The Classic of Mountains and Seas: Hou Yi Shoots the Sun

1. Classical Chinese and vernacular versions of "Hou Yi Shoots the Sun" and "Chang'e Flying to the Moon" in The Classic of Mountains and Seas

Hou Yi Shoots the Sun

Preface

Trying to overcome droughts, floods and other natural disasters is one of the common themes in ancient myths handed down by our country and other peoples around the world. One of the ancient Chinese myths, "Houyi shoots the sun", is based on the reaction of the ancestors to drought during the reigns of Huangdi and Yao - pointing arrows at the sun and frantically "shooting the sun". Moreover, this legend also explains that the ancestors had already finished shooting nine suns, and only the one we see today was spared for unknown reasons.

Original text

When Yao was captured, he went out together in ten days.

The crops are burned, vegetation is killed, and the people have nothing to eat.

Yao ordered Yi to kill the nine infants in the wilderness of Chouhua, and to kill the nine infants on the ferocious water. He then sent the strong wind to the swamp of Qingqiu, and shot them for ten days. Then he went down to kill the wild dogs and cut off the repairs. Snakes in the cave, captured and sealed in the mulberry forest.

All the people were happy and made Yao the emperor.

——"Huainanzi Benjing Xun"

Hou Yi shot the sun

According to legend, Hou Yi and Chang'e were both people from the time of Yao. The myth says During the time of Yao, ten suns appeared in the sky at the same time, scorching the land, the crops withered, and people were so hot that they couldn't breathe and fell to the ground unconscious. Because of the extremely hot weather, some strange birds and beasts also ran out of the dry rivers and lakes and flaming forests, killing people everywhere.

The disasters on earth alarmed the gods in heaven. Chang Jun, the Emperor of Heaven, ordered Hou Yi, who was good at archery, to go down to earth to assist Yao in eliminating the suffering of the people. Hou Yi came to the world with a red bow, a bag of white arrows given to him by the Emperor of Heaven, and his beautiful wife Chang'e.

Hou Yi immediately began to shoot the sun. He took off the red bow from his shoulder, took out the white arrows, and shot them one by one at the arrogant sun. In an instant, nine of the ten suns were shot away, just because Yao believed that one sun should be left behind for the people. It was useful and stopped Hou Yi from continuing to shoot. This is the famous story of Hou Yi shooting the sun. 2. A classical Chinese text about Hou Yi shooting at the sun

The king of Xia sent Yi to shoot at the skin of a square ruler ①, which was an inch in diameter ②.

Then he ordered Yi to say: "If you shoot it, if you hit ③, you will be rewarded with ten thousand gold; if you don't hit, you will be rewarded with a thousand yi of land ④." Yi's appearance has no fixed color, The Qi is fighting in the chest ⑥, so he uses the bow and shoots ⑦, but misses. He shoots again, but misses again.

The king of Xia said to Fu Miren: "Si Yi, 9, all of them hit the mark! And if there are rewards and punishments for him, then why are those who miss the mark?" Fu Miren said: "Ruo Yi also If one can leave behind his joy and fear, and get rid of his ten thousand gold, then everyone in the world will be worthy of Yi."

(Selected from "Fu". When Yao was captured, he went out together in ten days. The crops are burned, vegetation is killed, and the people have nothing to eat.

The wild beasts, chisel teeth, nine infants, strong winds, seals, and snakes are all harmful to the people. Yao then ordered Yi to cut his teeth in the wilderness of Chouhua, kill nine infants on the ferocious water, and send the strong wind to the swamp of Qingqiu. He shot them up for ten days, then went down to kill the scorpion, cut off the snakes in the cave, and captured Feng Xun. Yu Sanglin.

All the people were happy and made Yao the emperor. 3. The ancient text about Hou Yi shooting at the sun

[Original text]

The king of Xia sent Yi to shoot at the skin of a square ruler ①, which was an inch in diameter ②. Then he ordered Yi to say: "If you shoot it, if you hit ③, you will be rewarded with ten thousand gold. If you don't hit, you will be rewarded with a thousand yi of land ④."

Yi's appearance has no fixed color ⑤. The Qi is fighting in the chest ⑥, so he uses the bow and shoots ⑦, but misses. He shoots again, but misses again.

The king of Xia said to Fu Miren: "Siyi's attack is always successful! And with rewards and punishments, what is the one who misses?" Fu Miren said: "Ruo Yi Also, joy and fear will cause disaster, and ten thousand gold will be in trouble. If a person can leave his joy and fear, and get rid of his ten thousand gold, then everyone in the world will be worthy of Yi (11). From "Fuzi")

When Yao was captured, he went out in ten days.

The crops were burned, the grass and trees were killed, and the people had nothing to eat.

Yao Qi, Chisel Teeth, Jiu Ying, Da Feng, Feng Xi, and Xiu Snake are all harmful to the people.

Yao ordered Yi to kill Chisel Teeth in the wilderness of Chou Hua and kill Jiu Ying on the fierce water. He sent a strong wind to the Qingqiu River, shot it for ten days, and then killed the scorpion in the cave.

All the people were happy and made Yao the emperor. /p>

(Selected from "Huainanzi")

[Translation]

King Xia asked Hou Yi to shoot an arrow into a square foot of animal skin with a diameter of one inch. on the bull's-eye, so he told Hou Yi: "If you shoot this, I will reward you with ten thousand taels of gold; if you fail, you will be deprived of the fief you own." "

After hearing this, Hou Yi looked uncertain and his breathing was tense and constricted. So Hou Yi drew his bow and shot at the target, but missed. He shot again, but missed again.

The king of Xia said to his minister Fu Miren: "This is Hou Yi. His archery is always on target. But when it comes to rewards and punishments, he misses the target?" Fu Miren said: "Just like Hou Yi. , joy and fear have become his disaster, and ten thousand taels of gold have become his disaster.

If people can abandon their joy and fear, and give up their ten thousand taels of gold, then all people in the world will be able to do so. None of them were inferior to Hou Yi.

(from "Fuzi")

During the reign of Yao, ten suns came out together. The crops were scorched, the flowers and trees were destroyed, and the people had nothing to eat.

The wild beasts, chisel teeth, nine infants, strong winds, seals, and snakes all harmed the people. He sent envoys Hou Yi to eliminate harm for the people. He went to the wilderness of the southern swamps and killed Jiu Ying in the fierce waters of the north. In the east of Daze Qingqiu, he used arrows tied with silk ropes to shoot at the strong wind and shoot down ten suns. Nine), and then killed the squid, cut off the snakes in the Dongting Lake, and captured the mulberry trees in the Central Plains. The people were very happy and elected Yao as their leader. ).

(Selected from "Huainanzi") 4. The original text and translation of the ancient text "Hou Yi shot the sun"

Original text

When Yao was captured , go out together in ten days.

The crops are burned, the grass and trees are killed, and the people have nothing to eat.

The 猰貐, Chisel Teeth, Jiu Ying, Dafeng, Feng Xun, and Xiu Snake are all.

Yao ordered Yi to kill nine infants in the wilderness of Chouhua, and to kill the nine infants in the ferocious water. He then sent a strong wind to the Qingqiu swamp, shooting for ten days, and then descending to kill the robbers. He cut off the snakes in the cave and captured them in the mulberry forest.

All the people were happy and made Yao the emperor.

- "Huainanzi·Ben Jingxun"

p>

Translation

During the reign of Yao, ten suns came out together.

The scorching sun scorched the crops, burned the flowers and trees, and the people ate them.

There were many other disasters, such as...

So Yao sent Hou Yi to eliminate the harm to the people.

Hou Yi. Eliminate these disasters one by one.

Yao led the people to achieve such great achievements, which won the hearts of the people and was loved by the people. /p>

King Xia asked Hou Yi to shoot an arrow on a one-square-foot piece of animal skin with a one-inch diameter target. He then told Hou Yi: "If you shoot this, if you hit it, I will reward you with ten thousand taels." Gold; if you miss the shot, you will be deprived of the fiefdom you have." After hearing this, Hou Yi's expression became uncertain and his breathing became tense and constricted. So Hou Yi drew his bow and shot at the target, but missed. He shot again and missed again. King Xia told his minister Fu Mi Ren said: "This is Hou Yi, and his arrows are always on target. But what about rewards and punishments for him, but he can't hit the target?" "Fu Miren said: "Just like Hou Yi, joy and fear became his disaster, and ten thousand taels of gold became his disaster. If people can abandon their joy and fear, and give up their ten thousand taels of gold, then the world will be prosperous. No one under him can be inferior to Hou Yi." (Excerpted from "Fuzi") During the reign of Yao, ten suns came out together. The scorching sun scorched the crops, flowers, plants and trees*** , the common people did not even have anything to eat for Hou Yi to shoot the sun. The 猰貐, Chisel Teeth, Jiu Ying, Dafeng, Feng Xi, and Xiu Snake all came to harm the people. (So) Yao sent Hou Yi to go to the south to eliminate the harm to the people. In the wilderness of the swamp, I went to kill Chisel Teeth. In the fierce waters of the north, I killed Jiu Ying. In the east of Daze Qingqiu, I used an arrow tied with a silk rope to shoot the big phoenix, shoot down the nine suns, and then kill the 茰貐. He cut off and cultivated snakes in Dongting Lake and captured Feng Xun in the mulberry forests in the Central Plains. Hou Yi eliminated all these disasters. The people were very happy and elected Yao as emperor. (Selected from "Huainanzi" 6. Give it to me.) A classical Chinese translation of "Hou Yi shoots the sun"

[Original text]

The king of Xia ordered Yi to shoot at the skin of a square ruler, which was an inch wide. He ordered Yi to say: "If you shoot it, if it hits ③, you will be rewarded with ten thousand gold coins; if you don't hit it, you will be rewarded with a thousand pieces of land ④. "Yi's face had no fixed color, and his energy was fighting in his chest. He used his bow to shoot, but missed. He shot again, but missed again. The king of Xia said to Fu Miren, "Si Yi is also 9, and his hair is all right. middle! As for rewards and punishments, what is the winner? Fu Miren said: "Ruo Yi is happy and afraid of disasters, and ten thousand gold will be in trouble." If a person can leave behind his joys and fears, and get rid of his ten thousand gold, then everyone in the world will be worthy of Yi (11).

(Selected from "Fuzi")

[Note]

① Yi (yì) - also known as Hou Yi, the legend is that he was the king of Xia in the East during the reign of Emperor Taikang The leader of the Yi tribe is a famous archer. Square-foot skin - refers to an arrow target made of animal skin one foot square.

② Diaicunzhi (dì) - a bullseye with a diameter of one inch.

③中 (zhòng - verb, to shoot.

④邑 (yì) - the place where people lived together in ancient times, the big one is called the capital, and the small one is called the town. This refers to The land that the King of Xia entrusted to Hou Yi

⑤The color of Yi's appearance was uncertain - Hou Yi's complexion changed from red to white.

⑥Yuan - pull, lead. .

⑦Fu (fù) - Baofu, an ancient official position.

⑧Si——This.

, If you hit, I will reward you with ten thousand taels of gold; if you miss, you will be deprived of your fief."

After hearing this, Hou Yi's expression became uncertain and his breathing became tense. So Hou Yi drew his bow and shot at the target, but missed. He shot again, but missed again.

The king of Xia said to his minister Fu Miren: "This is Hou Yi. His archery is always on target. But when it comes to rewards and punishments, he misses the target?" Fu Miren said: "Just like Hou Yi. , joy and fear have become his disaster, and ten thousand taels of gold have become his disaster.

If people can abandon their joy and fear, and give up their ten thousand taels of gold, then all people in the world will be able to do so. None of them were inferior to Hou Yi.

When Yao was captured, he went out for ten days to burn crops and kill grass and trees, but the people had nothing to eat. Ying, Da Feng, Feng Xi, and Xiu Snake were all harmful to the people. Yao ordered Yi to kill the nine infants in the fields of Chou Hua, and kill the nine infants in the ferocious waters. He killed the wild beasts, cut off the snakes in the cave, and captured the wild beasts in the mulberry forest. All the people were happy and made Yao the emperor. When Yao ruled, ten suns came out together. The scorching sun scorched the crops, and the flowers and trees were destroyed, and the people had nothing to eat. There were many other disasters, such as... So Yao sent Hou Yi to eliminate these disasters for the people. Eliminate them one by one. Yao led the people to achieve such great achievements, won the hearts of the people, and was loved by the people. I don’t know which one he was, but they were all passed down. 7. Hou Yi shot the sun. Translation

Original text: When Yao was captured, he went out for ten days, burning crops and killing vegetation, but the people had nothing to eat.

Yao ordered Yi to kill the nine infants in the wild waters of Chouhua, and the strong wind in Qingqiu Bai's swamp, and then shot them down for ten days. The 猰貐 cut off the snakes in Dongting, and captured Xidu in the mulberry forest.

All the people were happy.

Translation: When Yao ruled, there were ten people. The sun came out together. The scorching sunshine scorched the crops, and the flowers and trees were burned, and the people didn't even have anything to eat. The snakes all came to harm the people, so Yao sent Hou Yi to eliminate the evil for the people. He went to the wilderness of the south to kill Chisel, the fierce water in the north killed Jiuying, and the Qingqiu in Daze in the east tied up with silk ropes. Arrows came to shoot at the strong wind, and shot down ten suns (nine were shot down). Then they killed the scorpion, cut off the repair snake in Dongting Lake, and captured Quan Fengxun in the mulberry forest in the Central Plains.

Hou Yi. Those disasters were eliminated one by one. The people were very happy and elected Yao as emperor.