Archive for category Chinese Literature
Goddess of Lightning
Posted by sharon in Chinese Myths on August 29, 2010
The Goddess of Lightning, also called Dian Mu in Chinese, is a supernatural being that has magic power and is in charge of lighting in the heaven. It is said that she is the wife of the God of Thunder. She is viewed as the symbol of justice as she can distinguish good from evil and uphold justice.
The history of the Goddess of Lightning can date back to the period of Song Dynasty (960~1279). In ancient China, the image of the Goddess of Lightning was often depicted as a kind and elegant woman. She has two lightning mirrors, which can help her look carefully whether the person is good or evil.
There spread a legend about the Goddess of Lightning. The legend goes that, in ancient times, there was no lightning during the thunderstorm. One night, the God of Thunder killed a good woman by mistake. He blamed himself for a long time. Then he told the Jade Emperor about this woman. Jade Emperor also commiserated with the woman and conferred the Goddess of Lightning on her. From then on, the God of Thunder and the Goddess of Lightning worked together to chase away the evil spirits and punish the criminals. In order not to kill the good people, the Goddess of Lightning would use her mirror to judge first and then the God of Thunder will make thunder to punish the evil. Therefore, we can always see a flash of lightning before hearing the thunder during the thunderstorm.
Nine-headed Bird
Posted by sharon in Chinese Myths on August 27, 2010
Nine-headed Bird, also called “Jiu Feng” in Chinese, is a monster in Chinese Mythology. It is a legendary bird with nine heads and is regarded as one of the earliest forms of the Chinese phoenix. It was worshiped by ancient natives in Hubei Province.
Nine-headed Bird was first mentioned in the ancient literature of Shan Hai Jing. According to historical records, it was viewed as a totem in the kingdom of Chu during the period of 475BC to 221BC since the phoenix was regarded as the preexistence of Zhu Rong, Chu’s ancestry. However, in the Han Dynasty (202BC~220), it was often described as a monster.
There are many legends about the Nine-headed Bird. One story goes that Nine-headed Bird originally had ten heads. However, its tenth head was shot by people. The bird was so angry and was always looking for the shooter. At that time, all the people were afraid of the bird. It always killed people by absorbing their spirits. Later, people gradually found out its weakness. When it came again, people blew out the lights and let their dogs out. Then the Nine-headed Bird soon flew away.
the Twelve Beauties of Jinling – Shi Xiangyun
Posted by sharon in Four Great Classical Novels on August 26, 2010
Shi Xiangyun is one of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling (refers to the twelve excellent ladies) in the book of The Dream of Red Mansions. Shi Xiangyun is a bold and uninhibited lady who is quite different from other beauties due to her outspokenness, optimism, naughty, etc.
Shi Xiangyun is the grandniece of Jia Mu and also the cousin of Jia Baoyu. She is brought up by her uncle and aunt as her parents died early. However, she is quite optimistic by nature and has a broad outlook on life. Therefore she is much favored by Jia Mu.
In the book, Shi Xiangyun’s laughters can be heard everywhere. It seems her life is full of hope and the enthusiasm. She almost gets on well with everyone around her.
She is a very talkative person and is good at composing poetry. One day, When she was drinking with her relatives, Shi was drunk and went somewhere else. When she was found, she was in a deep sleep on the blue flagstone bench in the garden. Shi has the personality of naturalism and individualism, the same personality that the celebrated scholars pursued in the Wei-Jin Dynasties (220~589). Obviously, she is quite different from the beauties of the literature at that time.
Later, Shi marries Wei Ruolan. As her husband dies soon after they got married, she becomes widowed at an early age. Her happy life also went away after that. From then on, she lives alone till death. Just as her name suggests her life finally like cloud wandering about. Such a wonderful woman also cannot escape her tragic fate at that time.
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