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Legend of the Underground Dragon Serena Gao
The Legend of the Underground Dragon
By Serena Gao
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In Chinese folk religion, the concept of immortal spirits or gods coexisting with humanity is a prominent theme. One such being is the Tudigong (土地公, earth god), a spirit who lives underground and is in charge of a particular area where humans also live.
When building a new house to live in, or moving into an existing house that would be remodelled, it was customary to perform a literal ground breaking ritual. The ritual involves a feng shui master picking an auspicious date to officially start constructions and the homeowner praying to Tudigong to ask for permission and blessings to build there. Otherwise, they risk taking on the negative energy inherited from the previous house, or worse, angering the gods underground who may bring misfortune as retribution.
Even though many people in modern day China don’t believe in the importance of these feng shui rituals anymore, there are famous stories about the consequences of not following them. One in particular involves the Yan’an Gaojia expressway that connects Hongqiao airport to The Bund (a waterfront historical and business district) in Shanghai, where one pillar stands larger than the rest, adorned with nine bronze dragons wrapping around it.
The story differs depending on the Shanghai local but it always goes something along the lines of this: In 1995, when the construction workers were building this expressway, they ran into difficulties drilling holes in the ground for the foundation. No matter what tools or equipment they used, they were unable to drill deep enough. Some began to immediately suspect interference from spirits underground, but because modern day China was officially atheist, the government rejected plans to redirect the road around the area.
So the construction company then secretly invited feng shui masters to take a look. They found that the dragon guardinged Shanghai was residing directly underground in that spot—its body blocking them from drilling further. A monk from Longhua Temple agreed to perform a religious ceremony to invite the dragon out on a particular day, during which they could drill without obstacles. The day comes and, lo and behold, they are able to finish drilling all the necessary holes.
In the days following, the monk died of unknown causes before he could return to his temple. One of the government officials involved with the project developed cancer and died several months later, and other individuals of importance suffered varying degrees of misfortune. Consequently, the workers carved dragons onto the pillar as an apology to appease the gods.
The story of the dragon of Shanghai is a reflection of a time when fengshui was an important part of Chinese culture, as indicated by the people’s respect for the power of the immortal gods. Whether or not this specific story and others are necessarily true, they stand as a testament to the culture and the values of Chinese people.
