![]() Every living thing on the planet begged the last sun to come out, but he was so scared of Hou Yi that he covered his ears and ignored them. The earth was now plunged into unbearable darkness and cold. The tenth sun was so scared that he ran away and hid in a cave. Almost instantly, nine of them fell from the sky. Steeling himself, Hou Yi drew back his bow and loosed nine arrows upon the suns. Upon hearing this warning, the suns simply stuck their tongues out at Hou Yi and told him to mind his own business. When he was finished, he climbed to the top of a tall mountain to confront the suns directly.īefore he began to shoot, Hou Yi gave the children a final warning and pleaded for them to return to the Emperor’s palace. At long last, he gave Hou Yi permission to do what must be done.Īrmed with a massive bow made of tiger bones and arrows made of dragon tendons, Hou Yi set about slaying the monsters terrorizing the countryside. ![]() Though the Jade Emperor loved his grandchildren, he could see that there was no reasoning with them. The suns were having so much fun, however, that they could not hear the Emperor over the sound of their own laughter. He told the Emperor that if the suns would not behave themselves, he would have to shoot them down in order to save the planet.įearing for the lives of his grandchildren, the Jade Emperor scolded them and begged them to return home. Seeing an opportunity, wild monsters emerged from the shadows and began to prey on humanity.Ī skilled archer named Hou Yi saw the destruction the suns were causing and immediately went to the Jade Emperor. ![]() Crops shriveled up and people fainted in the streets as the earth began to burn. When all ten suns appeared in the sky, the temperature on earth became unbearably hot. Being young children, however, they decided that going out together would be much more fun than going out alone. The Jade Emperor (玉皇) told them that only one of them could play in the sky at a time, lest they destroy the earth. In a time when the earth was still very young and the mythical Emperor Yao (帝堯) ruled China, there were ten suns that took turns illuminating the planet. One verse in the famous ancient Chinese poem, “Heavenly Questions”, or Tianwen (天問), begins by asking the question: “Why did Yi shoot down the suns?” What follows is one of the most famous myths in Chinese mythology. While Hou Yi and Chang’e are both popular figures in Chinese mythology, little is known about either of their families. Hou Yi is married to Chang’e, who later betrays him and becomes the moon goddess. In art, Hou Yi usually appears dressed in a traditional soldier’s outfit and animal skins. He carries a large bow made of tiger bone that only he can draw, and his arrows are crafted from dragon tendons. Hou Yi is described as being an inhumanly strong, young man. In some ancient texts he is simply refer to as Yi (羿). ![]() Hou Yi’s name is comprised of hòu (后), the Chinese word for “monarch”, and yì (羿), a character unique to Hou Yi’s name. ![]()
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