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Di Jun
Di Jun () also known as Emperor Jun is one of the ancient supreme deities of China, now known primarily through five chapters of the ''Shanhaijing'' (Yang 2005, 97). Di Jun had two wives, or consorts: Xihe (deity), Xihe and Changxi, and Di Jun figures in several stories from Chinese mythology. One of the famous myths in which Di Jun appears is that of the archer Houyi, to whom he gave a Bow and arrow, bow and arrows (Birrell 1993, 314). Di Jun is also associated with the agricultural arts, either directly or as the progenitor of other innovators of farming practice, including especially his son, Houji, the Zhou dynasty, Zhou ancestor (Yang 2005, 98). Some scholars identify Di Jun and Di Ku as variations from a shared original source (Yang 2005, 100). See also *Chinese mythology *Di Ku *Five Grains *Horse in Chinese mythology *Houyi *Shujun References *Birrell, Anne (1993). ''Chinese Mythology''. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins). *Yang, Lihui, ''et al.'' (2005). ''Handbook of Chinese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shanhaijing
The ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'', also known as ''Shan Hai Jing'', formerly romanized as the ''Shan-hai Ching'', is a Chinese classic text and a compilation of mythic geography and beasts. Early versions of the text may have existed since the 4th century BCE, but the present form was not reached until the early Han dynasty. It is largely a fabulous geographical and cultural account of pre-Qin China as well as a collection of Chinese mythology. The book is divided into eighteen sections; it describes over 550 mountains and 300 channels. Authorship The exact author(s) of the book and the time it was written are still undetermined. It was originally thought that mythical figures such as Yu the Great or Boyi wrote the book. However, the consensus among modern Sinologists is that the book was not written at a single time by a single author, but rather by numerous people from the period of the Warring States to the beginning of the Han dynasty. The first known editor of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xihe (deity)
Xihe (), was a solar deity in Chinese mythology. One of the two wives of Di Jun (along with Changxi), she was the mother of ten suns in the form of three-legged crows residing in a mulberry tree, the Fusang, in the East Sea. Each day, one of the sun birds would be rostered to travel around the world on a carriage driven by Xihe. Folklore also held that once, all ten sun birds came out on the same day, causing the world to burn; Houyi saved the day by shooting down all but one of the sun birds. Literature In the poem ''Suffering from the Shortness of Days(苦晝短)'', Li He of the Tang dynasty is hostile and even deviant towards the legendary dragons that drew the sun chariot as a vehicle for the passage of time. The following is the relevant excerpt of that poem: :"I will cut off the dragon's feet, chew the dragon's flesh, :so that they can't turn back in the morning or lie down at night. :Left to themselves the old won't die; the young won't cry." In the ''Huainanzi'', t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Changxi
Changxi () or Changyi () is a Chinese lunar goddess worshiped in the traditional Chinese pantheon. Known from ancient times, the earliest historical information on Changxi can be traced back to the ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'' (''Shan-hai Ching''). She is the wife of Di Jun and the mother of twelve moons. History The earliest known mention of Changxi is made in the mythic text '' The Canon of the Mountains and Seas'', romanised as ''Shan-hai Ching''. A single line in it reads: "The Emperor Jun married Changxi, who gave birth to twelve Moons." Mythology The God of the Eastern Sky Di Jun had three wives, including Changxi, who was regarded as his first wife Xihe's western counterpart; while Xihe gave birth to suns, Changxi bore twelve unique moon daughters that would complete a full journey across the heavens every day. She bathed her children in a water pool. Described as an "important early goddess", her significance amongst the deities gradually waned and she was eventually ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Mythology
Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of the mythology involves exciting stories full of fantastic people and beings, the use of magical powers, often taking place in an exotic mythological place or time. Like many mythologies, Chinese mythology has in the past been believed to be, at least in part, a factual recording of history. Along with Chinese folklore, Chinese mythology forms an important part of Chinese folk religion. Many stories regarding characters and events of the distant past have a double tradition: ones which present a more historicized or euhemerized version and ones which present a more mythological version. Many myths involve the creation and cosmology of the universe and its deities and inhabitants. Some mythology involves creation myths, the origin of things, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Houyi
Hou Yi () is a mythological Chinese archery, archer. He was also known as Shen Yi and simply as Yi (). He is also typically given the title of "Lord Archer". He is sometimes portrayed as a god of archery descended from heaven to aid mankind. Other times, he is portrayed as either simply half-divine or fully mortal. His wife, Chang'e (), is a lunar deity. Lore In a Chinese mythology, there were 10 suns. Initially, the 10 suns would cross the sky one by one, but one day all 10 suns came out at once scorching the earth. Hou Yi was tasked by the mythical King Yao to rein in the suns. Hou Yi first tried to reason with the suns. When that didn't work, he then pretended to shoot at them with his bow to intimidate them. When the suns again refused to heed Hou Yi's warnings, he began to shoot at them one by one. As each one fell, they turned into three-legged crow, three-legged ravens. Finally, only one sun was left, and King Yao as well as the sun's mother Xihe (deity), Xihe, asked for h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bow And Arrow
The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles ( arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history, and the practice was common to many prehistoric cultures. They were important weapons of war from ancient history until the early modern period, where they were rendered increasingly obsolete by the development of the more powerful and accurate firearms. Today, bows and arrows are mostly used for hunting and sports. Archery is the art, practice, or skill of using bows to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 A person who shoots arrows with a bow is called a bowman or an archer. Someone who makes bows is known as a bowyer,Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 31 someone who makes arrows is a fletcher,Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 56 and someone who manufactures metal arrowheads is an arrowsmith.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Arche ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Houji
Hou Ji (or Houji; ) was a legendary Chinese culture hero credited with introducing millet to humanity during the time of the Xia dynasty.. Millet was the original staple grain of northern China, prior to the introduction of wheat. His name translates as Lord of Millet and was a title granted to him by Emperor Shun, according to Records of the Grand Historian. Houji was credited with developing the philosophy of Agriculturalism and with service during the Great Flood in the reign of Yao; he was also claimed as an ancestor of the Ji clan that became the ruling family of the Zhou dynasty. History Hou Ji's original name was Qi (), meaning "abandoned". Two separate versions of his origin were common. In one version of Chinese mythology, he was said to have been supernaturally conceived when his mother Jiang Yuan, a previously barren wife of the Emperor Ku, stepped into a footprint left by Shangdi, the supreme sky god of the early Chinese pantheon.''Encyclopædia Britannica''. "Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhou Dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by the royal house, surnamed Ji, lasted initially from 1046 until 771 BC for a period known as the Western Zhou, and the political sphere of influence it created continued well into the Eastern Zhou period for another 500 years. The establishment date of 1046 BC is supported by the Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project and David Pankenier, but David Nivison and Edward L. Shaughnessy date the establishment to 1045 BC. During the Zhou dynasty, centralized power decreased throughout the Spring and Autumn period until the Warring States period in the last two centuries of the dynasty. In the latter period, the Zhou court had little control over its constituent states that were at war with each other until the Qin state consolidated power and forme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Di Ku
Kù (, variant graph ), usually referred to as Dì Kù (), also known as Gaoxin or Gāoxīn Shì () or Qūn (), was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. He went by the name Gaoxin until receiving imperial authority, when he took the name Ku and the title Di, thus being known as Di Ku. He is considered the ancestor of the ruling families of certain subsequent dynasties. Some sources treat Ku as a semi-historical figure, while others make fantastic mythological or religious claims about him. Besides varying in their degree of historicizing Ku, the various sources also differ in what specific stories about him they focus on, so that putting together the various elements of what is known regarding Ku results in a multifaceted story. Di Ku was (according to many versions of the list) one of the Five Emperors of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of Chinese mythology. Ku, or Gaoxin, is also known as the "White Emperor". Birth Ku's lineage is derived from descent from the legendary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Five Grains
The Five Grains or Cereals () are a grouping (or set of groupings) of five farmed crops that were all important in ancient China. Sometimes the crops themselves were regarded as sacred; other times, their cultivation was regarded as a sacred boon from a mythological or supernatural source. More generally, ''wǔgǔ'' can be employed in Chinese as a synecdoche referring to ''all'' grains or staple crops of which the end produce is of a granular nature. The identity of the five grains has varied over time, with different authors identifying different grains or even categories of grains. Holiness The sense of holiness or sacredness regarding the Five Grains proceeds from their traditional ascription to the saintly rulers credited with creating China's civilization. They were seen not merely as five crops chosen from many options but as the source permitting agrarian society and civilization itself. "Squandering the Five Grains" was seen as a sin worthy of torment in ''Diyu'', the Chin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horse In Chinese Mythology
Horses are an important motif in Chinese mythology. There are many myths about horses or horse-like beings, including the pony. Chinese mythology refers to those myths found in the historical geographic area of China.The geographic area of "China" is of course a concept which has evolved or changed though history. This includes myths in Chinese and other languages, as transmitted by Han Chinese as well as other ethnic groups (of which fifty-six are officially recognized by the current administration of China, according to Lihui Yang, 2005:4). There are various motifs of horses in Chinese mythology. In some cases the focus is on a horse or horses as the protagonist of the action, in other cases they appear in a supporting role, sometimes as the locomotive power propelling a chariot and its occupant(s). According to a cyclical Chinese calendar system, the time period of 31 January 2014 - 18 February 2015 falls under the category of the (yang) Wood Horse. Myth versus history In th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shujun
Shujun () is a Chinese god of farming and cultivation, also known as Yijun and Shangjun. Alternatively he is a legendary culture hero of ancient times, who was in the family tree of ancient Chinese emperors descended from the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi). According to the various sources, Shujun was the son of Di Jun (Emperor Jun) or else Houji's son or nephew (fathered by Houji's younger brother Taixi).Yang, 98 and 201 Shujun is one of the individuals named in Chinese mythology as helping to found the practice of agriculture in China, along with Houji, Di Jun, Shennong, and others. Shujun is specially credited with inventing the use of a draft animal of the bovine family to pull a plow to turn the soil prior to planting. See also * Bovidae in Chinese mythology *Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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