Dragon King | |||||||
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Chinese name | |||||||
Traditional Chinese | 龍王 | ||||||
Simplified Chinese | 龙王 | ||||||
Literal meaning | Dragon King Dragon Prince | ||||||
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Alternative Chinese name | |||||||
Traditional Chinese | 龍神 | ||||||
Simplified Chinese | 龙神 | ||||||
Literal meaning | Dragon God | ||||||
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Vietnamese name | |||||||
Vietnamese alphabet | Long Vương | ||||||
Chữ Hán | 龍王 |
The Dragon King, also known as the Dragon God, is a Chinese water and weather god. He is regarded as the dispenser of rain, commanding over all bodies of water. He is the collective personification of the ancient concept of the lóng in Chinese culture.
There are also the cosmological "Dragon Kings of the Four Seas" (四海龍王; Sihai Longwang).
Besides being a water deity, the Dragon God frequently also serves as a territorial tutelary deity, similarly to Tudigong "Lord of the Earth" and Houtu "Queen of the Earth".[1]