Hanlu Temple · A temple you can walk into
Dragon King Hall
West of the gate, in a walled courtyard of its own — the compound's water god, kept at a distance.
In the hall
Thirty-eight metres wide, the main hall of a separate courtyard with its own gate and a small pond in front.
Blue robe, gold crown, a pearl held in both hands. The figure is seated, not standing, which is unusual for a dragon.
Who is this
The Dragon King belongs to the Daoist pantheon; the Buddhist counterpart is the naga, a serpent spirit that guards water and treasure. Folk practice uses the two interchangeably.
He is asked for rain, and for safe passage on water. In an agricultural country that made him one of the most practical gods on the list.
In a real temple
Dragon King temples stand by rivers, wells and estuaries, and were the place to go in a drought. Many were maintained by the state, because rain was a fiscal matter.
On the second day of the second lunar month — "the dragon raises its head" — people get haircuts and eat dragon-whisker noodles. Fishing villages make an offering before the season opens, which is less about piety than about timing.
Written in English for readers outside China; the Chinese version is longer. All eight lots of this hall are in the lot library.