The three-legged (or tripedal) crow is a

mythological creature A legendary creature is a type of extraordinary or supernatural being that is described in folklore (including myths and legends), and may be featured in historical accounts before modernity, but has not been scientifically shown to exist. In t ...

in various

mythologies Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

and arts of

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

. It is believed to inhabit and represent the

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

. Evidence of the earliest bird-Sun motif or totemic articles were excavated around 5000 BCE in China. This bird-Sun totem heritage was observed in later

Yangshao The Yangshao culture ( zh, c=仰韶文化, p=Yǎngsháo wénhuà) was a Neolithic culture that existed extensively along the middle reaches of the Yellow River in China from around 5000 BC to 3000 BC. The Yangshao culture saw social and ...

and

Longshan culture The Longshan culture, also sometimes referred to as the Black Pottery Culture, was a late Neolithic culture in the middle and lower Yellow River valley areas of northern China from about 3000 to 1900 BC. The first archaeological find of this cu ...

s. Also, in Northeast Asia, artifacts of birds and phoenix observed to be a symbol of leadership was excavated from around 5500 BCE in Xinle culture and later

Hongshan HongShan Capital Group (HSG; ) is a Chinese venture capital firm founded in 2005. It was previously the China investment arm of Sequoia Capital (Sequoia) and was known as Sequoia Capital China and Sequoia China before it was rebranded and spun- ...

culture from Liao river basin. The Chinese have several versions of crow and crow-Sun tales. But the most popular depiction and myth of the Sun crow is that of the Yangwu or Jinwu, the "golden crow". It has also been found figured on ancient coins from

Lycia Lycia (; Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğ ...

and

Pamphylia Pamphylia (; , ''Pamphylía'' ) was a region in the south of Anatolia, Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean to Mount Taurus (all in modern-day Antalya province, Turkey). It was bounded on the ...

China

Douze_emblemes_des_rites_memoires_historiques_V3c23_205

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 culture, the three-legged crow is called the sanzuwu (;

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

: ''saam¹zuk¹wu¹'';

Shanghainese The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the central districts of the city of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as part of the Sino-Tibetan langua ...

: sae tsoh u) and is present in many myths. It is also mentioned in the

Shanhaijing The ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'', also known as ''Shanhai jing'' (), formerly Wade-Giles, romanized as the ''Shan-hai Ching'', is a Chinese classic text and a compilation of mythic geography and beasts. Early versions of the text may hav ...

. The earliest known depiction of a three-legged crow appears in

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

pottery of the

culture.

The sanzuwu in a disc represents the sun and is also one of the ''

Twelve Ornaments The Twelve Ornaments () are a group of ancient China, ancient Chinese symbols and designs that are considered highly auspicious. They were employed in the decoration of textile fabrics in ancient China, which signified authority and power, and wer ...

'' that is used in the decoration of formal imperial garments in ancient China.

Sun crow in Chinese mythology

The most popular depiction and myth of a ''sanzuwu'' is of a sun crow called the Yangwu (), more commonly referred to as the Jinwu () or "golden crow". Even though it is described as a corvid, it is usually coloured red instead of black. A silk painting from the

Western Han The Han dynasty was an 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) and a warring int ...

excavated at the

Mawangdui Mawangdui () is an archaeological site located in Changsha, China. The site consists of two saddle-shaped hills and contained the tombs of three people from the Changsha Kingdom during the western Han dynasty (206 BC – 9 AD): the Chancellor Li ...

archaeological site also depicts a "golden crow" in the sun. In ancient Chinese depictions, the Chinese god of creation,

Fuxi Fuxi or Fu Hsi ( zh, c=伏羲) is a culture hero in Chinese mythology, credited along with his sister and wife Nüwa with creating humanity and the invention of music, hunting, fishing, domestication, and cooking, as well as the Cangjie syste ...

, is often depicted carrying the sun disk with the while the Chinese goddess of creation,

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 ...

, holds the moon disk which contains a gold-striped toad. According to folklore, there were originally ten sun crows which settled in 10 separate suns. They perched on a red

mulberry tree ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of 19 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 subordinate ...

called the

Fusang Fusang is a mythical world tree or place located far east of China. In the ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'' and several contemporary texts, the term refers to a mythological tree of life, alternatively identified as a mulberry or a hibiscus, al ...

, literally meaning "the leaning mulberry tree", in the East at the foot of the Valley of the Sun. This mulberry tree was said to have many mouths opening from its branches. Each day one of the sun crows would be rostered to travel around the world on a carriage, driven by Xihe, the 'mother' of the suns. As soon as one sun crow returned, another one would set forth in its journey crossing the sky. According to the ''

'', the sun crows loved eating two grasses of immortality, one called the Diri (), and the other the Chunsheng (). The sun crows would often descend from heaven on to the earth and feast on these grasses, but Xihe did not like this; thus, she covered their eyes to prevent them from doing so. Folklore also held that, at around 2170 BC, all ten sun crows came out on the same day, causing the world to burn;

Hou Yi Hou Yi () is a mythological Chinese archer. 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'' descended from heaven to aid mankin ...

, the celestial archer, saved the day by shooting down all but one of the sun crows. Chengdu_2007_341

The ''sanzuwu'' is also depicted with the

Queen Mother of the West 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 ...

who are believed to be her messengers.

Other tripedal creatures in Chinese mythology

, there are other three-legged creatures besides the crow, for instance, the '' yu'' "a three-legged tortoise that causes malaria". The three-legged crow symbolizing the sun has a

yin yang Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...

counterpart in the ''chánchú'' " three-legged toad" symbolizing the moon (along with the

moon rabbit The Moon rabbit, Moon hare or Jade rabbit is a mythical figure in both East Asian and indigenous American folklore, based on interpretations that identify the lunar mare, dark markings on the near side of the Moon as a rabbit or hare. In East A ...

). According to an ancient tradition, this toad is the transformed

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 ...

lunar deity A lunar deity or moon deity is a deity who represents the Moon, or an aspect of it. These deities can have a variety of functions and traditions depending upon the culture, but they are often related. Lunar deities and Moon worship can be foun ...

who stole the

elixir of life The elixir of life (Medieval Latin: ' ), also known as elixir of immortality, is a potion that supposedly grants the drinker Immortality, eternal life and/or eternal youth. This elixir was also said to Panacea (medicine), cure all diseases. Alch ...

from her husband

Houyi Hou Yi () is a mythological Chinese archer. 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'' descended from heaven to aid manki ...

the archer, and fled to the moon where she was turned into a toad. The '' Fènghuáng'' is commonly depicted as being two-legged but there are some instances in art in which it has a three-legged appearance.

Xi Wangmu The Queen Mother of the West, known by various local names, is a mother goddess in Chinese religion and mythology, also worshipped later in neighbouring countries. She is attested from ancient times. The first historical information on her ...

(Queen Mother of the West) is also said to have three green birds () that gathered food for her and in Han-period religious art they were depicted as having three legs. In the Yongtai Tomb dating to the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

Era, when the Cult of Xi Wangmu flourished, the birds are also shown as being three-legged.

Japan

Japanese mythology Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of years of contac ...

, this flying creature is a

raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

or a jungle crow called

Yatagarasu is a mythical crowThe Book of Ancient Matters, The Book of Ancient Matters, Gakken, pp. 130, 138, 139. and guiding Kami, god in Shinto mythology. He is generally known for his three-legged figure, and his picture has been handed down since an ...

and the appearance of the great bird is construed as evidence of the will of Heaven or divine intervention in human affairs. Although Yatagarasu is mentioned in a number of places in

Shintō , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes ...

, the depictions are primarily seen on Edo wood art, dating back to the early 1800s wood-art era. Although not as celebrated today, the crow is a mark of rebirth and rejuvenation; the animal that has historically cleaned up after great battles symbolized the renaissance after such tragedy. Yatagarasu as a crow-god is a symbol specifically of guidance. This great crow was sent from heaven as a guide for legendary

Emperor Jimmu was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the and . His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC.Kelly, Charles F"Kofun Culture"Kumano to what would become

Yamato was originally the area around today's Sakurai, Nara, Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a Names of Japan, name for the whole of Japan. Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial ...

, ( Yoshino and then

Kashihara 280px, Kashihara City Hall is a city located in Nara Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 118,674 in 56,013 households, and a population density of 3000 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . A number of histor ...

). It is generally accepted that Yatagarasu is an incarnation of

Kamotaketsunumi no Mikoto Kamotaketsunumi no Mikoto (賀茂建角身命) is a god in Japanese mythology. Overview He is also known by the name Yatagarasu. Kamotaketsunumi is his name; '-no-Mikoto' is an honorific, denoting divinity. Kamotaketsunumi He is the foun ...

, but none of the early surviving documentary records are quite so specific. In more than one instance, Yatagarasu appears as a three legged crow not in ''

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

'' but in ''

Wamyō Ruijushō The is a 938 CE Japanese dictionary of Chinese characters. Heian period scholar Minamoto no Shitagō (源順, 911–983 CE) began compilation in 934, at the request of Emperor Daigo's daughter. The title is abbreviated as , and is also spelle ...

''. Both the

Japan Football Association The Japan Football Association (JFA, ) is the Sport governing body, governing body responsible for the administration of Association football, football, futsal, beach soccer and Esports, efootball in Japan. It is responsible for the Japan national ...

and subsequently its administered teams such as the

Japan national football team The , also known by the nickname , represents Japan in men's international Association football, football. It is controlled by the Japan Football Association (JFA), the governing body for football in Japan. Prior to the late 1980s, Japan's nat ...

use the symbol of Yatagarasu in their emblems and badges respectively. The winner of the

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or Japan FA Cup, and rebranded as The JFA Emperor's Cup from 2024 onwards, is a Japanese annual football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football tournament in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formatio ...

is also given the honor of wearing the Yatagarasu emblem the following season. Although the Yatagarasu is commonly perceived as a three-legged crow, there is in fact no mention of it being such in the original ''

''. Consequently, it is theorised that this is a result of a later possible misinterpretation during the Heian period that the Yatagarasu and the Chinese ''Yangwu'' refer to an identical entity.

Korea

Korean mythology Korean mythology () is the group of myths told by historical and modern Koreans. There are two types: the written, literary mythology in traditional histories, mostly about the founding monarchs of List of monarchs of Korea, various historical k ...

, it is known as Samjok-o ( – literally "three-legged crow"). During the

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

period, the ancient Korean people thought the Samjok-o to be a symbol of the sun and of great power, often representing the Taewang () and Goguryeo's sovereignty. It was also believed that the three-legged crow lived in the sun while a toad lived in the moon. The Samjok-o is such a highly respected symbol of power, even superior to both the

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

and the Korean bonghwang, that it carried into

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

, and modern Korea. Samjok-o appeared in the story Yeonorang Seonyeo. A couple, Yeono and Seo, lived on the beach of the East Sea in 157 (King Adalala 4), and rode to Japan on a moving rock. The Japanese took two people to Japan as kings and noblemen. At that time, the light of the sun and the moon disappeared in Silla. King Adalala sent an official to Japan to return the couple, but Yeono said to take the silk that was made by his wife, Seo, and sacrifice it to the sky. As he said this, the sun and moon were brighter again. In modern Korea, Samjok-o is still found especially in television dramas such as ''

Jumong Dongmyeong of Goguryeo (), personal name Ko Chumong (), was the founding monarch of the kingdom of Goguryeo, and was worshipped as a god-king by the people of Goguryeo and Goryeo. King Dongmyeong was also an important figure for the kingdom of ...

''. The three-legged crow was one of several emblems under consideration to replace the '' bonghwang'' in the Korean seal of state when its revision was considered in 2008."Three-Legged Bird to Replace Phoenix on State Seal,"
''Chosun Ilbo'' (Seoul). January 16, 2006. The Samjok-o appears also in

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC () is a South Korean professional football club based in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Jeonbuk have won the K League a record nine times, including ...

's current emblem. There are some Korean companies using Samjok-o as their corporate logos.

References

Citations

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Three-Legged Crow Chinese legendary creatures Japanese legendary creatures Korean legendary creatures Legendary creatures with supernumerary body parts Mythological corvids Birds in Chinese mythology East Asian mythology Yangshao culture