Jump to content

Hou Yi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Houyi" redirects here. For other topics, seeHouyi (disambiguation).
Not to be confused withHo Yi.
Hou Yi
Houyi, as depicted inXiao Yuncong's Illustrated 'Inquiry of the Heavens(Tiêu vân từ thiên hỏi đồ), published 1645
ChineseHậu Nghệ

Hou Yi(Chinese:Hậu Nghệ) is a mythological Chinesearcher.He was also known asShen Yiand simply asYi(Nghệ). He is also typically given the title of "Lord Archer". He is sometimes portrayed as a god of archery or axian[1]descended from heaven to aid mankind. Other times, he is portrayed as either simply half-divine or fully mortal. His wife,Chang'e,is one of the lunar deity.[2]

Lore[edit]

In Chinese mythology, there were originally 10 suns, in some forms of this myth they are the sons or grandsons of theJade Emperor.Initially, the 10 suns would cross the sky one by one, but one day the 10 suns decided to come out all at once so that they could play with each other, and scorched the earth. Hou Yi was tasked by the mythicalEmperor Yao—in some versions, the Jade Emperor—to rein in the suns. Hou Yi first tried to reason with the suns. When that did not work, he then pretended to shoot at them with his bow to intimidate them. When the suns again refused to heed Hou Yi's warnings, he began to shoot at them one by one. As each one fell, they turned intothree-legged crows.Finally, only one sun was left. King Yao and the sun's motherXiheasked for him to be spared for the prosperity of man.[3]In other variants, Hou Yi's final arrow was stolen, either by a brave boy or by Emperor Yao himself, who realized that the land requires a sun.[4][5]

Hou Yi was also known for the slaying, maiming and imprisonment of several other mythical beasts such as the Yayu, Zaochi, Jiuying, Dafeng, Fengxi, and Xiushe. He had been directed by King Yao to go after these creatures as they were all causing trouble for humans.[6]

Hou Yi was gifted the pill of immortality by the gods. One of Hou Yi's apprentices calledFeng Mengbroke into Hou Yi's house in search of the pill of immortality while Hou Yi was out hunting. His wifeChang'eswallowed the pill before Peng Meng could get it. After eating the pill, Chang'e rose up to the moon.[7]

In another version, after Hou Yi shot down the suns, he was proclaimed as a hero-king by the people. However, once he was crowned king, he became a tyrant and subjugated his people. Hou Yi had also obtained an immortality elixir fromXiwangmuto live forever. Chang'e was afraid that if he lived forever, that people would forever be victim to his cruelty. Therefore, Chang'e consumed the elixir herself and floated away. As she did, Hou Yi tried to shoot her down but failed. For her sacrifice, people have taken to honoring her during theMid-Autumn Festival.[8]

TheHeavenly Questionssection of the anthologyChu Cirecorded: "The Emperor sent Hou Yi to reform the people of Xia. Why did he shoot Hebo and take his wife Luoshen?" The poem tells the story of Hou Yi, who was sent by the Emperor to reform the people of Xia. He was a skilled archer and hunter, and he used his skills to rid the world of many monsters and pests. However, he also became arrogant and tyrannical, and he eventually killed Hebo, the god ofYellow Riverand took his wifeLuoshenas his own.[9][10]

Historical references[edit]

Hou Yi was also depicted as a tribal leader of ancient China in classical sources, usually conflated with the legendary figure. According to theBamboo Annals,Hou Yi attacked theXia dynastyduring the first year ofKing Taikang's reign, occupying the Xia capitalZhenxunwhile Taikang was hunting beyond theLuo River.In the eighth year of the reign of Taikang's nephewXiang of Xia.,[2]Hou Yi was deposed by his lieutenantHan Zhuo.Recent research thought the legend of Hou Yi shooting Ten Sun (Chinese:10 ngày) originated with the wrongly copy of Hou Yi shooting Xiang (Chinese:Tương).[11]

  • Relief rubbing of Houyi
    Relief rubbing of Houyi
  • Houyi takes aim at the Suns (right upper corner), rubbing from the Wu Liang Shrines reliefs
    Houyi takes aim at the Suns (right upper corner), rubbing from theWu Liang Shrinesreliefs

In popular culture[edit]

  • Hou Yi appears in the video gameSmiteas a hunter
  • In the Tencent seriesThree-Body,Hou Yi is depicted on the wall of Shi Qiang's office and is mentioned by the characters as an allusion to the Trisolarans who inhabit a chaotic multi-star system.
  • Hou Yi appears inOver the Moon' as a ghost in flashbacks.
  • Hou Yi appears in the 2022 mobile RPG game, Dislyte, renamed as Dayi. His ability in the game references the shooting down of the 9 suns.
  • In the light novel "second Life ranker" the character Bow god Jang Wei is said to be Hou yi's disciple.
  • Mo Xiang Tong Xiu's 2016 xianxia/wuxia web novelModao Zushi(Ma đạo tổ sư) may reference this mythology with its “Sunshot Campaign.” The story features a tyrannical clan seemingly too powerful to defeat; lesser clans’ union against them—to “shoot down the sun” —is called the Sunshot Campaign.
  • Hou Yi's bow appears as an item in the video gameSpelunky 2.
  • Hou Yi appears as a character in theS. L. HuangnovellaBurning Roses.
  • While Hou Yi does not make a direct appearance in theTouhou Projectvideo game series, He plays an important role in the backstory of the fifteenth gameLegacy of Lunatic Kingdom.Hou Yi's shooting down of the 9 suns resulted in the death of the son of the game's, final Boss, Junko. This event leads Junko to form a grudge against Hou Yi's wife, Chang'e, and her plot for revenge leads to an invasion of the moon that forms the basis of the game's plot.[12]One of the stars he shot down was Apollo, who served as the sun in Hell. This earns him and Chang'e the ire of the Hell goddess Hecatia Lapislazuli, who serves as the game's extra stage Boss.[13]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  • Hou Yi. (n.d.). Mythopedia. Retrieved April 14, 2023, fromHou Yi
  1. ^Ni, Xueting C. (2023).Chinese Myths: From Cosmology and Folklore to Gods and Immortals.London: Amber Books. p. 132.ISBN978-1-83886-263-3.
  2. ^ab"Hou Yi".Encyclopedia Britannica.
  3. ^Walls, Jan (1984).Classical Chinese Myths.Joint Publishing Co. pp. 68–69.
  4. ^Bartlett, Sarah (2009).The Mythology Bible: The Definitive Guide to Legendary Tales.Sterling.ISBN9781402770029.
  5. ^"Hou Yi Shooting the Sun".November 2009.
  6. ^Masako, Mori (1995). "Restoring the" Epic of Hou Yi "".Asian Folklore Studies.54(2): 239–257.doi:10.2307/1178943.JSTOR1178943.
  7. ^"Chang'e, Chinese Deity".Encyclopedia Britannica.The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica.Retrieved8 March2018.
  8. ^Yang, Lihui; An, Deming; Anderson Turner, Jessica (2008).Handbook of Chinese Mythology.Oxford University Press.ISBN9780195332636.
  9. ^"Bị dưới nước Lạc Thần kinh diễm, ngươi có biết nàng kiếp trước kiếp này?".yn.people.cn.Retrieved2024-03-21.
  10. ^Theobald, Ulrich."Luo Shen Lạc Thần, the Goddess of the River Luo ( chinaknowledge.de)".chinaknowledge.de.Retrieved2024-03-21.
  11. ^"《 lịch sử ảo giác 》①｜ Thường Nga kỳ thật cùng Hậu Nghệ không quan hệ?".The Paper(in Chinese (China)). 2023-03-31.
  12. ^"Chang'e - Touhou Wiki - Characters, games, locations, and more".Retrieved11 March2024.
  13. ^"Hecatia Lapislazuli - Touhou Wiki - Characters, games, locations, and more".Retrieved11 March2024.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hou_Yi&oldid=1231722869"