Gun (Chinese mythology)

Gun (Chinese: 鯀; pinyin: Gǔn; Wade–Giles: Kun3, lit. "big fish"[1]), also known as Count of Chong (Chinese: 崇伯鯀; pinyin: Chóngbó Gǔn; Wade–Giles: Ch‘ung2-po2 Kun3), is a figure in Chinese mythology, sometimes noted as the father of Yu the Great, the founder of the Xia dynasty.[2] Gun was appointed to the task of controlling the Great Flood by Emperor Yao on the advice of the Four Mountains. Gun used dykes to try to stop the flooding but the dykes collapsed, killing many people.

Count of Chong
Gun
鯀
Personal details
DiedFeather Mountain
SpouseNüzhi (女志)
ChildrenYu the Great
Parent
  • Luoming (father)

In mythology

According to Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, Gun's father was Zhuanxu, grandfather was Changyi, and great-grandfather was the Yellow Emperor, Changyi & Gun being mere officials, not emperors.[3][4][5][6] Book of Han, quoting Lord Yu Imperial Lineage, stated that Gun was a five-generation-descendant of Zhuanxu.[7] The Classic of Mountains and Seas stated that Gun (also known as "White Horse" Báimǎ) was the son of Luómíng (駱明), who in turn was the son of the Yellow Emperor.[8] Also in many versions of the mythology, Gun appears as a demi-god. In legends, he even discovered some of the secrets of the gods.

In order to make dykes that would ward off floods, he stole Xirang (Chinese: 息壤) (self-renewing soil) from the gods. After the dykes were finished, when the water levels rose, the magical earth of the dyke also rose to keep the water out. It worked very well at first, but when the dykes rose too high (in the legend, they rose to nine rèn 仞 (an ancient Chinese measure of between 1 and 3 meters)), they collapsed, resulting in the death of many people in the subsequent flood. Some legends say that Gun was executed by Emperor Shun on Feather Mountain (at the present day Lianyungang, Jiangsu) with the sword of Wu, other sources however state that he committed suicide by jumping into an abyss, transformed into an animal and became the god of the abyss.[2] Before his death he told his son, Yu the Great, to finish his job.

Classic of Mountains and Seas also records that Gun has family ties to Huantou "Happy Head", also known as Huandou "Happy Helmet", one of the Four Criminals.[9][10] In turn, Zhang Shoujie's Correct Meanings of Records of the Grand Historian (史記正義) identifies Gun with the Taowu ("Block-Stump"), another of those four.[11]

Etymology

According to Schuessler (2009), 鯀 (standard Chinese gǔn < Old Chinese *kwə̂nʔ) is the same word as 鮌 (gǔn < OC *kwə̂nʔ) and 鯤 (kūn < OC *kûn), the latter being a mythical giant fish mentioned in Zhuangzi.[12][13]

In his treatise "Commentaries on a miscellany of marine creatures in Fujian" (閩中海錯疏 Mǐnzhōng hǎicuò shū), Ming scholar Tu Benjun (屠本畯) states that the 馬鮫 mǎjiāo "Chinese mackerel, Chinese seerfish" is also called 章鮌 zhānggǔn.[14] Wolfram Eberhard (1968) suggests that Chinese texts' descriptions of 鯀 Gǔn as a "naked one" and "dark fish" (玄魚)[15][lower-alpha 1] fit the eel.[17]

See also

Note
  1. "Records of picked-up leftovers" additionally describes the dark fish, whom Gun became after drowning himself, as having scales and barbels.[16]

References
  1. Kangxi Dictionary, "魚 radical 7" quote: "鯀：《唐韻》《集韻》《正韻》𠀤古本切，音袞。《說文》魚也。《玉篇》大魚也。又《書·堯典》於，鯀哉。《傳》鯀，崇伯之名。《釋文》禹父也。《廣韻》亦作鮌。"
  2. Yves Bonnefoy (1993). Asian mythology (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press. p. 255. ISBN 978-0226064567.
  3. Sima Qian, Shiji, "Annals of Xia" quote: "禹之父曰鯀，鯀之父曰帝顓頊，顓頊之父曰昌意，昌意之父曰黃帝。禹者，黃帝之玄孫而帝顓頊之孫也。禹之曾大父昌意及父鯀皆不得在帝位，為人臣。"
  4. Book of Generations' Origins (世本) "Xia" quote: "顓頊生鯀。…… 鯀為顓頊子。…… 顓頊生𩩌，𩩌生高密，是為禹也。
  5. Dai & Gong (2003), p. 38
  6. Zynews.com. "Zynews.com Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine." Xia dynasty brief history. Retrieved on 2010-09-18.
  7. Hanshu "Chapter on Regulations and Calendars B" text: "伯禹帝系曰，顓頊五世而生鯀，鯀生禹"
  8. Shanhaijing vol. 18 "黄帝生駱明，駱明生白馬，白馬是為鯀。"
  9. Shanhaijing, vol. 10 "鯀妻士敬，士敬子曰炎融，生驩頭。" translation: "Gun's wife is Shijing (Lady-Respect), Lady-Respect's son is Yanrong (Flame-Steam), bears Huantou (Happy-Head)."
  10. Book of Documents "Canon of Shun" quote: “流共工于幽洲，放驩兜于崇山，竄三苗于三危，殛鯀于羽山，四罪而天下咸服。” translation: "[Shun] exiled Gonggong (Join-Work) to You province, banished Huandou (Happy-Head) to Mount Chong, expulsed Sanmiao (Three-Miao) to Sanwei (now in Gansu), and executed/imprisoned Gun (Big-Fish) in Feather Mountain. The Four Criminals were thus subdued, all under Heaven were convinced."
  11. Shiji Zhengyi "Volume 1", quote: "鯀檮机也" Siku Quanshu version, Zhejiang university's copy p. 133 of 156
  12. Schuessler, Axel. (2009) Minimal Old Chinese and Later Han Chinese. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i. p. 317, 333-4
  13. Zhuangzi, "Enjoyment in Untroubled Ease" quote: "北冥有魚，其名為鯤。鯤之大，不知其幾千里也。" translation: "In the Northern Ocean there is a fish, the name of which is Kun - I do not know how many li in size."
  14. Commentaries on a miscellany of marine creatures in Fujian "vol. 2 - scaled [creatures] section B - Majiao" quote: "馬鮫，青斑色，無鱗有齒，又名章鮌青斑色，無鱗有齒，又名章鮌" translation: "mǎjiāo: blue-colored, mottled, scaleless, having teeth; also called a zhānggǔn".
  15. Wang Jia, Records of picked-up leftovers "vol. 2 - Yu of Xia" quote: "鯀自沉於羽淵，化為玄魚"
  16. Wang Jia, Records of picked-up leftovers "vol. 2 - Yu of Xia" quote: "時揚須振鱗"
  17. Eberhard, Wolfram. 1968. The Local Cultures of South and East China. E. J. Brill. p. 350-351

Works cited
  • 戴逸 (Dai Yi); 龔書鐸 (Gōng Shūduó) (2003). 中國通史. 史前 夏 商 西周 [History of China. Illustrated student edition]. Intelligence Press. ISBN 962-8792-80-6.
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