''Xirang'' (), also known as ''hsi-jang'', Swelling Earth, self-renewing soil, breathing earth, and living earth is a magical substance in

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 ...

that had a self-expanding ability to continuously grow – which made it particularly effective for use by Gun and

Yu the Great Yu the Great (大禹) was a legendary king in ancient China who was famed for his introduction of flood control, his establishment of the Xia dynasty which inaugurated dynastic rule in China, and his upright moral character. He figures prominen ...

in fighting the rising waters of the

Great Flood A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the prima ...

. This Chinese word compounds ''xí'' "breathe; cease; rest; grow; multiply" and ''rǎng'' "soil; earth". Noting similarities with earth-diver creation myths, Anne Birrell translates ''xirang'' as "self-renewing soil", and compares other translations of "breathing earth" (

Wolfram Eberhard Wolfram Eberhard (March 17, 1909 – August 15, 1989) was a professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley focused on Western, Central and Eastern Asian societies. Biography Born in Potsdam, German Empire, he had a stron ...

), "swelling mold" ( Derk Bodde), "idle soil" (Roger Greatrex), and "living earth" or "breathing earth" (Rémi Mathieu). In some versions of the myths, Gun stole the xirang from the

Shangdi Shangdi (), also written simply, "Emperor" (), is the Chinese term for "Supreme Deity" or "Highest Deity" in the theology of the classical texts, especially deriving from Shang theology and finding an equivalent in the later ''Tian'' ("Heave ...

, who sent Zhu Rong to execute him in punishment, on Feather Mountain. According to some accounts, Yu, on the other hand, went up to Heaven. After begging Shangdi, he received from him a gift of as much xirang as his magical black tortoise could carry on its back, thus allowing Yu to successfully block up the 233,559 springs, the sources of the flood waters. In other versions of these myths, xirang was stolen or obtained from the Primordial Divinity, or Gun's executioner was other than Zhu Rong. A historical basis has been suggested for both the Great Flood and for xirang. Hawkes proposes that the myths are a symbolic interpretation of a societal transition. In this case, Gun represents a society at an earlier technological stage, which engages in

small-scale agriculture A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...

which involves raising areas of arable land sufficiently above the level of the marshes. The "magically-expanding" xirang soil may represent a type of raised garden, made up of soil, brushwood, and similar materials. Yu and his work in controlling the flood would symbolize a later type of society, which allowed a much larger scale approach to transforming wetlands to arable fields. A less mythical explanation could be sought in various forms of

expansive clay Expansive clay is a clay soil that is prone to large volume changes (swelling and shrinking) that are directly related to changes in water content. Soils with a high content of expansive minerals can form deep cracks in drier seasons or years; su ...

. Generally impervious to water, clays are useful in creating the core of earthen dams. Expansive clays, in particular, slowly expand when wetted, thus matching the "swelling" translation. When dried, they take on a puffy "popcorn" look, which could be interpreted as "breathing" or airy. Such clays are abundant in the

Shaanxi Province Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ningxi ...

where many of these events are thought to have occurred.

Comparative mythology

The ''xirang'' mythology has interesting parallels to the mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, particularly the earth-diver creation myth. In the earth-diver myth, the primordial waters cover all, until after overcoming great perils, a certain creature is able to dive down into the waters and retrieve a small bit of magical soil. This ''xirang''-like soil then magically expands into the land areas of today.* Birrell, Anne (1993). ''Chinese Mythology''. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins). , p. 80

Notes

Chinese mythology Yaoguai Mythological substances {{China-myth-stub

Comparative mythology

See also

Notes