The Water Dragon

Full Episode description

What happens when you step into the Cultureverse?

In this episode of our cultural adventure series, David and Jenny meet the most revered creature in the Chinese Zodiac: The Water Dragon.

This story is based on the ancient Chinese legend of The Water Dragon in which a young boy in the countryside finds a stone that brings him a lot of luck. He hopes to use it to bring rain to his village during a terrible drought. The boy ultimately learns to harness the magic of the stone and he himself transforms into a “water dragon”, and then gives the gift of water to all of China and their crops. The dragon is also one of the most revered animals in the Chinese zodiac, as it represents divinity, dignity, power and good fortune.

This podcast was produced by Studio Ochenta for TRAX on PRX and is hosted by Kelly Marie Tran. David was voiced by Ivan Mok. Jenny was voiced by Jenny W. Chan. The Water Dragon was interpreted by Andy Lowe. Auntie Ming was voiced by Hua Szu Yang, and Sandy Poplore is Cherie B. Tay.

Special thanks to our Cultureverse editorial team for this episode: Yilan Batista, Dorothy Li and Alan Z, who brought their experiences as Chinese and Chinese-Americans to this story. And also to our Cantonese translators, Jane Lui, Leqi Zhong and Dorothy Li.

Transcripts and additional resources to learn more about Chinese folklore are available at ochentastudio.com/cultureverse.