archer
Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In mo ...
. 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
Chang'e ( ; , alternatively rendered as Chang-Er or Ch‘ang-o), originally known as Heng'e, is the Chinese goddess of the Moon. She is the subject of several legends in Chinese mythology, most of which incorporate several of the following elem ...
(), 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 ravens. Finally, only one sun was left, and
King Yao
Emperor Yao (; traditionally c. 2356 – 2255 BCE) was a legendary Chinese ruler, according to various sources, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.
Ancestry and early life
Yao's ancestral name is Yi Qi () or Qi (), clan name i ...
as well as the sun's mother Xihe, asked for him to be spared for the prosperity of man. In other variants, the last arrow was stolen by either a brave boy or King Yao himself, who realized the land requires a sun.
Hou Yi was also known for the slaying, maiming and imprisonment of several other mythical beasts such as the Yayu, Zaochi, Jiuying, Dafeng, Fengxi, and Xiushe. He had been directed by King Yao to go after these creatures as they were all causing trouble for humans.
Hou Yi was gifted the pill of immortality by the gods. One of Hou Yi's apprentices called Peng Meng broke into Hou Yi's house in search of the pill of immortality while Hou Yi was out hunting. His wife
Chang'e
Chang'e ( ; , alternatively rendered as Chang-Er or Ch‘ang-o), originally known as Heng'e, is the Chinese goddess of the Moon. She is the subject of several legends in Chinese mythology, most of which incorporate several of the following elem ...
swallowed the pill before Peng Meng could get it. After eating the pill,
Chang'e
Chang'e ( ; , alternatively rendered as Chang-Er or Ch‘ang-o), originally known as Heng'e, is the Chinese goddess of the Moon. She is the subject of several legends in Chinese mythology, most of which incorporate several of the following elem ...
rose up to the moon.
In another version, after Hou Yi shot down the suns, he was proclaimed as a hero-king by the people. However, once he was crowned king, he became a tyrant and subjugated his people. Hou Yi had also obtained an immortality elixir from
Xiwangmu
The Queen Mother of the West, known by various local names, is a mother goddess in Chinese religion and mythology, also worshipped in neighbouring Asian countries, and attested from ancient times. From her name alone some of her most importan ...
to live forever.
Chang'e
Chang'e ( ; , alternatively rendered as Chang-Er or Ch‘ang-o), originally known as Heng'e, is the Chinese goddess of the Moon. She is the subject of several legends in Chinese mythology, most of which incorporate several of the following elem ...
was afraid that if he lived forever, that people would forever be victim to his cruelty. Therefore, Chang'e consumed the elixir herself and floated away. As she did, Hou Yi tried to shoot her down but failed. For her sacrifice, people have taken to honoring her during the
Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival (Chinese: / ), also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture. Similar holidays are celebrated in Japan (), Korea (), Vietnam (), and other countries in Eas ...
.
Historical references
Hou Yi—usually conflated with the legendary figure in ancient sources—was also a tribal leader of ancient China who according to the ''
Bamboo Annals
The ''Bamboo Annals'' (), also known as the ''Ji Tomb Annals'' (), is a chronicle of ancient China.
It begins in the earliest legendary time (the age of the Yellow Emperor) and extends to 299 BC, with the later centuries focusing on the history ...
'' attacked the
Xia
Xia (Hsia in Wade–Giles) may refer to:
Chinese history
* Xia dynasty (c. 2070 – c. 1600 BC), the first orthodox dynasty in Chinese history
* Xia (Sixteen Kingdoms) (407–431), a Xiongnu-led dynasty
* Xia (617–621), a state founded by Dou Ji ...
during the first year of the reign of and occupied his capital
Zhenxun
Zhenxun () was the last capital for the pre historical Chinese Xia dynasty. There is a consensus among many Chinese scholars that the Erlitou site about 20 km east of central Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River ...
while Taikang was hunting beyond the Luo River. Hou Yi was deposed by his lieutenant
Han Zhuo
Han Zhuo was a mythical Chinese hero who usurped Houyi as leader of a people near the Xia in prehistoric China. He and his sons appear in a number of Chinese legends and there are various conflicting accounts of how he died.
Legends
The leg ...
in the eighth year of the reign of Taikang's nephew .
File:后羿射日.png, Relief rubbing of Houyi
File:Wu liang shrine relief depicting xihe, yi, and fusang tree.jpg, Houyi takes aim at the Suns (right upper corner), rubbing from the Wu Liang Shrines reliefs
In popular culture
* Hou Yi appears in the video game
Smite
''Smite'' is a 2014 free-to-play, third-person multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed and published by Hi-Rez Studios for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch, and Amazon Luna.Over the Moon, on flashbacks and as a
ghost
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
.
* Hou Yi appears in the 2022 mobile RPG game, Dislyte, renamed as Dayi. His ability in the game references the shooting down of the 9 suns.
*In the light novel "second Life ranker " the character Bow god Jang Wei is said to be Hou yi's disciple.
* Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s 2016 xianxia/wuxia web novel Modao Zushi (魔道祖师) may reference this mythology with its “Sunshot Campaign.” The story features a tyrannical clan seemingly too powerful to defeat; lesser clans’ union against them—to “shoot down the sun” —is called the Sunshot Campaign.
See also
*
Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival (Chinese: / ), also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture. Similar holidays are celebrated in Japan (), Korea (), Vietnam (), and other countries in Eas ...
for variants of this legend
*
Korean creation narratives
Korean creation narratives are Korean shamanic narratives which recount the mythological beginnings of the universe. They are grouped into two categories: the eight narratives of mainland Korea, which were transcribed by scholars between the 1 ...