Chapter 20: The History of Hou Yi
In Chinese mythology, Hou Yi is regarded as the greatest archer of all time. He is famous for marrying the Moon Goddess, Chang'e, and shooting down nine of the ten suns. Hou Yi, who was once an immortal living in the Jade Emperor's palace, decided to become a Demi-God to help humanity in times of need.
During the time when the earth was still very young and the legendary Emperor Yao ruled China, ten suns (the Three-Legged Golden Crows) took turns illuminating the planet. The Jade Emperor told them that only one of them could play in the sky at a time, so as not to destroy the earth. However, being children, they decided that going out together would be much more fun than going out alone.
When the ten suns appeared in the sky, the temperature on earth became unbearably hot. Mass chaos ensued. Crops withered, and people fainted in the streets as the earth began to burn. Seeing the opportunity, wild monsters emerged from the shadows and began preying on humans.
A skilled archer named Hou Yi saw the destruction caused by the suns and immediately went to see the Jade Emperor. He told the Jade Emperor that if the suns did not behave, he would have to shoot them down to save the planet.
Fearing for the safety of his grandchildren, the Jade Emperor scolded them and begged them to return home. However, the suns were having too much fun and could not hear the Jade Emperor over their laughter. Although the Jade Emperor loved his grandchildren, he could see that they were beyond reason. Finally, he allowed Hou Yi to do what had to be done.
Armed with a large bow made of tiger bone and arrows made of dragon tendons, Hou Yi began slaughtering the monsters terrorizing the countryside. After finishing, he climbed to the top of a high mountain to confront the suns directly.
Before he began shooting, Hou Yi gave the children one last warning and pleaded with them to return to the Jade Emperor's palace. Upon hearing this warning, the suns stuck out their tongues at Hou Yi and told him to mind his own business. Hou Yi steeled himself, drew back his bow, and released nine arrows at the suns. Almost instantly, nine of them fell from the sky. The tenth son was so terrified that he ran and hid in a cave.
The earth was now plunged into unbearable darkness and cold. Every living creature on the planet begged the last sun to rise, but it was so afraid of Hou Yi that it covered its ears and ignored them. After everyone tried to coax the sun to rise, the rooster climbed to its perch and crowed, "Gēgē" (Brother). The rooster's loud, piercing cry reached the sun, and it finally decided to come out of its cave. Now, every time the rooster crows "Gēgē" in the morning, the sun rises to greet it.
As a reward for his heroic actions, the Goddess of Life and Death, Xiwangmu, gave Hou Yi a bottle of elixir of immortality so that he could return to the Jade Emperor's palace as an immortal. The gift left Hou Yi conflicted. Although he wanted to become immortal, he did not want to leave his wife, Chang'e, to die alone. He hid the elixir while he pondered his decision.
However, before Hou Yi could decide, Chang'e stole the bottle from him while he was sleeping. The wife drank the contents of the bottle and fled to the moon to escape her husband's wrath.
Hou Yi was so angry at his wife that he aimed an arrow at her, intending to shoot her. In the end, he could not bring himself to do it. After some time and his anger subsided, Hou Yi began leaving Chang'e's favorite desserts and fruits every night to show that he had forgiven her. Hou Yi's actions started a tradition that continues to this day. Even now, people leave offerings for Chang'e during the annual Mid-Autumn Festival.