A depiction of the Sea Dragon King.

Shim Chung’s sacrifice.  The crewmen now prepared a place where Shim Chung could rest and await her fate. Night was falling, and the crew went about their final tasks of the day.  The men were happy and confident, but poor Shim Chung, how did she face her fate?

The boat grew quiet, save for the chime of a warning bell and the low conversations of the men on watch. Shim Chung gradually quelled her fears and tried to fall asleep.  Then a spirit of great love and grace appeared before Shim Chung and embraced her. It was her long-departed mother.  Other maidens now appeared, and the spirits began to murmur comforting words to the girl.  Gradually Shim Chung grew in confidence and strength as she awaited her fate.

As dawn’s first light began to warm the horizon, the spirits disappeared.  Shim Chung faced the day with great calm and composure.  But with daybreak, winds and rains also arose.  Now came a ferocious storm.  The ocean reared up in mighty waves that crashed angrily against the ship. Water washed over the deck, and the crew became alarmed.  Then Shim Chung, dressed in her white gown, stepped forward.  She and the crewmen offered a prayer to the Sea Dragon King.  Then the valiant girl walked to the gunnel, climbed over the side, stepped out onto a small platform, and dropped into the churning ocean, vanishing from sight.

The Great Daughter of Filial Piety

What happened to the ship and its crew, I cannot say.  But after Shim Chung plunged into the waves, her unconscious body drifted down to the very floor of the ocean.  There she was revived by the servants of the Sea Dragon King and brought before the fearsome monarch himself. The whole court awaited her, and the king welcomed her with a great proclamation: “Welcome, Great Daughter of Filial Piety!”