The riong, or dragon, whose figure, as depicted in Corean art, is perhaps nothing more than a highly idealized form of an extinct geological species of saurian, is one of the four supernatural or spiritually endowed creatures. He is an embodiment of all the forces of motion, change, and power for offence and defence in animal life, fin, wing, tusk, horn, claws, with the mysterious attributes of the serpent. There are many varieties of the species dragon, which is the chief of scaly monsters. It possesses the gift of transformation and of rendering itself visible or invisible at will. In the spring it ascends to the skies and in the autumn buries itself in the watery depths. It is this terrific manifestation of movement and power which the Corean artist loves to depict—always in connection with water, clouds, or the sacred jewel of which it is the guardian, and for which it battles, causing commotion in heaven and earth. The dragon is synonymous in Chinese philosophy with the third of the four creative influences and indicative of the East and Springtime, the blue dragon being the guardian of the East. Another cycle of popular notions and artistic ideas is suggested by its change of bulk, for this omnipotent monster “becomes at will reduced to the size of a silkworm or swollen till it fills the space of heaven and earth. It desires to mount, and it rises until it affronts the clouds; to sink, and it descends until hidden below the fountains of the deep.” The dragon is the embodiment of the watery principle of the atmosphere, and its Protean shapes are but the varied ideal expression of the many forms and forces of water. Moisture in its fertilizing or destructive aspects—from the silent dew to the roaring tempest, from the trickling of a rill to the tidal wave that engulphs cities—blessed, terrible, gentle, irresistible, is symbolized by the dragon. The functions of the celestial dragon are to guard the mansions of the gods in heaven, so that they do not fall; of the spiritual, to cause the wind to blow and produce rain for the benefit of mankind; of the terrestrial, to mark out the courses of rivers and streams, while another watches over the hidden treasures concealed from mortals. This last is the dragon that presides over mines and gems, and which mortals must propitiate or overcome in order to gain the precious metals and minerals out of the earth. Intense belief in the dragon is one of the chief reasons why the mines in Chō-sen are so little worked, and the metals disturbed. The dragon pursuing the invaders of their sanctuaries or fighting each other to gain possession of the jewel balls or sacred crystals is a favorite subject in all art of Chinese parentage. Rarely is the whole figure of the writhing creature exposed. Partly hidden in clouds or water, he seems ever in motion. There are also four dragon-kings, who have their palaces in the world under the sea, one ruling in the