The folk proverb "February second, dragon raises its head" tells a legend. In ancient times, the Guanzhong area suffered from a long drought. The Jade Emperor ordered a young dragon from the Eastern Sea to bring rain. But the dragon was playful and dove into a river and refused to come out. A young man went to a cliff and brought back "dragon-restraining water," making the river muddy. The dragon emerged from the river to challenge the young man. After being defeated, the dragon had no choice but to bring rain. In fact, the so-called "dragon raising its head" refers to the awakening of all creatures after hibernation. Hence, the saying goes, "February second, dragon raises its head, scorpions and centipedes appear."
Another name for "February second" is the Spring Dragon Festival. Xu Shen's "Shuowen Jiezi" records: "Dragon, the king among scales, it can be hidden or visible, small or large, short or long; it ascends to heaven during spring equinox and dives into the abyss during autumn equinox." This might be the earliest record of the "Spring Dragon Festival" custom.
Long ago, the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea had three dragon sons, but he lacked a dragon daughter. The Dragon King thought, if he had a princess, his family would be complete. When the Queen Mother learned of this, she gave the Dragon Queen a magic pill. Soon, the Dragon Queen became pregnant. On the second day of the second month of the next year, the Dragon Queen indeed gave birth to a white and fat daughter.
As the princess grew day by day, she became tired of life in the Dragon Palace and longed to seek true happiness in the human world. The Dragon Queen knew her daughter's heart and tried to dissuade her, saying, "Child, there is no worry in the Dragon Palace. You have everything you need. Why go to the human world?" The princess replied, "My brothers and sisters only indulge in eating, drinking, and playing. I must go to the human world to find a truly enjoyable life." Seeing that her daughter was determined, the Dragon Queen secretly sent her out of the Dragon Palace and gave her a silk bag.
The princess bid farewell to her mother with reluctance, flew across ninety-nine rivers and over ninety-nine mountains, and arrived at the foot of a big mountain. Looking around, she saw the land cracked, crops drooping their heads, and the sun burning hotly. Nearby, a young man was laboring hard in the field. The princess approached and asked, "With such a dry weather, will you have any harvest planting here?" The farmer smiled bitterly and said, "What can I do? My old mother depends on me for living!" The princess felt compassion for him. She took a few red beans from the silk bag and scattered them in the field. Soon, thick fog rose from the field, and the withered crops turned green. The farmer quickly bowed to her and said, "Noble lady, the whole area for hundreds of miles has suffered a severe drought. Please save the poor people." Moved by this, the princess thought, "He is really a good person, thinking of others. He is my kindred spirit!" So, she took a handful of red beans from the silk bag and threw them into the sky. Instantly, thunder rolled and lightning flashed, and a heavy rain poured down. After the rain, the mountains were green, the crops were green, and people's faces showed contented smiles.
The young man thanked the girl. The princess blushed and said, "No need to thank me. I just wish us to be together for a hundred years." Hearing this, the young man was happy and led the girl home.
When the Dragon King found out about the princess leaving the palace, he was very angry and forbade the Dragon Queen from seeing her daughter. The Dragon Queen missed her daughter every day. Every year on the second day of the second lunar month, she surfaced from the sea, raised her head, and wept sorrowfully in the direction where her daughter had left. Her crying turned into thunder, and her tears turned into spring rain.
