-Great King. For
many hundreds of years past the river inspectors had continued to
report that all sorts of monsters show themselves in the waves of the
stream, at times in the shape of dragons, at others in that of cattle
and horses, and whenever such a creature makes an appearance a great
flood follows. Hence temples are built along the river banks. The
higher spirits of the river are honored as kings, the lower ones as
captains, and hardly a day goes by without their being honored with
sacrifices or theatrical performances. Whenever, after a dam has been
broken, the leak is closed again, the emperor sends officials with
sacrifices and ten great bars of Tibetan incense. This incense is
burned in a great sacrificial censer in the temple court, and the
river inspectors and their subordinates all go to the temple to thank
the gods for their aid. These river gods, it is said, are good and
faithful servants of former rulers, who died in consequence of their
toil in keeping the dams unbroken. After they died their spirits
became river-kings; in their physical bodies, however, they appear as
lizards, snakes and frogs.

The mightiest of all the river-kings is the Golden Dragon-King. He
frequently appears in the shape of a small golden snake with a square
head, low forehead and four red dots over his eyes. He can make
himself large or small at will, and cause the waters to rise and fall.
He appears and vanishes unexpectedly, and lives in the mouths of the
Yellow River and the Imperial Canal. But in addition to the Golden
Dragon-King there are dozens of river-kings and captains, each of whom
has his own place. The sailors of the Yellow River all have exact
lists in which the lives and deeds of the river-spirits are described
in detail.

The river-spirits love to see theatrical performances. Opposite every
temple is a stage. In the hall stands the little spirit-tablet of the
river-king, and on the altar in front of it a small bowl of golden
lacquer filled with clean sand. When a little snake appears in it, the
river-king has arrived. Then the priests strike the gong and beat the
drum and read from the holy books. The official is at once informed
and he sends for a company of actors. Before they begin to perform the
actors go up to the temple, kneel, and beg the king to let them know
which play they are to give. And the river-god picks one out and
points to it with his head; or else he writes signs in the sand with
his tail. T