Lord Ye was famously fond of dragons. He had dragons carved on his walls, dragons painted on his pillars, and dragons engraved on every vessel in his house. Even his robes and curtains bore intricate dragon patterns.
When the Celestial Dragon in heaven heard of Lord Ye’s devotion, it descended from the clouds one day and visited his home. Its head peered through the window into the study, while its tail coiled through the front hall.
Upon seeing the living dragon, Lord Ye turned pale with terror. His soul seemed to flee his body, and all color drained from his face. Trembling, he fled the room and hid, utterly terrified.
The true dragon watched him flee and sighed:
“So this is his ‘love’ for dragons—he only adores painted imitations, not a dragon’s true essence!”
With that, it soared back into the heavens and never returned.
Allegorical Meaning
The story of Lord Ye serves as a timeless cautionary tale and a tool for self-reflection:
- Examine the depth of your professed loves and enthusiasms. Are they based on genuine understanding and acceptance of the whole reality, or just a safe, idealized image?
- Beware of the gap between romantic ideals and concrete realities. True commitment requires embracing the complexity, not just the appealing facade.
- Distinguish between loving the symbol and embracing the substance. Admiring the idea of something is fundamentally different from engaging with its living reality.
- Be wary of pretension and self-deception. Are your interests sincere, or are they performed for image?
- True devotion is tested by reality. When confronted with the real thing, does your professed love hold, or does it crumble into fear or rejection?
Lord Ye’s panicked flight from the very creature he claimed to adore remains a powerful symbol of the human tendency to love the idea of things more than the things themselves, especially when those things demand something real from us. The story urges us to seek authenticity in our passions and to be honest about what we are truly prepared for.
Leave a Reply