Chapter 47: The Ten Suns — 十日 — The Ten Sons of Di Jun and Xi He
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A RECORD OF ALL THINGS UNDER HEAVEN
As gathered from the oldest accounts that remain
PROLOGUE — CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
On the Matter of the Ten Suns — 十日 — The Ten Sons of Di Jun and Xi He
They are called the Shi Ri — 十日 — the Ten Suns.
Shi — 十 — means ten.
Ri — 日 — means sun.
Together — 十日 — the Ten Suns. Ten suns that once crossed the sky. Ten suns that burned the earth. Ten suns that were shot down by an archer.
They are the sons of Di Jun — 帝俊 — the August Lord — and Xi He — 羲和 — the Mother of the Suns.
Di Jun — 帝俊 — is an ancient god. He is recorded in the Shanhaijing — 山海經 — the Classic of Mountains and Seas. He is not the Jade Emperor — 玉皇大帝 — Yu Huang Dadi. He is an older god. He ruled before the celestial bureaucracy. He was the father of the suns. He was the father of the moons. He was the father of many gods. He is not worshipped in later texts. His name appears only in the oldest records.
Xi He — 羲和 — is the mother of the suns. She is also the driver of the sun chariot. She bathes the suns in the eastern sea. She prepares them for their journey across the sky. She is recorded in the Shanhaijing and in later texts. She is the mother of light. She is the one who brings the dawn.
The story of the Ten Suns is one of the most famous in Chinese mythology. It is the story of too much light. It is the story of the archer who saved the world. It is the story of how nine suns died and one remained.
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On the oldest record. The Shanhaijing — 山海經.
The Shanhaijing — 山海經 — compiled during the Warring States period — 戰國時代 — Zhanguo Shidai — contains the oldest account of the Ten Suns.
It states: In the eastern sea, there is a place called the Valley of the Yuyuan — 隅谷 — Yu Gu. In this valley, there is a great tree called the Fusang — 扶桑 — the Leaning Mulberry. The Ten Suns perch on this tree. One sun is at the top. Nine suns are at the bottom. Each day, one sun rises. It is carried across the sky by Xi He, the Mother of the Suns. It travels from east to west. It sets in the west. It returns to the tree at night. The next day, another sun rises. They take turns. They never rise together.
The Shanhaijing also records: The Ten Suns are the sons of Di Jun and Xi He. Di Jun is the August Lord. Xi He is the Mother of the Suns. She bathes the suns in the eastern sea. She prepares them for their journey. She drives the chariot that carries the sun across the sky.
This is the account before the disaster. The suns were orderly. They took turns. They did not cause harm. The world was in balance.
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On the second record. The Huainanzi — 淮南子.
The Huainanzi — 淮南子 — compiled under Liu An — 劉安 — around 139 before the common era — contains a different account of the suns.
It states: In ancient times, the Ten Suns rose together. They burned the earth. The crops withered. The rivers dried. The people suffered. The beasts came out of their lairs. They attacked the people. The people could not survive.
Then the Emperor Yao — 帝堯 — Di Yao — commanded the archer Yi — 羿 — to shoot the suns. Yi drew his bow. He shot arrows. He shot down nine suns. The nine suns fell from the sky. Their feathers fell to the earth. The people were saved. One sun remained. It still crosses the sky today.
The Huainanzi does not explain why the suns rose together. It does not explain why they stopped taking turns. It records the disaster. It records the rescue. It records the archer. It does not explain the cause.
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On the third record. The Chuci — 楚辭 — the Songs of Chu.
The Chuci — 楚辭 — the Songs of Chu — compiled during the Warring States period — contains a poetic account of the Ten Suns.
It states: Xi He is the mother of the suns. She bathes them in the eastern sea. She drives them across the sky. She regulates their journey. She ensures they rise in order. She ensures they set in order. She is the one who brings the dawn. She is the one who brings the light.
The Chuci does not mention the disaster. It celebrates Xi He. It celebrates the suns. It celebrates the order of the world. The disaster is recorded elsewhere. The order is recorded here. Both are preserved.
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On the names of the suns.
The Ten Suns had names. They were recorded in the Shanhaijing and in later texts.
The first sun was called Jia — 甲.
The second sun was called Yi — 乙.
The third sun was called Bing — 丙.
The fourth sun was called Ding — 丁.
The fifth sun was called Wu — 戊.
The sixth sun was called Ji — 己.
The seventh sun was called Geng — 庚.
The eighth sun was called Xin — 辛.
The ninth sun was called Ren — 壬.
The tenth sun was called Gui — 癸.
These are the Ten Heavenly Stems — 十天干 — Shi Tian Gan. The suns are the origin of the stems. The stems are the names of the suns. The suns are the source of the cycle. The cycle of ten days is the cycle of the suns. Each day was named for one of the suns. The sun that rose that day gave its name to the day.
This is why the Chinese calendar has a ten-day week. It is the week of the suns. It is the cycle of the sons of Di Jun and Xi He.
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On Xi He — 羲和 — the Mother of the Suns.
Xi He is recorded in the Shanhaijing and in the Chuci.
She is the mother of the Ten Suns. She gives birth to them each day. She bathes them in the eastern sea. She drives the chariot that carries the sun across the sky.
She is also the god of time. She regulates the hours. She regulates the days. She regulates the seasons. She is the one who brings order to the year.
Her chariot is drawn by dragons — 龍 — long. She drives six dragons across the sky. The chariot carries the sun from east to west. It travels across the heavens. It sets in the west. It returns to the east through the underworld. The next day, the journey begins again.
She is the mother of light. She is the bringer of dawn. She is the one who makes the day.
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On the Fusang Tree — 扶桑 — the Leaning Mulberry.
The Fusang Tree is recorded in the Shanhaijing.
It grows in the eastern sea. It is a mulberry tree — 桑樹 — sang shu. It is enormous. It is thousands of feet tall. Its branches stretch across the sky. Its roots reach into the underworld.
The Ten Suns perch on the tree. One sun is at the top. Nine suns are at the bottom. The sun that is at the top rises in the morning. It travels across the sky. It sets in the west. It returns to the tree at night. The next day, the next sun rises. They take turns. They never rise together.
The tree is the home of the suns. It is the place where they rest. It is the place where they are born each day. It is the center of the eastern sea. It is the beginning of the journey of the sun.
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On the disaster — why the suns rose together.
The texts do not agree on why the suns rose together.
The first account. They were bored. The suns were tired of taking turns. They wanted to rise together. They wanted to play. They wanted to see what would happen. They rose together. The world burned.
The second account. They were angry. The suns were angry at humanity. They saw the people below. They saw their misdeeds. They wanted to punish them. They rose together. They burned the earth.
The third account. It was a test. The gods sent the suns to test humanity. They wanted to see if humanity could survive. They wanted to see if humanity was worthy. They rose together. Humanity was tested. Humanity was saved by the archer.
The fourth account. It was an accident. The suns did not mean to rise together. It was a mistake. Xi He was distracted. She did not regulate them properly. They rose together by accident. The world burned by accident.
All four accounts are recorded here. None is declared correct. The cause of the disaster is not agreed upon. The disaster itself is recorded. The rescue is recorded. The cause is not essential. The suns rose. The world burned. That is what the texts record.
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On Hou Yi — 后羿 — the archer.
Hou Yi — 后羿 — is the archer who shot the suns.
He is also called Yi — 羿. He is the Lord of Archery. He is the greatest archer who ever lived. He is the one who saved the world from the suns.
He was a god. He was a mortal. He was a hero. The accounts do not agree. He is recorded in the Huainanzi, in the Shanhaijing, and in many later texts.
He was commanded by the Emperor Yao — 帝堯 — Di Yao — to shoot the suns. The suns were burning the earth. The people were dying. Yao needed someone to save them. He called Yi. Yi came.
Yi drew his bow. He drew an arrow. He aimed at the sun. He shot. A sun fell from the sky. Its feathers fell to the earth. The people cheered.
He shot again. Another sun fell.
He shot again. Another sun fell.
He shot nine times. Nine suns fell.
He shot a tenth time. The arrow flew. It was about to strike the tenth sun. The people cried out. They said: leave one sun. We need light. We need warmth. We need the sun to live.
Yi lowered his bow. The tenth sun remained. It still crosses the sky today.
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On the arrows of Yi.
The arrows of Yi were special. They were made by the gods. They were made to kill suns.
They were made from the wood of the Fusang Tree — 扶桑 — the tree where the suns perched. They were made from the same wood as the suns themselves. Only wood from the tree could kill the suns. Wood from the tree was the only thing that could harm the suns.
They were feathered with the feathers of the suns. Each arrow was fletched with the feathers of the sun that it would kill. The feathers came from the sun. They returned to the sun. They killed the sun with its own feathers.
They were tipped with the metal of heaven. The tips were made from meteorites — 隕石 — yun shi. They were made from iron that fell from the sky. Iron from the sky could kill the suns. Iron from the sky was the only thing that could pierce the suns.
Yi shot these arrows. Nine suns fell. The tenth remained.
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On the falling of the suns — what became of them.
When the suns fell, they fell to earth. They fell in the west. They fell where the sun sets.
The Shanhaijing records: The nine suns fell in the western sea. They fell in the Valley of the Yuyuan — 隅谷 — where the suns set. Their feathers fell to the earth. Their bodies fell into the sea. The sea boiled. The steam rose. The clouds formed. The rain fell.
The Huainanzi records: The nine suns fell on the mountain of the west. They burned the mountain. The mountain became a volcano. It still smokes. It still burns. It is called the Mountain of the Suns — 太陽山 — Taiyang Shan.
Some texts record that the suns became crows — 烏 — wu. The crow is the bird of the sun. The suns had the form of crows. They were three-legged crows — 三足烏 — san zu wu. When they fell, they became ordinary crows. They flew into the forests. They hid in the trees. They are still there. They still caw. They still remember what they were.
All these accounts are recorded here. None is declared correct. The fate of the suns is not agreed upon. The suns fell. That is what the texts record. What became of them is not essential.
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On the ten-day week — the cycle of the suns.
The ten-day week — 旬 — xun — is the cycle of the suns.
Each day is named for one of the Ten Suns. The days cycle through the names. The names are the Ten Heavenly Stems — 十天干 — Shi Tian Gan. The cycle repeats every ten days.
The week of ten days is the oldest calendar in China. It predates the lunar calendar. It predates the solar calendar. It is the calendar of the suns. It is the calendar of Xi He. It is the calendar of Di Jun.
The week is still used. It is still part of the Chinese calendar. The names of the days are still used. The cycle of the suns is still observed. The suns are gone. Their names remain.
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On the lone sun — the sun that remains.
One sun remained. It still crosses the sky today.
It is the sun that we see. It is the sun that gives light. It is the sun that gives warmth. It is the sun that makes the day.
It is the tenth sun. It is the sun of Gui — 癸. It is the last of the Ten Suns. It is the only one left.
It rises in the east each morning. It crosses the sky. It sets in the west each evening. It returns to the Fusang Tree at night. It rests. It rises again the next day.
It is alone. It has no brothers. It has no companions. It crosses the sky by itself. It sets by itself. It rises by itself. It is the last of the Ten Suns.
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On what the story represents.
The story of the Ten Suns represents the balance of nature.
Too much light is destruction. Too much heat is death. The suns are good. The suns are necessary. But too many suns kill. Balance is required. Balance is essential.
The story also represents the hero who saves the world. Yi is the archer. Yi is the one who acts when others cannot. Yi is the one who does what must be done. He shoots the suns. He saves the people. He is a hero.
The story also represents the loss of the old world. The Ten Suns are gone. Nine of them are dead. The world is different now. It is less bright. It is less hot. It is more balanced. The old world is lost. The new world remains. The story is the record of the loss. The story is the memory of what was.
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On the crow in the sun.
The sun that remains still has a crow inside it. The crow is the sun bird. The crow is the spirit of the sun.
The crow has three legs — 三足烏 — san zu wu. It is the bird of fire. It is the bird of light. It is the bird that carries the sun across the sky.
When Yi shot the suns, the crows fell. Nine crows fell to earth. One crow remained. It remained in the sun. It is still there. It still flies across the sky. It still carries the sun. It is the last of the sun birds. It is the one that survived.
END OF CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN