHOLOGY MEME:

[1/9] CHINESE GODS AND GODDESSES | LONG MU

Long Mu [龍母] or Mother of Dragons was a Chinese woman who was deified as a goddess after raising five infant dragons.

Wen Shi frequently went to the Xi River to fish and wash clothes for her family. On one such errand, she found a large smooth white stone along the banks of the river. She took the beautiful stone home, but later discovered that the stone was actually an egg, from which hatched five baby snakes. Wen Shi’s family was poor, but Wen Shi saved the best food she had for her baby snakes and fed them by hand.

As the snakes grew, they helped Wen Shi catch fish at the Xi River. The snakes were natural swimmers and became very good at catching fish. The snakes eventually matured into five powerful dragons. In Chinese culture, dragons are considered spirits of water, and have the power to control the weather; during a drought, therefore, Wen Shi asked her dragon children to summon the rain for her village. When rain came and ended the drought, the grateful villagers gave Wen Shi the name “Mother of Dragons.”