Yu Long
Name
Yu Long
Meaning: Yu - Jade
Long - Dragon
Throughout the novel, this character's name is seldom mentioned (something to do with the fact that he is constantly in horse form, obviously). When he's in horse form, the author refers to him as 'white horse'. When he's in dragon/human form, he's referred to as 'little dragon', or 'little dragon king'. The only reason I know his name is because of his full title - Third Prince of Dragon King Ao Kuang, Yu Long. However, 'yu long' might also be a description of his form, as he has been referred to as 'a jade dragon'. (Jade here refers to white jade - Yu Long is a white dragon.) The words 'Yu Long' as a name are seldom used. Poor guy. No wonder he has no sense of identity. In contemporary media, he is often referred to as 'Bai Long Ma', 'White Dragon Horse'.
Variations: Yu-Lung, Yu Lung.
Japanese pronunciation:
Bai Long (White Dragon) - Hakuryuu
Age
Unknown.
Status
White dragon prince. However, during the pilgrimage, he remains constantly in the form of a transformed white horse.
Original Location
River of Eagle Sorrow.
Weapon
He has no special weapon. Horse hoofs maybe? XD Actually, a dragon is a weapon in of itself. XD
Magical Powers
(1) Flying
Not very fast.
(2) Transformation
Wu Kong - back at Flower Fruit Mountain, ordered to leave by the idiot monk. Wu Jing - captured by a powerful demon. Ba Jie - sleeping who knows where after having betrayed Wu Jing and leaving him fight aforesaid demon by himself. San Zang - transformed into a tiger, thought by everyone to be a tiger demon. What's a dragon to do? Well, while the demon is drinking and making merry in the king's palace, Yu Long changes into a beautiful dancing girl and tricks the demon into letting down his guard before attacking him - the only time Yu Long ever does something else than carry San Zang. The only other time he uses this is when trying to escape from Wu Kong, and of course, when transforming into a horse. Not sure if Yu Long has the 36 or 72 transformations. Should be quite strong, as he is able to change into a beautiful girl, fooling even a very strong demon, (something that Ba Jie can't do) and maintain his horse transformation for such a long period of time. These feats require a certain amount of skill, like what Wu Kong possesses. This horse is stronger, magically-wise, than some people might think. He IS a dragon, after all.
(3) Bi Shui Fa - Water Controlling Magic
In the aforementioned event, Yu Long amuses the dragon by pouring the wine until it is a few inches higher than the cup itself without overflowing. 'She' continues to do this until the wine forms a tall column of liquid growing out of the cup. As Yu Long is a dragon prince (dragons are traditionally in control of the seas, rain, and water), such a trick should be easy. Doesn't use this any other time though.
Abilities
(1) Underwater Survival a.k.a. Swimming
He lived under the Western Sea all of his life. Duh.
(2) Fighting
Despite his strong magical ability, he is not that good at fighting. Probably around the same level as Wu Jing, perhaps slightly lower. I wonder why he didn't help out more with the fighting. Although nowhere near Wu Kong's or even Ba Jie's level, he is useful against weak demons. He is proficient with a sword in human form. His dragon form comes equipped with natural weapons - claws, fangs etc, and he's also proficient at using them. Does fighting in his dragon form count as unarmed combat? XD
(3) Singing
Yes, the dragon sings! Which is more than I can say for the rest of them. During the 'Dancing Girl' event, Yu Long sang a little tune for the demon in his plot to get him off guard.
(4) Sword dancing
In the aforementioned event, Yu Long borrows a sword and dances with it - at the same time waiting for a chance to assassinate the demon with it. He fails, unfortunately.
History
Yu Long is the third prince of the Dragon King of the Western Seas, Ao Kuang. He was sentenced to death for burning a pearl in the dragon king's court. When he was hanging outside heaven, waiting for his sentence to be carried out, the bodhisattva Guan Yin passed by and pleaded with the Jade Emperor to spare his life and let him become San Zang's horse. He was very grateful and went to Eagle Sorrow River to wait for San Zang, feeding on small animals in the meantime. When San Zang passed by with Wu Kong, he ate San Zang's white horse, not knowing his true identity. Wu Kong was pissed (naturally) and fought him in dragon form. Yu Long held on for some time before going down into the deep river to hide. Even more pissed off, Wu Kong made his rod grow and stirred up the waters, giving Yu Long a terrible headache. Unable to bear it any longer, he emerged from the waves and fought him again. However, he couldn't hold his own and had to transform into a grass snake and escaped into one of the many holes in and near the river. Wu Kong asked the local earth god for information. The earth god said Guan Yin put the dragon there. Wu Kong flew to Guan Yin's place in a fit. Guan Yin told him that she placed Yu Long there to be San Zang's horse and went with Wu Kong to get Yu Long to come out his hiding place. To cut a long story short, Yu Long transformed into a strong, beautifully white horse and remained in that form for the remainder of the journey except on one or two emergency situations.
Personality
This guy is a horse for all intents and purposes for the majority of the book. What can I say? He likes hay?
Anyway, Wu Jing-type character, nothing special, committed to the pilgrimage, has common sense, unlike some OTHER people I could name *glares at Ba Jie*, helps the group through some tight spots occasionally. Although, I think it's more because of the personal gain (whee I get to be a dragon again NO MORE HAY!!) than real affection for his companions. (Not to say he doesn't love him, he does, just not very deeply.) For example, during the 'Dancing Girl' event, he begged Ba Jie to go beg Wu Kong to save San Zang. Evidently he is somewhat intelligent unlike another character I won't name (Ba Jie: I AM NOT STUPID!) Yeah right... Also, he seems to be quite observant, despite not participating much in conversation (...duh...), because he seems to have an understanding of the relationship dynamics of the four other pilgrims. He tells Ba Jie what to say to Wu Kong to get him to come - 'Master misses you very much.' But Wu Kong's too clever for that... then again, I digress. Anyway, the author doesn't flesh out his personality much. I suspect Mr. Wu just put him there cause he wanted San Zang's horse to be SPECIAL. *shakes head* So redundant.... I suspect there is more depth to him than is revealed in the book - Why did he burn his dad's pearl? (Why was the pearl so important?) He's evidently quite powerful magically, why doesn't he help out more in the pilgrimage? Much potential to be explored in fanfiction - anyone interested in writing a Yu Long-centric fic? XD
If you have information or comments about Yu Long please tell me.