Gonggong () is a Chinese water god who is depicted in

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural tradit ...

and folktales as having a copper human head with an iron forehead, red hair, and the body of a serpent, or sometimes the head and torso are human, with the tail of a serpent. He is destructive and is blamed for various cosmic catastrophes. In all accounts, Gonggong ends up being killed or sent into exile, usually after losing a struggle with another major deity such as the fire god Zhurong. In

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

, the dwarf planet 225088 Gonggong is named after Gonggong.

Name

In English, the two syllables of the name are the same. But in Mandarin, they differ in tone ( ''Gònggōng''), and in other Chinese languages they differ in their vowel and the initial consonant as well (cf. Middle Chinese , also Japanese ''kyōkō''). The most common variant of the name, , is identical to the first in English, but in Mandarin differs in tone (''Gōnggōng''), and in other Chinese languages in consonant and vowel as well (cf. Middle Chinese ). Gonggong's personal name is said to be Kanghui (pronounced either in English, or as Mandarin ''Kānghuí'' ).

Legend

Gonggong is known from the late

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

(before 221 BC). Gonggong appears in the ancient " Heavenly Questions" (''Tianwen'') poem of the '' Chu Ci'', where he is blamed for knocking the Earth's axis off center, causing it to tilt to the southeast and the sky to tilt to the northwest. This

axial tilt In astronomy, axial tilt, also known as obliquity, is the angle between an object's rotational axis and its orbital axis, which is the line perpendicular to its orbital plane; equivalently, it is the angle between its equatorial plane and orbita ...

is used to explain why the rivers of China generally flow to the southeast, especially the Yangzi River and the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

, and why the Sun, Moon, and stars move towards the northwest. Literature from the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

becomes much more detailed regarding Gonggong. Gonggong was credited in various mythological contexts as being responsible for great floods, often in concert with his minister Xiangliu (a.k.a. Xiangyao), who has nine heads and the body of a snake. Gonggong was ashamed that he lost the fight with Zhurong, the Chinese god of fire, to claim the throne of Heaven. In a fit of rage, he smashed his head against Buzhou Mountain, one of eight pillars holding up the sky, greatly damaging it and causing the sky to tilt towards the northwest and the Earth to shift to the southeast, which caused great floods and suffering. In one account of the myth, Gonggong kills himself in the process and fire comes out of the shattered mountain alongside floods. The goddess

Nüwa Nüwa, also read Nügua, is a mother goddess, culture hero, and/or member of the Three Sovereigns of Chinese mythology. She is a goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. She is credited with creating humani ...

cut off the legs of the giant turtle Ao and used them in place of the fallen pillar, ending the floods and suffering; she was, however, unable to fully correct the tilted sky and Earth and alter their effects on the Sun, Moon, stars, and rivers in China.

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