The Mythology Book

216

THE 10 SUNS ALL

ROSE AT ONCE,

SCORCHING THE

SHEAVES OF GRAIN

YI SHOOTS THE SUN

O

riginally there were 10

suns. Xihe, a solar deity,

had given birth to them

by her husband, Di Jun, a god of

agriculture. The spirits of the suns

were three-legged crows. Every

day, Xihe harnessed one of the

divine sun birds to her carriage and

traveled around the world, bringing

light and heat to its people. One

day, disaster struck when all 10 sun

birds flew into the sky at once. This

caused the temperature on Earth to

rise to dangerous levels, scorching

the lands and preventing plants

from growing. The people were too

hot to breathe and came close to

starvation. To make matters worse,

terrible monsters emerged and

roamed the land. They included a

man-eating boa constrictor, a giant

bird, and a huge wild boar with

sharp tusks. Xihe and Di Jun were

unable to persuade the suns to

depart the heavens.

Yao saves the day

At this time, Yao, the ruler of China,

urged Di Jun to send help, which

arrived in the form of Yi the archer.

Yi came down to Earth carrying the

red bow and white arrows that Di

Jun had given to him. Yi hunted

down the deadly beasts, and saved

humanity from their attacks. He

then turned to the problem of the 10

suns. Drawing his bow, Yi shot an

arrow at one of the suns. The sun

exploded, and its three-legged crow

spirit fell to earth. One by one, Yi

Yi shoots at the suns in an image

from the Shan Hai Jing. One version of

the myth relates that the suns fell into

the sea, forming a rock that evaporated

water to stop the sea flooding the land.

IN BRIEF

THEME

Saving humanity

SOURCES

The Huainanzi (“Writings of

the Masters of Huainan”),

Anonymous, 2nd century bce;

Shan Hai Jing (“The Classic of

Mountains and Seas”),

Anonymous, 1st century bce.

SETTING

Ancient China.

KEY FIGURES

Xihe A solar deity.

Di Jun Xihe’s husband, god of

the eastern sky, and an

agricultural deity.

Yao A legendary Chinese

emperor (ca. 24th century bce)

who served as a model of

wisdom and virtue.

Yi A skilled bowman.

Xiwangmu A Chinese

goddess.

Chang’e Yi’s w ife.

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217

See also: Pangu and the creation of the world 214–15 ■ The adventures of the Monkey King 218–19 ■ The legend of the

five suns 248–55

ASIA

shot down the suns until just one

remained. Yao told Yi to spare this

last sun, as the people still needed

its heat and light. For this action,

which saved humanity and restored

order to the world, Yao was given

the title “Son of Heaven.” He is

revered in Chinese legends as a

wise and judicious sovereign.

Tragic existence

Yi had arrived on Earth with his

wife, Chang’e, and apprentice,

Fengmeng. As a reward for

shooting the sun birds, the Chinese

goddess Xiwangmu gave Yi an

elixir of immortality, but it proved

to be his undoing. Yi, who was a

mortal, did not want to imbibe the

elixir because he could not bear to

be separated from his wife.

One day, Fengmeng, who was

jealous of his master’s skill and

fame, broke into Yi’s house while

the archer was out hunting.

Fengmeng demanded the elixir

from Chang’e. Rather than give it to

him, she drank it herself. Now

immortal, she flew to the nearest

celestial body, the moon, so she

could remain close to her husband.

When Yi found that his wife was

gone, he set up an altar to her and

laid out her favorite foods as an

offering to her; he did this every

year to mark the day she had left.

Yi’s life came to an end when

treacherous Fengmeng beat him to

death with a branch from a peach

tree so that he himself could be

the greatest archer on Earth. After

his death, Yi was worshipped as

Zongbu, a god who prevents

disaster. His wife is now venerated

as the spirit of the moon. ■

The Mid-Autumn festival

On the 15th day of the 8th lunar

month, when the moon is full,

the Mid-Autumn Festival is

celebrated in China and Vietnam

and by people of Chinese and

Vietnamese origin worldwide.

The event, which dates back to

around 1600 bce, is traditionally a

thanksgiving for the annual rice or

wheat harvest, marked by social

gatherings and offerings for a

bountiful year to come.

A central feature of the festival

is the veneration of the moon

goddess Chang’e, one of many

Chinese deities who are still

revered. Gathering at night with

friends and family, people burn

incense, pray, and offer food to

the lunar deity, just as Yi did

when Chang’e had departed the

Earth. The best known of the

foods is mooncake, a circular

pastry commonly filled with a

sweet bean paste. The round

shape of the cakes is symbolic

of togetherness and unity. As

well as being offered to the

moon goddess, these cakes are

often given to friends and family

at this time, usually in elaborate,

beautiful packaging.

An actress dressed as Chang’e

flies up to a model moon during

the Mid-Autumn Festival in Jinhua,

Zhejiang Province of China.

Xiwangmu gives the elixir

of immortality to Yi.

Yi does not

drink it.

Fengmeng tries

to steal it.

Chang’e drinks

the elixir instead.

Immortal, Chang’e

flies to the moon.

So Yi was the first to bring

merciful relief to the world

below from all its hardships.

Shan Hai Jing

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