Besides ruling over the aquatic life, the Dragon Kings also manipulate clouds and rain. When enraged, they can flood cities. According to The Short Stories on the Tang People (唐人傳奇 Tangren Chuanqi), the Qian Tang Dragon King did just that when he found out his niece had been abused by her husband. Qian Tang also ate the abusive husband.
The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea is said to have the largest territory.
Dragon Kings appeared commonly in literature. Detailed descriptions were given of the finery of their crystal palaces. A Dragon King is one of the main characters in the tenth chapter of Journey to the West. Dragon Kings also appear in games, usually as minor references, although a Dragon King appeared in the recent Mortal Kombat: Deception as the villain. They also appear in one of japan's most popular series : Megami Tensei, both as ennemies and allies.
Temples
There are numerous temples dedicated to Dragon Kings in China. One temple in Beijing was built during the Yuan Dynasty and renovated in the early 21st century. Ch'ao-t'ien Palace (朝天宮) of Peikang Township (北港鎮), Yunlin, devoted to the goddess Matsu, also has human-shaped statues for the four Dragon Kings, each riding on a dragon. In contrast to the Dragon Kings, Matsu, although also a deity of sea, is a motherly figure who never wreaks havoc.
By the Han Dynasty, the dragon's appearance is described as having a body of a snake; the scales and tail of a fish; the antlers of a stag; the face of a camel; and two pairs of talons of eagles; ears of a bull; feet of a tiger and the eyes of a demon.
The King of Wu-Yue in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period was often known as the "DragonKing" or the "SeaDragonKing" because of his extensive hydro-engineering schemes which "tamed" the seas.
In Journey to the West, the son of the DragonKing of the West was condemned to serve as a horse for the travellers because of his indiscretions at a party in the heavenly court.
Dragons are so wise that they have been royal advisors.
The last of the nine is the dragonking, which actually consists of four separate dragons, each of which rules over one of the four seas, those of the east, south, west, and north.
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