Fuxi
Fuxi | ||
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Hanyu Pinyin Fúxī | | |
Wade–Giles | Fu2-hsi1 | |
IPA | [fǔ.ɕí] | |
Yue: Cantonese | ||
Yale Romanization | Fuhk-hēi | |
Jyutping | Fuk6-hei1 | |
IPA | [fok̚˨.hei˥] |
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Chinese folk religion |
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Fuxi or Fu Hsi (伏羲)
Some representations show him as a human with snake-like characteristics, "a leaf-wreathed head growing out of a mountain", "or as a man clothed with animal skins."[5]
Names
He is also known as Bao Xi (包牺) and Mi Xi (宓羲).[5]
Origin
Pangu was said to be the creation god in Chinese mythology. He was a giant sleeping within an egg of chaos. As he awoke, he stood up and divided the sky and the earth. Pangu then died after standing up, and his body turned into rivers, mountains, plants, animals, and everything else in the world, among which is a powerful being known as Huaxu (華胥). Huaxu gave birth to a twin brother and sister, Fuxi and Nüwa. Fuxi and Nüwa are said to be creatures that have faces of human and bodies of snakes.[6]
However, in some myths, Fuxi was held to be the creator, not Pangu, who worked alone and not with Nüwa.[7]
Fuxi was known as the "original god", and he was said to have been born in the lower-middle reaches of the Yellow River in a place called Chengji (成紀) (possibly modern Lantian, Shaanxi province, or Tianshui, Gansu province).[8]
A possible historical interpretation of the myth is that Huaxu (Fuxi's mother) was a leader during the matriarchal society (c. 2600 BC) as early Chinese developed language skill while Fuxi and Nüwa were leaders in the early patriarchal society (c. 2600 BC) while Chinese began the marriage rituals.[9]
A divinity Taihao (太皞, "The Great Bright One") appears, vaguely, in sources before the Han dynasty, independent from Fuxi. Later, Fuxi is identified with Taihao, the latter being his courtesy or formal[5] name.[10]
According to legend, the goddess of the Lou River, Mifei, was the daughter of Fuxi. Additionally, some versions of the legend state that she is Fuxi's consort. She drowned in the Luo River while crossing it and became the spirit of the Luo River.[11]
Creation legend
According to the
Social importance
On one of the columns of the Fuxi Temple in Gansu Province, the following couplet describes Fuxi's importance: "Among the three primogenitors of Huaxia civilization, Fu Xi in Huaiyang Country ranks first."[8] During the time of his predecessor Nüwa, society was matriarchal.
古之時未有三綱、六紀,民人但知其母,不知其父,能覆前而不能覆後,臥之言去言去,起之吁吁,饑即求食,飽即棄余,茹毛飲血而衣皮葦。於是伏羲仰觀象於天,俯察法於地,因夫婦正五行,始定人道,畫八卦以治下。
In the beginning there was as yet no moral(Sangang) or social order. Men knew their mothers only, not their fathers.
[Missing translation of the following three sentences: 能覆前而不能覆後 They could only know/trace their offsprings but not their progenitors (promiscuous without family concept), 臥之言去言去 They slept whenever they wanted (non-circadian without concept of time), 起之吁吁 When awoke, they started yue-ing (repeating/using a single sound to express emotions or communicate without language).]
When hungry, they searched for food; when satisfied, they threw away the remnants. They devoured their food hide and hair, drank the blood, and clad themselves in skins and rushes. Then came Fu Xi and looked upward and contemplated the images in the heavens, and looked downward and contemplated the occurrences on earth. He united man and wife, regulated the five stages of change, and laid down the laws of humanity. He devised the eight
trigrams, in order to gain mastery over the world.
Fuxi taught his subjects to cook and various methods of hunting and fishing,[3] including fishing with nets and hunting with weapons made of bone, wood, or bamboo. He instituted the basic family structure,[3] as well as marriage, and offered the first open-air sacrifices to heaven. A stone tablet, dated AD 160, shows Fuxi with Nüwa.
Traditionally, Fuxi is considered the originator of the methods of divination that were passed down through the ages before the
The
Fuxi and Nüwa were also thought to be gods of silk.[13]
Death
Fuxi is said to have lived for 197 years altogether and died at a place called
Gallery
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Tang dynasty painting of Fuxi (right) and Nüwa (left) unearthed in the Astana Cemetery, Xinjiang. Similar to the depiction of Rahu and Ketu in Indian astrology.
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Seated portrait depicting Fuxi, painted by Ma Lin of the Song dynasty
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Emperor Fuxi, woodcut print by Gan Bozong of the Tang dynasty
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Fuxi, painted by Qiu Ying of the Ming dynasty, as depicted in Orthodoxy of Rule Through the Ages
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Chinese emperor Fuxi, wearing a traditional costume, holding theyin yangsymbol, 19th century
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Picture along with various scientists at Peterborough, UK
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Fuxi'sGujin Tushu Jicheng by Chen Menglei)
See also
Notes
- ^ also known as Pao Xi (包犧, 包羲, 炮犧 or 庖犧), Xi Huang 犧皇 or Huang Xi 皇羲 "August Shepherd". Taihao (太皞, 太昊) "Great Brightness"; his tribal surname Huang Xiong 黄熊氏 "Yellow Bear"
References
- ^ Theobald, Ulrich. Fu Xi 伏羲 ChinaKnowledge.de - An Encyclopaedia on Chinese History, Literature and Art
- ^ Fernald, Helen E. (December 1926). "Ancient Chinese Musical Instruments: As Depicted on Some of the Early Monuments in the Museum". The Museum Journal. XVII (4): 325–371.
- ^ OCLC 60826646.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4654-2988-9.
- ^ Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
- ISBN 978-0-7858-1078-0.
- ISBN 0-7607-5518-3.
- ^ ISBN 978-7-119-04635-8.
- ISBN 978-0-19-217747-6.
- ISBN 0-8018-4595-5.
- ISBN 978-981-10-6379-4.
- ^ Mungello 1989:321
- ISBN 978-0-520-23786-5.
- ISBN 0-8248-1219-0
External links