Gun (Chinese mythology)

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Gun (Chinese: 鯀; pinyin: Gǔn, lit. "big fish"[a][3]), also known as Count of Chong (Chinese: 崇伯鯀; pinyin: Chóngbó Gǔn), was a figure in Chinese mythology, sometimes noted as the father of Yu the Great, the founder of the Xia dynasty.[4] Gun was appointed to the task of controlling the Great Flood by Emperor Yao on the advice of the Four Mountains. Gun used dykes to try to stop the flooding but the dykes collapsed, killing many people.

In mythology[]

In many versions of the mythology, Gun appears as a demi-god. In legends, he even discovered some of the secrets of the gods. In order to make dykes that would ward off floods, he stole Xirang (Chinese: 息壤) (self-renewing soil) from the gods. After the dykes were finished, when the water levels rose, the magical earth of the dyke also rose to keep the water out. It worked very well at first, but when the dykes rose too high (in the legend, they rose to nine rèn 仞 (an ancient Chinese measure of between 1 and 3 meters)), they collapsed, resulting in the death of many people in the subsequent flood. Some legends say that Gun was executed by Shun on Feather Mountain with the sword of Wu, other sources however state that he committed suicide by jumping into an abyss, transformed into an animal and became the god of the abyss.[4] Before his death he told his son, Yu the Great, to finish his job.

Classic of Mountains and Seas records that Gun is also known as Baima "White Horse" and is the son of Luoming and grandson of the Yellow Emperor.[5]

See also[]

Note[]

  1. ^ According to Schuessler (2009), 鯀 (standard Chinese gǔn < Old Chinese *kwə̂nʔ) is the same word as 鮌 (gǔn < OC *kwə̂nʔ) and 鯤 (kūn < OC *kûn), the latter being a mythical giant fish mentioned in Zhuangzi.[1][2]

References[]

  1. ^ Schuessler, Axel. (2009) Minimal Old Chinese and Later Han Chinese. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i. p. 317, 333-4
  2. ^ Zhuangzi, "Enjoyment in Untroubled Ease" quote: "北冥有魚，其名為鯤。鯤之大，不知其幾千里也。" translation: "In the Northern Ocean there is a fish, the name of which is Kun - I do not know how many li in size."
  3. ^ Kangxi Dictionary, "魚 radical 7" quote: "鯀：《唐韻》《集韻》《正韻》