Hou Yi () is a mythological Chinese

archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern ...

. He was also known as Shen Yi and simply as Yi (). He is also typically given the title of "Lord Archer". He is sometimes portrayed as a god of archery or a ''

xian Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

'' descended from heaven to aid mankind. Other times, he is portrayed as either simply half-divine or fully mortal. His wife,

Chang'e Chang'e ( ; ), originally known as Heng'e (), is the goddess of the Moon and wife of Hou Yi, the great archer. Renowned for her beauty, Chang'e is also known for her ascending to the Moon with her pet Yu Tu, the Moon Rabbit and living in the Mo ...

, is one of the lunar deities.

Lore

In Chinese mythology, there were originally 10 suns; in some forms of this myth they are the sons or grandsons of the

Jade Emperor In the Chinese mythology, myths and Chinese folk religion, folk religion of Chinese culture, the Jade Emperor or Yudi is one of the representations of the Primordial Divinity (Tai Di), primordial god. In Taoist theology, he is the assistant of ...

. 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 mythical

Emperor Yao Emperor Yao (; traditionally c. 2356 – 2255 BCE) was a legendary China, Chinese ruler, according to various sources, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Ancestry and early life Yao's ancestral name is Yi Qi () or Qi (), clan ...

—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 into

three-legged crow The three-legged (or tripedal) crow is a mythological creature in various mythologies and arts of East Asia. It is believed to inhabit and represent the Sun. Evidence of the earliest bird-Sun motif or totemic articles were excavated around 5000 ...

s. Finally, only one sun was left. King Yao and the sun's mother Xihe asked for him to be spared for the prosperity of man. 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. 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. Hou Yi was gifted the pill of immortality by the gods. One of Hou Yi's apprentices called

Feng Meng Feng Meng/Beng Meng (Peng Meng), or Fengmeng (), was a figure from Chinese mythology closely associated with the divine archer Houyi. He was the apprentice of the divine archer and was envious of his skill with the bow and arrow The bow and arr ...

broke into Hou Yi's house in search of the pill of immortality while Hou Yi was out hunting. His wife

swallowed the pill before Feng Meng could get it. After eating the pill, Chang'e became immortal and flew to the moon. 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 from

Xiwangmu The Queen Mother of the West, known by #Names, various local names, is a mother goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese religion and Chinese mythology, mythology, also worshipped later in neighbouring countries. She is attested from ancient ...

to 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 the

Mid-Autumn Festival The Mid-Autumn Festival (for other names, see § Etymology) is a harvest festival celebrated in Chinese culture. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full moon at night, corresponding to mid- ...

. The ''

Heavenly Questions The ''Heavenly Questions'' or ''Questions to Heaven'' () is a piece contained in the Classical Chinese poetry collection of ''Chu Ci'', which is noted both in terms of poetry and as a source for information on the ancient culture of China, espec ...

'' section of the anthology ''

Chu Ci The ''Chu Ci'', variously translated as ''Verses of Chu'', ''Songs of Chu'', or ''Elegies of Chu'', is an ancient anthology of Chinese poetry including works traditionally attributed mainly to Qu Yuan and Song Yu from the Warring States period, ...

'' recorded: "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 of

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 took his wife

Luoshen Luoshen () is a well-known figure in Chinese literature and folklore. She is the central character in the famous poem "" (Chinese: 洛神賦; pinyin: Luòshén fù, also alternatively translated as Rhapsody on the luo river goddess) written by Cao ...

as his own.

Historical references

Hou Yi was also depicted as a tribal leader of ancient China in classical sources, usually conflated with the legendary figure. According to the ''

Bamboo Annals The ''Bamboo Annals'' ( zh, t=竹書紀年, p=Zhúshū Jìnián), also known as the ''Ji Tomb Annals'' ( zh, t=汲冢紀年, p=Jí Zhǒng Jìnián), is a chronicle of ancient China. It begins in the earliest legendary time (the age of the Yellow E ...

'', Hou Yi attacked the

Xia dynasty The Xia dynasty (; ) is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, it was established by the legendary figure Yu the Great, after Emperor Shun, Shun, the last of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, Fiv ...

during the first year of 's reign, occupying the Xia capital

Zhenxun Zhenxun () was the last capital for the pre historical Chinese Xia dynasty. There is a consensus among many Chinese scholars that the Erlitou site about 20 km east of central Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city loc ...

while Taikang was hunting beyond the Luo River. In the eighth year of the reign of Taikang's nephew , Hou Yi was deposed by his lieutenant

Han Zhuo Han Zhuo was a mythical Chinese people, Chinese hero who usurped Hou Yi, Houyi as leader of a people near the Xia dynasty, Xia in prehistoric China. He and his sons appear in a number of Chinese legends, and there are various conflicting accounts ...

. Recent research suggests the legend of Hou Yi shooting 10 suns () originated with a miswriting of Hou Yi shooting Xiang (). File:后羿射日.png, Relief rubbing of Houyi File:Wu liang shrine relief depicting xihe, yi, and fusang tree.jpg, Houyi takes aim at the Suns (right upper corner), rubbing from the

Wu Liang Shrines The Wu Family Shrines (), of which the Wu Liang Shrine (武梁祠) is the best known, was the family shrine of the Wu clan of the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty. The shrines contain a vast amount of relief carvings. Three walls of ...

reliefs

References

* Hou Yi. (n.d.). Mythopedia. Retrieved April 14, 2023, fro
Hou Yi
{{Reflist Chinese male archers Chinese gods Mythological archers Mythological hunters Pre-Xia Chinese people Xia dynasty people Classic of Mountains and Seas Demigods

Lore

Historical references

See also

References