Kui (Chinese mythology)
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''Kui'' () is a
polysemous Polysemy ( or ; ) is the capacity for a sign (e.g. a symbol, a morpheme, a word, or a phrase) to have multiple related meanings. For example, a word can have several word senses. Polysemy is distinct from ''monosemy'', where a word has a single ...
figure in ancient
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 t ...
. Classic texts use this name for the legendary musician Kui who invented music and dancing; for the one-legged mountain demon or rain-god Kui variously said to resemble a
Chinese dragon The Chinese dragon, also known as ''loong'', ''long'' or ''lung'', is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture at large. Chinese dragons have many Outline of life forms, animal-like forms such as Bixi (my ...
, a drum, or a monkey with a human face; and for the Kuiniu wild yak or buffalo.


Word

While Kui 夔 originally named a mythic being,
Modern Standard Chinese Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern standar ...
uses it in several other expressions. The
reduplication In linguistics, reduplication is a morphological process in which the root or stem of a word (or part of it) or even the whole word is repeated exactly or with a slight change. The classic observation on the semantics of reduplication is Edwa ...
''kuikui'' 夔夔 means "awe-struck; fearful; grave" (see the ''Shujing'' below). The compounds ''kuilong'' 夔龍 (with "dragon") and ''kuiwen'' 夔紋 (with "pattern; design") name common motifs on
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 th ...
Chinese bronzes Sets and individual examples of ritual bronzes survive from when they were made mainly during the Chinese Bronze Age. Ritual bronzes create quite an impression both due to their sophistication of design and manufacturing process, but also beca ...
. The ''
chengyu ''Chengyu'' () are a type of traditional Chinese idiomatic expression, most of which consist of four characters. ''Chengyu'' were widely used in Classical Chinese and are still common in vernacular Chinese writing and in the spoken language t ...
'' idiom ''yikuiyizu'' 一夔已足 (lit. one Kui already enough") means "one able person is enough for the job". Kui is also a
proper name A proper noun is a noun that identifies a single entity and is used to refer to that entity (''Africa'', ''Jupiter'', '' Sarah'', ''Microsoft)'' as distinguished from a common noun, which is a noun that refers to a class of entities (''continent, ...
. It is an uncommon one of the
Hundred Family Surnames The ''Hundred Family Surnames'' (), commonly known as ''Bai Jia Xing'', also translated as ''Hundreds of Chinese Surnames'', is a classic Chinese text composed of common Chinese surnames. An unknown author compiled the book during the Song dyn ...
. Kuiguo 夔國 was a
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state, located in present-day
Zigui County Zigui County () is a county of western Hubei province, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yichang and encompasses the easternmost portion of the Yangtze River Gorges, including the Xiling Gor ...
(
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), that Chu annexed in 634 BCE.
Kuizhou Kui Prefecture, Kuizhou Circuit, or Kuizhou () was initially established in 619 CE, as a renaming of the existing Xin Prefecture. Kuizhou was an important area from the beginning and through the end of the Tang dynasty of China, when it was alter ...
夔州, located in present-day
Fengjie County Fengjie County () is a county of Chongqing Municipality, China. It is on the Yangtze River; located within a couple hundreds kilometers upstream from the Three Gorges Dam, it is within the dam's affected area. The county's most famous geograp ...
of
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(
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), was established in 619 CE as a
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prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
. ''Kuiniu'' 夔牛 or 犪牛 is an old name for the "wild ox;
wild yak The wild yak (''Bos mutus'') is a large, wild bovine native to the Himalayas. It is the ancestor of the domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''). Taxonomy The ancestor of the wild and domestic yak is thought to have diverged from ''Bos primigenius'' ...
". The (1578 CE)
Bencao Gangmu The ''Bencao gangmu'', known in English as the ''Compendium of Materia Medica'' or ''Great Pharmacopoeia'', is an encyclopedic gathering of medicine, natural history, and Chinese herbology compiled and edited by Li Shizhen and published in the ...
entry for ''maoniu'' 氂牛 "wild yak", which notes medicinal uses such as yak gallstones for "convulsions and delirium", lists ''kiuniu'' as a synonym for ''weiniu'' 犩牛, "Larger than a cow. From the hills of Szechuan, weighing several thousand catties." The
biological classification In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are given ...
''Bos grunniens'' (lit. "grunting ox") corresponds with the roaring ''Kui'' "god of rain and thunder" (see the ''Shanhaijing'' below). Translating ''kui'' 夔 as "walrus" exemplifies a
ghost word A ghost word is a word published in a dictionary or similarly authoritative reference work even though it had not previously had any meaning or been used intentionally. A ghost word generally originates from a typographical or linguistic error, tak ...
. The
Unihan Database Han unification is an effort by the authors of Unicode and the Universal Character Set to map multiple character sets of the Han characters of the so-called CJK languages into a single set of unified characters. Han characters are a feature s ...
lists the definition as "one-legged monster; walrus". However, Chinese ''kui'' does not mean "
walrus The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped, flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in ...
" (''haixiang'' 海象 lit. "sea elephant"), and this ghost first appeared in early Chinese-English dictionaries by
Robert Henry Mathews Robert Henry Mathews (1877–1970) was an Australian missionary and Sinologist, best known for his 1931 '' A Chinese-English Dictionary: Compiled for the China Inland Mission by R. H. Mathews'', which was subsequently revised by Harvard University ...
and
Herbert Giles Herbert Allen Giles (, 8 December 184513 February 1935) was a British diplomat and sinologist who was the professor of Chinese at the University of Cambridge for 35 years. Giles was educated at Charterhouse School before becoming a British dip ...
. '' Mathews' Chinese-English Dictionary'' translates ''kui'' as "A one-legged monster; a walrus; Grave, respectful", which was adapted from ''
A Chinese-English Dictionary A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
'' "A one-legged creature; a walrus. Grave; reverential". Giles's dictionary copied this "walrus" mistake from his translation of the ''
Zhuangzi Zhuangzi may refer to: * ''Zhuangzi'' (book) (莊子), an ancient Chinese collection of anecdotes and fables, one of the foundational texts of Daoism **Zhuang Zhou Zhuang Zhou (), commonly known as Zhuangzi (; ; literally "Master Zhuang"; als ...
'' (see below), "The walrus said to the centipede, 'I hop about on one leg, but not very successfully. How do you manage all these legs you have?'" He footnotes, "'Walrus' is of course an analogue. But for the one leg, the description given by a commentator of the creature mentioned in the text applies with significant exactitude."


Characters

The modern 21-stroke
Chinese character Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the Written Chinese, writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are k ...
for ''kui'' combines five elements: ''shou'' "head", ''zhi'' "stop", ''si'' "6th (of 12
Earthly Branches The twelve Earthly Branches or Terrestrial Branches are a Chinese ordering system used throughout East Asia in various contexts, including its ancient dating system, astrological traditions, zodiac and ordinals. Origin This system was built ...
)", ''ba'' "8", and ''zhi'' "walk slowly". These enigmatic elements were graphically simplified from the ancient
Oracle bone script Oracle bone script () is an ancient form of Chinese characters that were engraved on oracle bonesanimal bones or Turtle shell#Plastron, turtle plastrons used in pyromancy, pyromantic divination. Oracle bone script was used in the late 2nd millen ...
and
Seal script Seal script, also sigillary script () is an ancient style of writing Chinese characters that was common throughout the latter half of the 1st millennium BC. It evolved organically out of the Zhou dynasty bronze script. The Qin variant of seal ...
pictograph A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and gr ...
s for ''kui'' 夔 showing "a face of demon, two arms, a belly, a tail, and two feet". Excepting the top 丷 element (interpreted as "horns" on the ''ye'' 頁 "head"), ''kui'' 夔 is graphically identical with ''nao'' – an old
variant Variant may refer to: In arts and entertainment * ''Variant'' (magazine), a former British cultural magazine * Variant cover, an issue of comic books with varying cover art * ''Variant'' (novel), a novel by Robison Wells * " The Variant", 2021 e ...
for ''nao'' "macaque; rhesus monkey". The Oracle and Seal script graphs for ''nao'' pictured a monkey, and some Oracle graphs are interpreted as either ''kui'' 夔 or ''nao'' 夒. The (121 CE) ''
Shuowen Jiezi ''Shuowen Jiezi'' () is an ancient Chinese dictionary from the Han dynasty. Although not the first comprehensive Chinese character dictionary (the '' Erya'' predates it), it was the first to analyze the structure of the characters and to give ...
'', which was the first
Chinese dictionary Chinese dictionaries date back over two millennia to the Han dynasty, which is a significantly longer lexicographical history than any other language. There are hundreds of dictionaries for the Chinese language, and this article discusses some of ...
of characters, defines ''nao'' 夒 and ''kui'' 夔. *''Nao'': "a greedy quadruped, generally stated to be a she-monkey resembling a man; it contains the component head 頁, with 巳, 止, and 夊 representing respectively the arms and the leg of the beast." 夒: 貪獸也一曰母猴似人 从頁巳止夊其手足。 *''Kui'': "a pirit''hü'' "a destructive, evil spectre"resembling a dragon with one leg represented by the component 夊, and that the character represents the beast with horns, hands, and a human face." 夔: 神魖也如龍一足 从夊象有角手人面之形。 ''Kui'', concludes Groot, "were thought to be a class of one-legged beasts or dragons with human countenances." Most Chinese characters are composed of " radicals" or "significs" that suggest
semantic field In linguistics, a semantic field is a lexical set of words grouped semantically (by meaning) that refers to a specific subject.Howard Jackson, Etienne Zé Amvela, ''Words, Meaning, and Vocabulary'', Continuum, 2000, p14. The term is also used in ...
s and "
phonetic Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...
" elements that roughly suggest pronunciation. Both these 夔 and 夒 characters are classified under their bottom "walk slowly
radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
", and Carr notes the semantic similarity with Kui being "one-legged". Only a few uncommon characters have ''kui'' 夔 phonetics. For instance, ''kui'' (with the "ox radical" 牛) in ''kuiniu'' 犪牛 "wild ox; wild yak", and ''kui'' (with the "foot radical"足) in ''kuiluo'' 躨跜 "writhe like a dragon".


Etymologies

The
etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
of ''kui'' 夔 relates with ''wei'' "yak; buffalo". Eberhard suggested ''Kui'' "mountain spirits that looked like a drum and had only one leg" was "without doubt phonetically related" to the variant name ''hui'' ; both were classified as ''shanxiao'' 山魈 "mountain demons" ("
mandrill The mandrill (''Mandrillus sphinx'') is a large Old World monkey native to west central Africa. It is one of the most colorful mammals in the world, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. The species is sexually dimorphic, as males ...
" in modern Chinese). He concludes there were two series of names for "one-legged mountain imps", ''xiao'' or ''chao'' in the southeastern languages of Yue and Yao, and ''kui'' or ''hui'' "from a more western language". Schuessler connects the etymologies of the word ''wei'' 犩 "wild buffalo" < Late Han ''ŋuɨ'' and the ancient word ''kui'' 夔 or 犪 "a large mythical animal of various descriptions … with one foot … as strong as an ox … a large buffalo" < Late Han ''guɨ'' < Old Chinese *''grui'' or *''gwrə''. The Chinese mythical ''kui'' 夔 originated as a
loanword A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because th ...
from a Kam–Tai source (cf. Proto-
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*''γwai'' 'buffalo' and Sui ''kwi'' < ''gwi'' 'buffalo'), comparable with
Proto-Austronesian Proto-Austronesian (commonly abbreviated as PAN or PAn) is a proto-language. It is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austronesian languages, one of the world's major language families. Proto-Austronesian is assumed to have begun to diversify 3 ...
*''kəbaw'' (cf. Tagalog ''kalabao'',
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''kĕrbao'', and
Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
''karavau''). Chinese ''wei'' 犩 "wild buffalo" derives from "ultimately the same etymon as ''kui''", but the source might have been a
Tibeto-Burman The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non- Sinitic members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken throughout the Southeast Asian Massif ("Zomia") as well as parts of East Asia and South Asia. Around 60 million people spea ...
language, compare Proto-Tibeto-Burman *''Iwaay'' 'buffalo', Jinghpaw ''ʼu-loi'' or ''ŋa-loi'' (''ŋa'' 'bovine'), and Burmese ''kywai'' < ''klway''.


Classical usages

''Kui'' frequently occurs in
Chinese classic texts Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confucian ...
. Although some early texts are heterogeneous compositions of uncertain dates, the following discussion is presented in roughly chronological order. Early authors agreed that the mountain dragon-demon Kui had ''yizu'' 一足 "one foot" but disagreed whether this also applied to Shun's music master Kui. Since the Chinese word ''zu'' ambiguously means "foot; leg" or "enough; sufficient; fully; as much as", ''yizu'' can mean "one foot; one leg" or "one is enough". "The
Confucianist Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or a ...
s," explains Eberhard, "who personified K'ui and made him into a 'master of music', detested the idea that K'ui had only one leg and they discussed it 'away'" (e.g., ''Hanfeizi'', ''Lüshi Chunqiu'', and ''Xunzi'' below). Instead of straightforwardly reading ''Kui yi zu'' 夔一足 as "Kui adone foot", Confucianist revisionism construes it as "Kui, one erson like himwas enough." There is further uncertainty whether the mythical Kui was "one footed" or "one legged". Compare the English "one-footed" words ''uniped'' "a creature having only one foot (or leg)" and ''monopod'' "a creature having only one foot (or leg); a one-legged stand".


Shujing

The ''
Shujing The ''Book of Documents'' (''Shūjīng'', earlier ''Shu King'') or ''Classic of History'', also known as the ''Shangshu'' (“Venerated Documents”), is one of the Five Classics of ancient Chinese literature. It is a collection of rhetorica ...
'' uses ''kui'' 夔 in three chapters; Current Text chapters mention
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 ( ...
's legendary Music Minister named Kui, and Old Text "
Old Text In Chinese language, Chinese philology, the Old Texts () refer to some versions of the Five Classics discovered during the Han Dynasty, written in archaic Chinese character, characters and supposedly produced before the To burn the classics and to ...
" chapter has ''kuikui'' "grave; dignified". (New or Current Text and Old Text refer to different collections of Shangshu material with the Current Text being collected before the Old Text version. There is a long history of debate about the relative authenticity of the Old Text version as well as the dating of the constituent texts in both the Current and Old Text versions; see the article on the
Shujing The ''Book of Documents'' (''Shūjīng'', earlier ''Shu King'') or ''Classic of History'', also known as the ''Shangshu'' (“Venerated Documents”), is one of the Five Classics of ancient Chinese literature. It is a collection of rhetorica ...
for more information.) First, the "Canon of Shun" says the prehistoric ruler Shun appointed Kui as Music Minister and Long 龍 "Dragon" as Communication Minister.
The Di mperor Shunsaid, 'Kui, I appoint you to be Director of Music, and to teach our sons, so that the straightforward shall yet be mild; the gentle, dignified: the strong, not tyrannical: and the impetuous, not arrogant. Poetry is the expression of earnest thought; singing is the prolonged utterance of that expression; the notes accompany that utterance, and they are harmonized themselves by the standard tubes. (In this way) the eight different kinds of musical instruments can be adjusted so that one shall not take from or interfere with another; and spirits and men are brought into harmony.' Kui said, 'I smite the (sounding-) stone, I gently strike it, and the various animals lead on one another to dance.'
Second, "Yi and Ji" elaborates the first account.
Kui said, 'When the sounding-stone is tapped or struck with force, and the lutes are strongly swept or gently touched, to accompany the singing, the progenitors (of the Di) come (to the service), the guest of Yu is in his place, and all the princes show their virtue in giving place to one another. (In the court) below (the hall) there are the flutes and hand-drums, which join in at the sound of the rattle, and cease at that of the stopper, when the organ and bells take their place. (This makes) birds and beasts fall moving. When the nine parts of the service, as arranged by the Di, have all been performed, the male and female phœnix come with their measured gambolings (into the court).' Kui said, 'Oh! when I smite the (sounding-) stone, or gently strike it, the various animals lead on one another to dance, and all the chiefs of the official departments become truly harmonious.'
Third, "The Counsels of the Great Yu" uses ''kuikui'' 夔夔 "grave; dignified; awestruck" to praise Shun's
filial piety In Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, and Daoist ethics, filial piety (, ''xiào'') (Latin: pietas) is a virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors. The Confucian ''Classic of Filial Piety'', thought to be written around the late W ...
for his father Gusou 瞽叟 (lit. "Blind Old Man"); "with respectful service he appeared before Gu-sou, looking grave and awe-struck, till Gu also became transformed by his example. Entire sincerity moves spiritual beings."


Chunqiu and Zuozhuan

The (c. 6th–5th centuries BCE) '' Chunqiu'' and (early 4th century BCE) '' Zuozhuan'' use Kui as the name of a feudal state and of the legendary Music Master. The ''Chunqiu'' history records that in 634 BCE the army of Chu destroyed Kui 夔; "In autumn, an officer of Ts'oo extinguished K'wei, and carried the viscount of K'wei back with them." Zuo's commentary notes the viscount of Kui, also written Kui 隗, was spared because the ruling families of both Chu and Kui had the same surname (see ''Guoyu'' below). The ''Zuozhuan'' for 514 BCE provides details about Kui's raven-haired wife Xuanqi 玄妻 "Dark Consort" and their swinish son Bifeng 伯封.
In ancient times the prince of Jing had a daughter, with splendid black hair and very beautiful, so that her brightness cast a light around her, and she was named 'the dark Lady'. The prince K'wei hun'sminister of Music, married her, and she bore to him Pih-fung, who in truth had the heart of a pig, insatiably covetous and gluttonous, quarrelsome and perverse without measure, so that men called him 'the great Pig'.


Guoyu

The (c. 5th–4th centuries BCE) '' Guoyu'' uses ''kui'' 夔 as a surname and a demon name. The "Discourses of Zheng" (鄭語) discusses the origins of
Chinese surname Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlike the ...
s and notes that Kui was the tribal ancestor of the Mi "ram horns" clan. Since Kui was a legendary descendant of the fire god
Zhurong Zhurong (), also known as Chongli (), is an important personage in Chinese mythology and Chinese folk religion. According to the ''Huainanzi'' and the philosophical texts of Mozi and his followers, Zhurong is a god of fire and of the south. The ...
祝融 and a member of the Mi clan, Eberhard explains, he was a relative to the ruling clans of Chu and Yue. The "Discourses of Lu" records Confucius explaining three categories of ''guai'' "strange being; monster; demon; evil spirit", including the ''Kui'' who supposedly resides in the 木石 "trees and rocks".
Ki Hwan-tszĕ, a grandee of the state of Lu, caused a well to be dug, when they fetched up something like an earthen pot with a goat in it. He had Chung-ni (Confucius) interrogated about it, in these words: "I dug a well, and got a dog; tell me what this is." On which the Sage answered: "According to what I have learned, it must be a goat; for I have heard that apparitions between trees and rocks are called khwei and wang-liang, while those in the water are lung or dragons, and wang-siang, and those in the ground are called fen-yang.
De Groot says later scholars accepted this "division of spectres into those living in mountains and forests, in the water, and in the ground", which is evidently "a folk-conception older, perhaps much older, than the time of Confucius." For instance, Wei Zhao's (3rd century CE) commentary on the ''Guoyu'':
Some say that the khwei have one leg. The people of Yueh (Chehkiang and northern Fuhkien) style them 繅 (sao) of the hills, which character occurs also in the form 獟 (siao). They exist in Fu-yang (about the present Hang-cheu), have a human countenance and an ape-like body, and can speak. Some say that the one-legged wang-liang are spirits (tsing) of the hills, who by imitating human voices bewilder people.


Xunzi

The (early 3rd century BCE) Confucianist '' Xunzi'' mentions Kui twice. "Dispelling Obsession" says, "Many men have loved music, but Kui alone is honored by later ages as its master, because he concentrated upon it. Many men have loved righteousness, but Shun alone is honored by later ages as its master, because he concentrated upon it." Another chapter (成相 o translation available 夔為樂正鳥獸服) says when Kui rectified music, the wild birds and animals submitted.


Hanfeizi

The (c. 3rd century BCE) ''
Hanfeizi The ''Han Feizi'' or ''Hanfeizi'' (" ritings ofMaster Han Fei") is an ancient Chinese text named for its attribution to the political philosopher Han Fei. It comprises a selection of essays in the Legalist tradition on theories of state power, ...
'' gives two versions of Duke Ai 哀公 of Lu (r. 494–468 BCE) asking Confucius whether Kui had one leg.
The ruler Ngai of Lu asked Confucius, saying: "I have heard that there has lived in ancient times a certain Khwei with one leg; may we really believe in his one-leggedness?" Confucius answered: "No; he was no monopod; he was a choleric, perverse, ill-natured man, who raised much discontent; but he escaped being by reason of this killed by the hand of man on account of his trustworthiness, for everybody said: 'This is the only man of one piece and complete'. Thus Khwei was not one-legged, but he was a man of a piece and complete." The ruler Ngai now said: "Thus the fact is, that he was solid and complete".
According to another reading, the ruler Ngai asked Confucius, saying: "I have heard that Khwei had one leg; does this deserve belief?" The answer was: "Khwei was a man; why should he have had no more than one leg? He had no other peculiarity but that he was versed in music". Yao said: "Khwei is of a piece and complete!" and he made him his Director of Music, and therefore princely men have described him as a man of a piece and complete, but not with one leg.


Lüshi Chunqiu

The (c. 239 BCE) ''
Lüshi Chunqiu The ''Lüshi Chunqiu'', also known in English as ''Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals'', is an encyclopedic Chinese classic text compiled around 239 BC under the patronage of the Qin Dynasty Chancellor Lü Buwei. In the evaluation of Michae ...
'' uses ''kui'' 夔 several times. "Scrutinizing Hearsay" records another version of Duke Ai asking Confucius about Kui's alleged one-footedness, and it states that Kui came from the ''caomang'' 草莽 "thick underbrush; wilderness; wild jungle".
As a general principle, every statement that one hears must be maturely assessed. When they have to do with human affairs, they must be tested against reason.
Duke Ai of Lu asked Confucius, "The rectifier of music, Kui, is said to have had one foot. Is that true?"
Confucius answered, "Long ago, Shun wanted to use music to transmit his teachings to the whole world, so he ordered Zhong Li to select Kui from among the 'jungle' people and promote him. Shun made him rectifier of music. Kui thereupon rectified the six pitch-standards and tuned harmoniously the five tones, circulating the winds of the eight directions and thus caused the whole world to submit generally to Shun's rule. Zhong Li wanted to find more men like Kui, but Shun said, 'Music is the vital essence of Heaven and Earth and the key to success and failure. Hence, only the sage is capable of creating harmony. Harmony is the root of all music. Kui is capable of making music harmonious and thereby of making the whole world peaceful. There is only one like Kui, and that is enough. Therefore, the statement traditionally taken to mean 'Kui has one foot,' really means 'with Kui, one is enough' nough and foot being written the same way"
One or two of "The Almanacs" in ''Lüshi Chunqiu'' mention ''kui''. "On the Proper Kind of Dyeing" mentions a teacher named Meng Sukui 孟蘇夔: "It is not only the state that is subject to influences, for scholar-knights as well are subject to influences. Confucius studied under Lao Dan, Meng Sukui, and Jingshu." "Music of the Ancients" has two passages with ''zhi'' "matter; substance" that commentators read as ''Kui'' 夔.
When the Sovereign Yao ascended the throne he commanded Kui to create musical performances. Kui thereupon made songs in imitation of the sounds of the forests and valleys, he covered earthenware tubs with fresh hides and beat on them, and he slapped stones and hit rocks to imitate the sounds of the jade stone chimes of the Supreme Sovereign, with which he made the hundred wild beasts dance. … fter Shun ascendedThe Sovereign Shun than ordered Kui to perform "Nine Summonings," "Six Orderings," and "Six Flowers," through which he illuminated the Power of the Sovereign.
Note that the ''Lüshi Chunqiu'' says Kui was music master for both Yao and Shun, instead of only Shun.


Zhuangzi

The (c. 3rd–2nd centuries BCE) Daoist ''
Zhuangzi Zhuangzi may refer to: * ''Zhuangzi'' (book) (莊子), an ancient Chinese collection of anecdotes and fables, one of the foundational texts of Daoism **Zhuang Zhou Zhuang Zhou (), commonly known as Zhuangzi (; ; literally "Master Zhuang"; als ...
'' mentions Kui in two chapters. "Autumn Floods" describes Kui as a one-legged creature.
The K'uei envies the millipede, the millipede envies the snake, the snake envies the wind, the wind envies the eye, and the eye envies the mind. The K'uei said to the millipede, "I have this one leg that I hop along on, though I make little progress. Now how in the world do you manage to work all those ten thousand legs of yours?" The millipede said, "You don't understand. Haven't you ever watched a man spit? He just gives a hawk and out it comes, some drops as big as pearls, some as fine as mist, raining down in a jumble of countless particles. Now all I do is put in motion the heavenly mechanism in me ‑ I'm not aware of how the thing works."
Burton Watson Burton Dewitt Watson (June 13, 1925April 1, 2017) was an American sinologist, translator, and writer known for his English translations of Chinese and Japanese literature.Stirling 2006, pg. 92 Watson's translations received many awards, includi ...
glosses Kui as "A being with only one leg. Sometimes it is described as a spirit or a strange beast, sometimes as a historical personage – the Music Master K'uei." "Mastering Life" describes Kui as a hill demon in a story about Duke Huan of Qi (r. 685–643 BCE) seeing a ghost and becoming ill.
Duke Huan said, "But do ghosts really exist?" "Indeed they do. There is the Li on the hearth and the Chi in the stove. The heap of clutter and trash just inside the gate is where the Lei‑t'ing lives. In the northeast corner the Pei‑a and Kuei‑lung leap about, and the northwest corner is where the I‑yang lives. In the water is the Kang‑hsiang; on the hills, the Hsin; in the mountains, the K'uei; in the meadows, the P’ang‑huang; and in the marshes, the Wei‑t'o."


Shanhaijing

The (c. 3rd century BCE – 1st century CE) ''
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 sinc ...
'' mentions both ''Kui'' 夔 "a one-legged god of thunder and rain" and ''kuiniu'' 夔牛 "a wild yak". The 14th chapter of the ''Shanhaijing'', known as "The Classic of the Great Wilderness: The East" ( 大荒東經, describes the mythical ''Kui'' "Awestruck", and says the
Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...
made a drum from its hide and a drumstick from a bone of Leishen 雷神 "Thunder God" (cf. Japanese
Raijin , also known as , , , and Kamowakeikazuchi-no-kami is a god of lightning, thunder and storms in Japanese mythology and the Shinto religion. He is typically depicted with fierce and aggressive facial expressions, standing atop a cloud, beatin ...
).
In the East Sea there is Mount Flowwave, 7000 leagues onto the sea. On its summit there is an animal. Its shape is like that of an ox, it has a bright blue body, and it has no horns, and only one foot. When it comes out of the water and goes back in, there is wind and it rains, and its glare is like that of the sun and the moon, it makes a sound like thunder. Its name is Awestruck. The Yellow Emperor captured Awestruck and made a drum out of its hide. He used a bone from the Thunder beast to hit it with. The sound of the drumming was heard for 500 leagues, and so it made all beneath heaven full of dread.
Groot infers that the in "one-legged dragon" Kui, which was "fancied to be amphibious, and to cause wind and rain", "we immediately recognize the ''lung'' or Dragon, China’s god of Water and Rain". Carr interprets this ''cang'' "dark green; blue" color "as a crocodile-dragon (e.g.,
Jiaolong ''Jiaolong'' () or ''jiao'' (''chiao'', ''kiao'') is a dragon in Chinese mythology, often defined as a "scaled dragon"; it is hornless according to certain scholars and said to be aquatic or river-dwelling. It may have referred to a species of c ...
) with its tail seen as 'one leg'", and cites
Marcel Granet Marcel Granet (29 February 1884 – 25 November 1940) was a French sociologist, ethnologist and sinologist. As a follower of Émile Durkheim and Édouard Chavannes, Granet was one of the first to bring sociological methods to the study of ...
that the Kui's resemblance to a drum "is owing to drumming in music and dancing". The account of Minshan Mountain (岷山, 崌山) in the 5th chapter of the ''Shanhaijing'', the "Classic of the Central Mountains" describes ''kuiniu'' "huge buffalo" living on two mountains near the source of the
Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
長江 (lit. "long river").
Three hundred leagues further northeast is the mountain called Mount Gem. The Long River rises here and flows northeast to empty into the sea. Excellent turtles are plentiful in the Long River, and there are many alligators. Gold and jade are abundant on the summit, and on the lower slopes are quantities of white jade. The trees on the mountain are mostly plum and pear. Its animals are mostly rhinoceros, elephant, and the huge buffalo.
A hundred and fifty leagues further east is a mountain called Mount Lair. The Long River rises here and flows east to empty into the Great Long River. The Long River contains numerous strange snakes and many force-fish. The trees on this mountain are mostly hardwood oak and holmoak, and there are many plum and catalpa trees. Its animals are mostly the huge buffalo, antelope, hoofed hare, and rhinoceros.
The ''Shanhaijing'' commentary of
Guo Pu Guo Pu (; AD 276–324), courtesy name Jingchun () was a Chinese historian, poet, and writer during the Eastern Jin period, and is best known as one of China's foremost commentators on ancient texts. Guo was a Taoist mystic, geomancer, collector ...
describes ''kuiniu'' 夔牛 as a large yak found in Shu (present-day
Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
).


Liji

The (c. 2nd–1st century BCE) ''
Liji The ''Book of Rites'', also known as the ''Liji'', is a collection of texts describing the social forms, administration, and ceremonial rites of the Zhou dynasty as they were understood in the Warring States and the early Han periods. The ''Book o ...
'' mentions the music master Kui in two chapters. The "Record of Music" explains. "Anciently, Shun made the lute with five strings, and used it in singing the Nan Fang. Khwei was the first who composed (the pieces of) music to be employed by the feudal lords as an expression of (the royal) approbation of them." The "Confucius at Home at Ease" has Zi-gong ask whether Kui mastered '' li'' "ceremony; ritual; rites".
Ze-kung crossed over the mat and replied, 'Allow me to ask whether even Khwei was ignorant (of the ceremonial usages)?' The Master said, 'Was he not one of the ancients? Yes, he was one of them. To be versed in music, we call being poorly furnished. To be versed in the usages and not versed in music, we call being one-sided. Now Khwei was noted for his acquaintance with music, and not for his acquaintance with ceremonies, and therefore his name has been transmitted with that account of him (which your question implies). But he was one of the men of antiquity'.


Baopuzi

Ge Hong Ge Hong (; b. 283 – d. 343 or 364), courtesy name Zhichuan (稚川), was a Chinese linguist, Taoist practitioner, philosopher, physician, politician, and writer during the Eastern Jin dynasty. He was the author of '' Essays on Chinese Characte ...
's (320 CE) Daoist ''
Baopuzi The ''Baopuzi'' () is a literary work written by Ge Hong (also transliterated as Ko Hung) (), 283–343, a scholar during the turbulent Jin dynasty. ''Baopuzi'' is divided into two main sections, the esoteric ''Neipian'' () "Inner Chapters" an ...
'' 抱樸子 mentions ''kui'' 夔 in an "Inner Chapter" and an "Outer Chapter". "Into Mountains: Over Streams" warns about several demons found in hills and mountains, including Kui 夔 with the variant name ''hui'' 暉 'light, brightness' (or ''hui'' 揮 'shake; wave' in some texts), "There is another mountain power, this one in the shape of a drum, colored red, and also with only one foot. Its name is Hui." "Breadth of Learning" mentions two music masters, Kui 夔 and Xiang 襄 (from
Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...
), "Those who play the lute are many, but it is difficult to match the master of sounds of K'uei and Hsiang."


Mythic parallels

In addition to the Kui 夔, Chinese mythology has other uniped creatures. Based on "one-legged" descriptions, Carr compares ''kui'' with ''
chi Chi or CHI may refer to: Greek *Chi (letter), the Greek letter (uppercase Χ, lowercase χ); Chinese *Chi (length), ''Chi'' (length) (尺), a traditional unit of length, about ⅓ meter *Chi (mythology) (螭), a dragon *Chi (surname) (池, pin ...
'' "hornless dragon; mountain demon" and ''hui'' "snake; python". The ''Shanhaijing''Tr. in . mentions three one-footed creatures. The "Bellow-pot" bird "which looks like an owl; it has a human face but only one foot"; the "Endsquare" bird "which looks like a crane; it has one foot, scarlet markings on a green background, and a white beak"; and
Softsharp Country lies east of the Country of Oneeye. Its people have only one hand and only one foot. Their knees turn backwards so that their foot sticks up in the air. One author states that this is Keepsharp Country, and that the single foot of the people there turns backwards because it is broken.
Two other personages named Kui in
Chinese folklore Chinese folklore encompasses the folklore of China, and includes songs, poetry, dances, puppetry, and tales. It often tells stories of human nature, historical or legendary events, love, and the supernatural. The stories often explain natural phen ...
are
Kui Xing Kui Xing (), originally called 奎星 (also ''kuí xīng''), also known as 大魁夫子 "Great Master Kui" or 大魁星君 "Great Kui the Star Lord", is a character in Chinese folk religion, Chinese religion, the Shen (Chinese religion), Deity of ...
魁星 "the dwarfish god of examinations" and
Zhong Kui Zhong Kui (; ko, 종규, Jonggyu; ja, 鍾馗, Shōki; vi, Chung Quỳ) is a deity in Chinese mythology, traditionally regarded as a vanquisher of ghosts and evil beings. He is depicted as a large man with a big black beard, bulging eyes, and ...
鍾馗 "the vanquisher of ghosts and demons". One-footed or one-legged Kui has further parallels in
comparative mythology Comparative mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics.Littleton, p. 32 Comparative mythology has served a variety of academic purposes. For example, scholars have used ...
. For instance: *
Empusa Empusa or Empousa (; ; ''plural'': ''Empousai'') is a shape-shifting female being in Greek mythology, said to possess a single leg of copper, commanded by Hecate, whose precise nature is obscure. In Late Antiquity, the empousai have been describ ...
"one-footed", a demigoddess in
Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
* Monocoli "one foot" or Sciapod "shadow foot", a fabled race of people with one large foot and one center leg in Greek mythology *Ippon-datara 一本踏鞴 "one foot-bellows", a one-legged mountain spirit in
Japanese mythology Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto and Buddhist traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of year ...
(cf. Nūbē Characters) *
Patasola The Patasola or "one leg" is one of many legends in South American folklore about female monsters from the jungle, appearing to male hunters or loggers in the middle of the wilderness when they think about women. The Patasola appears in the form ...
"one foot", a vampire-like humanoid in
Colombian folklore Colombian folklore are beliefs, customs and cultural traditions in Colombia. Cultural influences Colombia has traditional folk tales and stories about legendary creatures, which are transmitted orally and passed on to new generations. Some o ...
*
Saci ''Sac''I is a restriction enzyme isolated from the bacterium Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorgani ...
, a one-legged nature-spirit in Brazilian folklore


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * Footnotes


Further reading

* Hawkes, David, tr. 1985. ''The Songs of the South: An Anthology of Ancient Chinese Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets''. Penguin. * Karlgren, Bernhard. 1957. ''Grammata Serica Recensa''. Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities. * Visser, Marinus Willern de. 1913
''The Dragon in China and Japan''
J. Müller.


External links


夔 entry
Chinese Etymology

Unihan Han unification is an effort by the authors of Unicode and the Universal Character Set to map multiple character sets of the Han characters of the so-called CJK languages into a single set of unified characters. Han characters are a feature s ...
data for U+5914
P'an with Coiled K'uei-dragon Pattern
National Palace Museum The National Palace Museum (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Kwet-li̍p kù-kiung pok-vu̍t-yèn), is a museum in Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan). It has a permanent collection of nearly 700,000 pieces of Chinese artifacts and artworks, many of which wer ...

Bronze gui vessel with kui dragon design
China Heritage Quarterly {{DEFAULTSORT:Kui (Chinese Mythology) Classic of Mountains and Seas Chinese legendary creatures Legendary creatures with absent body parts