Dream Galaxy

Literary dream · Cities & buildings

The Dragon King begged the emperor for his life

Chang’an (setting) · c. 1592 (novel); set 7th c.

此時唐王正夢出宮門之外，步月花陰。忽然龍王變作人相，上前跪拜，口叫：「陛下，救我，救我。」

Original text — Journey to the West, ch. 10, Wu Cheng’en (attributed)

At that moment the Tang emperor was dreaming that he had stepped outside the palace gate, strolling in the flower-shade by moonlight. Suddenly the Dragon King, in human form, came forward, knelt and cried, “Your Majesty, save me, save me!”

Translation · Editorial translation (draft)

Open this dream in the galaxy →

Source
Journey to the West, ch. 10 — Wu Cheng’en (attributed), c. 1592
Rights
Public domain (author died 100+ years ago)
Record type
Literary dream
Place
Chang’an (setting) · Chinese
Date
c. 1592 (novel); set 7th c.
Uncertainty
Moderate — Journey to the West, ch. 10; minister Wei Zheng then beheads the dragon in his own dream.
Imagery
Ruler · Animals · Palace · Moon · Garden · Water
Feelings
Unease · Tenderness

How traditions have read this kind of dream

Psychological

Houses, corridors and endless stairs are frequent dream settings. Some writers read buildings as figures for the self; others note simply that dreams rebuild the spaces we move through every day.

cf. Stevenson, A Chapter on Dreams (1888)

Mythological

Labyrinths, towers and underground cities appear in myths from Crete to Babel — built places where people lose their way, reach too high, or find hidden kingdoms.

Greek myth; Genesis 11

Chinese traditions

Tang tales like “The Governor of Nanke” place a whole kingdom of palaces inside a dream, only to reveal it as an ants’ nest — a lasting image for the brevity of worldly glory.

Li Gongzuo, c. 802

These are cultural lenses, not a diagnosis.

Dreams that share its images