The Flood Mythology of China, or Great Flood of China (; also known as ) is a deluge theme which happened in China.

Derk Bodde Derk Bodde (March 9, 1909November 3, 2003) was an American sinologist and historian of China known for his pioneering work on the history of the Chinese legal system. Bodde received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University in 1930. He ...

(1961) stated that "from all mythological themes in ancient Chinese, the earliest and so far most pervasive is about flood." The mythology also has shared characteristics with other Great Floods all over the world, although it also has unique characteristics or different focuses. Lu Yilu (2002) groups all versions of great flood into three themes: "the heroes controls the flood; "brother-sister marriage to repopulating the world"; and "the flood which is drowning the whole city along with its citizens".

History and mythology

Literary history

The

history of China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapt ...

as a continuously recorded literary tradition begins with the ancient documents transmitted to posterity through the ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...

''. According to these, the great-grandson (or fourth successor) of the Yellow Emperor was Yao. Beginning with the reign of Yao, additional literary sources become available, including the '' Book of Documents'' (collected and edited by Confucius), which begins with the "Canon of Yao" (), describing the events of Yao's reign.Wu, 65 Although, the "Canon of Yao" is problematic in regards to textual transmission (at best it seems to represent an early textual reconstruction and at worst a fabrication based on available knowledge or sources from the 3rd or 4th centuries AD). "The Counsels of Great Yu" is considered to be one of the reliably transmitted pre-Qin texts. In any case, these and other texts of the preserved literature mark the beginnings of the Chinese historical tradition. Other important texts include the poem ''

Heavenly Questions The ''Heavenly Questions'' or ''Questions to Heaven'' () is a piece contained in the Classical Chinese poetry collection of ''Chu Ci'', which is noted both in terms of poetry and as a source for information on the ancient culture of China, espec ...

'' collected in the ''

Chu Ci The ''Chu ci'', variously translated as ''Verses of Chu,'' ''Songs of Chu'', or ''Elegies of Chu'', is an ancient anthology of Chinese poetry including works traditionally attributed mainly to Qu Yuan and Song Yu from the Warring States period ...

'' which is attributed to

Qu Yuan Qu Yuan ( – 278 BCE) was a Chinese poet and politician in the State of Chu during the Warring States period. He is known for his patriotism and contributions to classical poetry and verses, especially through the poems of the '' ...

and the famous mythological compendium ''

Classic of Mountains and Seas 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 sin ...

'' (''Shanhaijing''). Furthermore, centuries of scholarship have gone into piecing together a narrative from the bits, pieces, and occasionally longer sections found in these and other early sources, sometimes being subjected to heavy editorial handling in terms of viewpoint.

Collected mythology

Mythological stories besides having been preserved both in various literary forms, have also been collected from various oral traditions, some of these folktales are still told. Some of these sources are from people of the Han ethnicity and some from other ethnic groups.

The struggles to control the flood

The Zhou sources narrated the struggles of the

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

or deities to control the floods. From all of these stories, the struggle of Yao,

Gun A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, p ...

, and Yu is the most obvious in describing the hardness of human effort to control the flood. Much later works from the

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...

(''

Shiben The ''Shiben'' or ''Book of Origins'' (Pinyin: ''shìběn''; Chinese; 世本; ) was an early Chinese encyclopedia which recorded imperial genealogies from the mythical Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors down to the late Spring and Autumn period ...

'') and ''Diwang Shiji'' (3rd century) were pairing Yu and Nuwa as a couple and their previously uncorrelated stories were then completing each other.

Gun-Yu Mythology

This theme is based on the efforts of Great Yu (and

) to control the flood, sometimes is also associated with

Emperor 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 ...

and

Shun Shun may refer to one of the following: *To shun, which means avoiding association with an individual or group * Shun (given name), a masculine Japanese given name *Seasonality in Japanese cuisine (''shun'', 旬) Emperor Shun * Emperor Shun (� ...

, and the initial efforts of human to domesticated wild animals as

pack animal A pack animal, also known as a sumpter animal or beast of burden, is an individual or type of working animal used by humans as means of transporting materials by attaching them so their weight bears on the animal's back, in contrast to draft ani ...

s and

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

. The theme outline narrates Gun stole

xirang ''Xirang'' (), also known as ''hsi-jang'', Swelling Earth, self-renewing soil, breathing earth, and living earth is a magical substance in Chinese mythology that had a self-expanding ability to continuously grow – which made it particularly effec ...

to stop the flood while Great Yu channeled the flood into the

sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

and succeeded to subsided the water level, and so the earth can be cultivated. There are so many mythologies which are correlated to this theme, one of which is "Dragon Gate" -a canal through the mountains which was dug by Yu. While he was digging the canal, many of the

carps Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

were swept away and fell, they were so disappointed because they couldn't swim back into the upper level. Yu promised them, if any of the carp could leap through his dam, it would transform into a dragon, thus the place inherited its name. Gun-Yu theme is also have political background.

Huainanzi The ''Huainanzi'' is an ancient Chinese text that consists of a collection of essays that resulted from a series of scholarly debates held at the court of Liu An, Prince of Huainan, sometime before 139. The ''Huainanzi'' blends Daoist, Confuci ...

stated that the great flood was caused by

Gong Gong Gonggong () is a Chinese water god who is depicted in Chinese mythology and folktales as having a copper human head with an iron forehead, red hair, and the body of a serpent, or sometimes the head and torso are human, with the tail of a serpe ...

who was use the water to make havoc on the realm of

Shan Hai Jing 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 sinc ...

narrated another version that the flood was caused by

Xiangliu Xiangliu (), known in the ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'' as Xiangyao (), is a venomous nine-headed snake monster that brings floods and destruction in Chinese mythology. Xiangliu may be depicted with his body coiled on itself. The nine heads ...

, one of

's minister, and was not Gong Gong himself.

Nuwa repaired the heaven

The story happened after Goddess

Nüwa Nüwa, also read Nügua, is the mother goddess of Chinese mythology. She is credited with creating humanity and repairing the Pillar of Heaven. As creator of mankind, she molded humans individually by hand with yellow clay. In the Huainanzi ...

created (molded) humanity from yellow clay, brought them into life, and gave them the ability to

reproduce Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life; each individual org ...

Gonggong Gonggong () is a Chinese water god who is depicted in Chinese mythology and folktales as having a copper human head with an iron forehead, red hair, and the body of a serpent, or sometimes the head and torso are human, with the tail of a serpe ...

was banging his head into

Mount Buzhou Mount Buzhou (不周山 lit. "Unrevolving Mountain") was an ancient Chinese mythological mountain which, according to old texts, lay to the northwest of the Kunlun Mountains, in a location today referred to as the Pamir Mountains. It is the mountai ...

, which actually was the pillar to support the heaven.

then patched the sky with five-colored pebbles and piled up reeds ashes to stop the flood.

The extinction of human race

Chen Jianxian (1996) said that this theme was one of some popular legends which was still being told by more than 40 ethnics in China. There is a possibility that the myth is rather new because the oldest recorded sources about this myth were from

Six Dynasties Six Dynasties (; 220–589 or 222–589) is a collective term for six Han-ruled Chinese dynasties that existed from the early 3rd century AD to the late 6th century AD. The Six Dynasties period overlapped with the era of the Sixteen Kingdoms ...

, save that the oral tradition maybe much older. The theme was made into several versions, but the outline is about a great flood which was destroyed all the humans all over the world except a pair of brother and sister, or aunt and nephew. Both were forced to

married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

in order to repopulated the world. One version stated that their children were ordinary humans, while the others said it was a lump of meat, squash, melon, or grindstone; after they opened, cut, or destroyed it, humans emerged.

Sinking city

This theme have some specific characteristics: one or two people were survived, the statue which was crying blood, and the whole city along with its citizens were sinking. The survivor(s) was being saved by the gods because of his/her benevolent acts; may be an old lady or a devoted son. The blood crying statue was often a stone lion statue, or sometimes tortoise statue.

Other flood myths

East Sea and Mulberry Field

A less widespread flood myth involves the goddess Magu: this myth involves the cyclic rise and fall of the ocean level over the eons: sometimes the sea floor is under water; at other times, it turns into mulberry fields. However, the material about Magu seems to be distinct from the idea of a great flood upon the land of China. One tradition narrates Magu, a benevolent

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...

lady who lived on the second century. She was reclaiming a very wide seashore water bodies on Kiangsu and changing it into mulberry fields.

Heyu

mentions a pig-like creature with human face, yellow-colored and red-tailed, and it sounds like human singing. The creature is known as ''Heyu''; it preys on human, reptiles, and snakes. It appearance is a sign that there will be a great deluge all over the world.

References

{{Chinese mythology History of ancient China Chinese mythology Flood myths Floods in China