The Book of the Southern Dynasty relates that the emperor Qi Gao, called Xiao Dao in his youth, at age seventeen had a dream of riding on the back of a black dragon chasing the sun in the western sky. When the sun was almost behind the mountain, the dragon stopped.

Xiao Dao awakened in great fear of the meaning of his dream. His parents took him to a dream interpreter who to his surprise told him that this dream was an omen of nobility. The sunset, the sun falling behind the mountain, meant that the fortune of the Song dynasty was declining and to his good fortune, his own dynasty could then be established.

Soon after, the Song dynasty was indeed overthrown and Xiao Dao became the first emperor of the ensuing dynasty.

EDITOR'S NOTE

The Song dynasty Xiao Dao overthrew was not the famous one--its conquest by the Mongols was still nearly a millennium ahead. It was the Liao Song, one of dozens of pipsqueak dynasties in the four centuries between the Han and the Tang. Still, China was large and populous; even this emperor of a shrunken state ruled millions.

Dragon dreams spoke of an ascent to power--but not always political power. Li Bai's mother, when pregnant with him, supposedly dreamt of him grown up and riding a red dragon. The symbol's so well-known it's no surprise such dreams crop up regularly over centuries.

--Chris Wayan

SOURCE: The Interpretation of Dreams in Chinese Culture by Fang Jing Pei and Zhang Juwen (2000) p.71.

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