Source recordAncient text
Huainanzi
Scholars at the court of Liu An, King of Huainan · 139 BCE · Classical Chinese
Ancient text
Huainanzi
Scholars at the court of Liu An, King of Huainan
A Han-dynasty compendium of cosmology, statecraft, and lore that preserves early accounts of Nüwa repairing the sky and Yi shooting down the suns.
About this work
A Han-dynasty compendium of cosmology, statecraft, and lore that preserves early accounts of Nüwa repairing the sky and Yi shooting down the suns.
Stories drawn from it
Retellings in the atlas that quote or cite this work.
Hou Yi Shoots the SunsmythWhen ten suns appeared in the sky, scorching the earth, the archer Hou Yi shot down nine of them to save humanity.
Chang'e Flies to the MoontragedyAfter her husband Hou Yi saves the world by shooting down nine suns, Chang'e drinks the elixir of immortality and floats to the moon, where she dwells in eternal solitude with only a jade rabbit for company.
Nuwa Repairs the SkycreationWhen the water god and fire god wage war and break the pillar of Heaven, the sky cracks and chaos engulfs the world. The goddess Nuwa melts five-colored stones to repair the sky and saves all living things from destruction.
About this record
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Dates and authorship follow standard scholarly references; for many ancient works both are approximate or disputed.