Dragon Cave

Dragon Cave

Dragon Cave is also known as Dragon’s Nest. It is said to be located south of Tai Gong (Lü Wang) Market, about 20 li from the city. It is an underground spring, so deep that its bottom cannot be seen, and a dragon is believed to dwell within. If the spring’s mouth is dug open, it will rain; if it is covered, the rain will stop—its effects are remarkably reliable.

In the summer of the 15th year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1750), Mengcheng experienced a severe drought. For months, there was no rain, the earth cracked, and crops withered. Both officials and commoners were in great distress.

At this time, someone spoke of the Dragon Cave, saying: “Long ago, a man was digging the ground when he discovered an underground spring. The mouth of the spring was as large as a dou (a traditional measuring vessel), and the spring was unfathomably deep. He probed it with a bamboo pole, and suddenly water gushed out forcefully. Before long, a torrential rain poured down, day and night, nearly flooding the land. The man quickly sealed the spring’s mouth, and the rain stopped. Since then, people have believed this might be a Dragon Cave. If the spring is disturbed and angers the dragon, its power is almost impossible to suppress. Although it can bring rain, it often leads to floods, so no one dared to dig it. But in years of extreme drought, when there was no other choice, they would dig it—and it always worked.” Hearing this, everyone came to believe that this might truly be a Dragon’s Nest. Yang Xianjia, the county’s education officer, among others, said: “Now that the drought is so severe, why not dig the Dragon’s Nest to relieve the crisis?”

So they went to dig the Dragon’s Nest, and just as that man had said, it worked. When they left, the sun was still blazing, but by the time they returned, the rain had started—and it grew heavier and heavier.

Overjoyed, Yang Xianjia composed a poem titled “Praying for Rain at the Dragon’s Nest,” which reads:

The scorching summer sun blows fierce winds,

The millet and grain wither as if scorched.

Prayers to shrines yield no divine response,

Together we turn to the Dragon’s Nest, hoping for its mercy.

We walk as the sunlight still beats down harshly,

Yet by the time we act, the rains have begun to drizzle.

Most joyful is the sight after three plow depths are soaked,

Reviving the hemp and bringing peace to the coming year.

This poem is recorded in the “Miscellaneous Records” section of the 1915 Revised Mengcheng County Annals.

The 1915 Revised Mengcheng County Annals (Arts and Literature Section) also includes an essay titled “Record of the Dragon Cave,” written by an anonymous contemporary.