Legendary story about the sun

In China's classical poems, the image of the sun not only appears many times, but also involves rich contents. Its origin can be traced back to the primitive sun worship, and later it gradually derived many meanings such as imperial power, family warmth, short time, parting feelings, hatred of others and so on. The formation and evolution of the image of the sun profoundly embodies the spirit and will of our entire Chinese nation and has become one of the literary images that ancient scholars like to make good use of.

Houyi shot down nine suns.

According to legend, in ancient times, the king of a poor country in Xia Dynasty was a handsome man named Hou Yi. That Hou Yi is not only handsome, but also both civil and military. He knows astronomy above and geography below, and is good at strategy and martial arts, especially archery. Under the wise management of Hou Yi, some poor countries are thriving and arrogant everywhere. People have plenty of food and clothing, live and work in peace and contentment, work at sunrise and rest at sunset, showing a scene of prosperity and peace.

After dealing with state affairs every day, Hou Yi took his beloved bow and arrow (I heard that this arrow was given by the gods) to practice at the archery range, day after day, year after year, without interruption. His archery has reached an unparalleled level.

The days passed in peace and happiness, and some poor countries became more and more prosperous. Just as people were immersed in happiness and satisfaction, suddenly, disaster fell from the sky.

It was a midsummer day, and that morning was no different from before, but at sunrise, ten suns rose in the east at the same time. People looked at everything in front of them, dumbfounded. Everyone knows what it means to have ten suns in the sky. Immediately, there were cries and prayers. People tried every means to ask God for mercy and take back the extra nine suns, but to no avail. Day after day, the crops in the field gradually withered, the water in the river slowly dried up, and the old, the weak and the sick fell down one after another ... Hou Yi looked at everything in front of him, his heart ached, but he could do nothing. He was heartbroken, anxious and haggard. One day, just after he closed his eyes, he suddenly dreamed of an old man with a white beard. The old man taught him how to make nine arrows into the shape of the sun and aim them at the bull's-eye every day. After practicing for 7749 days, he was able to shoot down the sun in the sky and told him not to make it public until the fiftieth day. Hou Yi opened his eyes and was surprised. He immediately began to make an arrow target. After shooting the target, he hid in the mountains with an arrow and practiced day and night. On the fiftieth day, after the news that the king was going to shoot the sun came out, the spirits of people struggling with death suddenly cheered up, as if they saw the hope of life. People are afraid that Houyi's arrow will not fall in the sun, and men, women and children will bear the blazing sun. In the shortest time, they will erect a tower several meters high and carry drums to cheer for Houyi. In the deafening drums, Hou Yi stepped onto the balcony step by step. Behind him are countless pairs of eager and expectant eyes. Around him, there is a land of pain and groaning. Above his head, there is a hot and expanding sun. He told himself that he could only succeed, not fail. Although he knew that he was taking a road of no return, he had no regrets in order to save the suffering people.

Finally, when he reached the top of the building, Hou Yi looked back at his subjects and his palace for the last time, then raised his head, raised his arrow and slowly pulled open the bow. With a whoosh, I heard a loud noise, and the hit Sun fell down and disappeared. The audience cheered, and shouts and drums resounded through the sky. Hou Yi drew his bow again and again, and shot seven more. There are only two left. He was exhausted at this time, but he knew that there was only one sun left in the sky. If he gives up at this time, it means that all previous efforts have been in vain. He raised his arrow again and shot down the ninth sun with all his strength, then fell to the ground and never got up again. Everything was restored to its original state, but the brave and respectable Hou Yi closed his eyes forever. ...

The nine suns that were shot fell in nine different places. One of them fell into the Yellow Sea and smashed a lake, which was later called Sheyang Lake. Soon, a river called Sheyang River flowed out of Sheyang Lake.

Myths and legends about the sun in Shan Hai Jing

In the far southeast overseas, there is a country called He. There is an unusually beautiful woman in the country named He. She washes the sun in Gan Yuan every day. The sun will be polluted after dark. After he finished washing, the polluted sun will still be as bright as before when it rises the next day. This one is actually the wife of the legendary ancient emperor. She gave birth to ten suns and let them take turns to be on duty in the air, sending light and warmth to the world. The starting point of these ten suns is desolate and remote. There is a mountain in that place. There is a hibiscus tree on the mountain, 300 miles high, but its leaves are as big as mustard seeds. There is a deep valley under the tree called Tanggu, where the sun bathes. When they finished taking a bath, they hid in the branches and wiped themselves. Every day, the top one flies around in the sky riding a bird, and the others board the ship in turn, ready to go. ...