Houyi
Chinese · demigod · mythic · Recorded classification
Divine archer who shot down nine suns; husband of Chang'e.
Domains
- archery
- sun
Powers
- Shoot down nine of ten suns
- Slay man-eating beasts and monsters
- Receive the elixir of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West
Epithets
- 后羿 'Lord Yi' — the divine archerHuainanzi, 'Lan ming' chapter (shooting the suns) (primary)
- 宗布神 'God who repels demons' — Yi's later apotropaic cult titleHuainanzi commentary; later cult tradition (secondary)
Relations
- spouse: Chang'eReciprocal of chinese_change.spouse — Chang'e drinks the elixir of immortality her husband Houyi obtained and ascends to the moon.Huainanzi, Lanming xun (Chang'e flees to the moon with Houyi's elixir) (primary); Yang & An, Handbook of Chinese Mythology (2005), s.v. Chang'e (secondary)
Sources
- existence: Huainanzi, 2nd c. BCE (primary); Shanhaijing, c. 4th c. BCE–2nd c. CE (primary)