Contents FOREWORD * xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS * XV ABBREVIATIONS * Xvii CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE * xix Introduction • i Definitions of Myth 2 I Approaches to Chinese Myth 5 / The Comparative Method in the Study of Chinese Myth 10 / Modem Chinese and Japanese Studies of Chinese Myth 13 I The Nature of Chinese Mythic Narratives 1 7 1 The Polyfunctionality of Myth as an Organizing Principle 20 I Future Research on Chinese Myth: A New Dimension 21 1. Origins • 23 The Origin of the World 2 6 1 The Goddess Nil Kua Creates Human Beings 33 I Sunrise, Sunset 3s 2. Culture Bearers • 40 The River God Chit Ling 4 1 1 The Fire Driller 42 I Fu Hsi’s Inventions and Discoveries 44 I The Farmer God Thrashes Herbs 4 7 1 Ch’ih Yu Invents Metallurgy and Weapons so I Ti K ’u Makes Musical Instruments 53 I Hou Chi Teaches How to Sow Grain 54 I Po Yi Tames Birds and Beasts 58 I K ’ung Chia Rears Dragons 60 I Ts’an Ts’ung Encourages Sericulture 6 11 Master Yen Presents His Invention 63 I Minor Culture Bearer Traditions 65 3. Saviors • 67 Chu Lung, Torch Dragon 68 I Ntt Kua Mends the Sky 69 I Hou Chi Saves Humans from Starvation 72 / Shun, the Filial Son 74 I The Burial Place of Shun 7 6 1 Yi Shoots the Ten Suns to Avert Disaster 7 7 1 Kun and the Flood 79 I Yii Controls the Flood 811 K ’ai Receives the Music of Heaven 83 I At Mulberry Forest They Pray for Rain 8s I The Virgin Brides and the River God 87 Vll viii Contents 4. Destroyers • 89 Crimes of the Gods 90 I The Links between Earth and Heaven Are Severed 9 1 1 The Sons of Chuan Hsu 95 I Kung Kung Butts into the Mountain 97 / The Myths of Hun Tun 98 / The Shen Star and the Ch'en Star 100 I Yi Shoots the Lord of the River 101 / The Three Trials of Shun 104 I King Kai Loses His Oxen 10$ / King Chieh of the Hsia and the Two Suns 108 / King Chou of the Shang Imprisons King Wen of the Chou Dynasty 110 5. Miraculous Birth • 113 Ti K ’u 114 / Chiang Yuan Gives Birth to Hou Chi 1161 P’an Hu 1181 Po Yi 120 I Kun and Yu 121 / Yu, the T'u-shan Girl, and Ch’i 122 I Ti Chun and His Wives 123 I King Yen of Hsu 125 1 Yi Yin Is Bom of a Hollow Mulberry Tree 128 6. Myths o f the Yellow Emperor • 130 The Battle between the Yellow Emperor and the Flame Emperor 1311 Ch’ih Yu Attacks the Yellow Emperor 132 I The Yellow Emperor Captures the K ’uei Monster 134 / The Yellow Emperor Conquers the Four Emperors 135 I The Yellow Emperor Loses the Black Pearl 1361 The Yellow Emperor Questions the Dark Lady on the Art of War 137 7. Myths of Yi the Archer • 138 Yi Shoots the Ten Suns to Avert Disaster 139 I The Rock of the Nine Suns 140 / Yi Shoots the Lord of the River 140 / Feng Meng Kills Yi 143 I Ch’ang O Escapes to the Moon 144 8. Myths of Yu the Great • 146 YU Controls the Flood 1461 The Signs ofYU’s Divine Favor 148 / Yii’s Func­ tion as Warrior 148 I Yu Measures the Whole World 132 I Yu Casts the Nine Cauldrons 153 / Yu and the T'u-shan Girl 155 / The Deities Help Yu to Con­ trol the Flood 157 9. Goddesses • 160 Nil Kua 163 / Draught O x and Weaver Maid 165 I The Hsiang Queens 1671 Woman Ch’ou 169 / The Queen Mother of the West 171 / Ch'ang O 176 / fasper Lady 176 / The Goddess of Salt River 178 10. Immortality • 181 The Mountain Paradise of K ’un-lun 183 I The Island Paradises in the East 18s / The Myth of P’eng-tsu’s Longevity 187 11. Metamorphoses • 189 P ’an Ku Is Transformed into the Universe 1901 The Monster Fish Changes into the Monster Bird 1911 The Death of Ch’ih Yu 192 I The Myth ofYao’s Son Tan Chu 193 / Ch’ang O Becomes a Toad in the Moon 19s I Yi Yin’s Mother Changes into a Hollow Mulberry Tree 19s I Fu Yueh Turns into a Star 1961 Tu Yii and the Call of the Nightjar 1971 The Silkworm Horse 199 Contents ~ ix 12. Love • 201 NiiKua Marries Her Brother in the First Marriage 203 / The Lord of the Gra­ nary and the Goddess of Salt River 2041 Draught O x and Weaver Maid 206 I The Son of the White Emperor Courts the Goddess Huang O 207 I The Bereavement of Shun’s Wives 209 I Yii and the T ’u-shan Girl 210 / Han P ’ing, a Husband and His Wife 210 13. Heroes • 213 Ching Wei Dams the Sea 214 I K ’ua-fu Races the Sun 21s I Hsing T ’ien Dances with Shield and Battle-Ax 216 I The Foolish Old Man Moves a Mountain 218 I K ’ai Receives the Music of Heaven 219 / The Death of PoYi and Shu Ch’i 220 / Kan Chiang and Mo Yeh Forge Swords 2211 Eyebrows Twelve Inches Apart 224 I The Five Brothers 2271 Li Ping Fights the Water Beast 228 14. Fabled Flora and Fauna • 230 The Divine Light of Torch Dragon 232 I The Chien-mu Sky-Ladder 232 I The Giant Peach Tree 233 / Leaning Mulberry 234 I The Vastness of K’un- lun Mountains 234 I The Beast of White Marsh 23s I King Mu of Chou’s Fabled Horses 2361 The Many-Splendored Bird 2371 Vegetal Myths: Ming-chia, Sha-fu, and Chih-ning 238 I Kao Yao Honors His Ram 240 I The Dragon and the Tortoise 2411 Carp Leap over Dragon Gate 242 15. Strange Lands and Peoples • 243 Pierced-Chest Country 24s I Odd-Arm Country 2471 The Country of Men 2471 The Country of Women 2481 The Country of Meng Shu 250 I Owl-Sunshine Country 251 16. Founding Myths • 253 The Founding Myth of the Shang 25s I Tang the Conqueror Attacks the Hsia 2561 Hou Chi, Founder of the Chou 238 I King Wen of the Chou 259 I King Wu of the Chou 2611 The Beginning of the Yao People 264 I The Ancestor of the Shu 264 I The Founding Myth of the Pa People 26s I The God Shao Hao Founds the Niao Kingdom 267 CONCORDANCE OF ENGLISH AND CHINESE BOOK TITLES • 269 BIBLIOGRAPHY • 273 INDEX OF CHINESE NAMES AND TERMS • 295 INDEX OF CONCEPTS • 316 Chronological Table Shang/Yin ?I766- ? i i 23 b .c. Chou Dynasty ?II23- 22I B.C. Western Chou ?II23- 77I B.C. Eastern Chou Spring and Autumn Era 72 2 -4 8 1 B.C. Warring States Era 4 0 3 -2 2 1 B.C. Ch’in Dynasty 2 2 1 -2 0 7 B.C. Han Dynasty 202 B.C.—A.D. 220 Former Han 202 B.C.—A.D. 8 Latter Han A.D. 25-220 Three Kingdoms 2 2 1-2 8 0 (Han, Wei, and Shu Kingdoms) Chin Dynasty 26$-4I9 Six Dynasties Era 386-589 (Wu, Eastern Chin, Sung, Ch’i, Liang, and Ch’en Dynasties) Sui Dynasty 58 9 -6 18 T’ang Dynasty 618-907 Five Dynasties 907-959 Sung Dynasty 960-1279 Yuan or Mongol Dynasty X28O-I368 Ming Dynasty I3 6 8 -I6 4 4 Ch’ing or Manchu Dynasty I6 4 4 -I9 II Republic of China 1912 People’s Republic o f China 1949 xix Origins Chinese etiological myths of cosmogony, which explain the ori­ gin of the universe, describe how the world came to be ordered out of chaos. These myths are ways o f conceptualizing the universe at the moment when it was created, in illo tempore, or “in the beginning” of mythological time. Chinese cosmogonic myths fit the general pattern o f myths worldwide in the sense that they do not describe creation ex nihilo: the cosmos is created from “some already existing matter” (Dundes 1984, 5). Many mythologies containing accounts of the origin o f the world and o f human life reveal a deep interest in ultimate origins, in tracing the world back to a single primeval element that existed from the time before “the beginning” and from which all things emerged. In the ancient cosmologies o f Greece, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and else­ where, the mythic narratives describe this primeval element as water. In Vedic Indian myth, it is fire in water. B y contrast, the basic principle o f Chinese cosmology is a primeval vapor, which was believed to embody cosmic energy governing matter, time, and space. This energy, accord­ ing to Chinese mythic narratives, undergoes a transformation at the moment o f creation, so that the nebulous element o f vapor becomes differentiated into dual elements o f male and female, Yin and Yang, hard and soft matter, and other binary elements. Besides the concept o f a primeval element, most ancient cosmolo­ 23 24 ~ Chinese Mythology gies contain narratives that present a picture o f the cosmos that emerged from it. The ancient Chinese conceived the world as a square area o f land or earth, above which was the round sky, held up like a dome by four supports from the earth. In some accounts these supports are said to be four giant pillars, or eight pillars fastened by cords to the sky’s can­ opy, or four immense mountains reaching from earth to the sky, which they prop up.