Transcriptions | |
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Standard Mandarin | |
Hanyu Pinyin | Gōnggōng |
Wade–Giles | Kung1-kung1 |
IPA | [kʊ́ŋ.kʊ́ŋ] |
Yue:Cantonese | |
Jyutping | Gung1-gung1 |
Middle Chinese | |
Middle Chinese | kɨoŋ-kuŋ |
Transcriptions | |
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Standard Mandarin | |
Hanyu Pinyin | Kānghuí |
Wade–Giles | Kʻang1-hui2 |
IPA | [kʰáŋ.xwěɪ] |
Yue:Cantonese | |
Jyutping | hong1-wui4 |
Middle Chinese | |
Middle Chinese | kʰɑŋ-ɦuʌi |
Transcriptions | |
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Revised Romanization | Gonggong |
Transcriptions | |
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Romanization | Kyōkō |
Gonggong ( /ˈɡɒŋɡɒŋ/ ) is a Chinese water god who is depicted in Chinese mythology and folktales as having a copper human head with an iron forehead,red hair,and the body of a serpent, or sometimes the head and torso are human,with the tail of a serpent. [1] [2] He is destructive and is blamed for various cosmic catastrophes. In all accounts,Gonggong ends up being killed or sent into exile,usually after losing a struggle with another major deity such as the fire god Zhurong.
In astronomy,the dwarf planet 225088 Gonggong is named after Gonggong.
In English,the two syllables of the name are the same. But in Mandarin,they differ in tone (共工Gònggōng),and in other Chinese languages they differ in their vowel and the initial consonant as well (cf. Middle Chinese *ɡɨoŋh-kuŋ,also Japanese kyōkō). The most common variant of the name,龔工,is identical to the first in English,but in Mandarin differs in tone (Gōnggōng),and in other Chinese languages in consonant and vowel as well (cf. Middle Chinese *kɨoŋ-kuŋ).
Gonggong's personal name is said to be Kanghui (pronounced either /ˈkæŋhuːi/ KANG-hoo-ee in English,or as Mandarin Kānghuíkʰáŋ.xwěi kong-HWAY).
Gonggong is known from the late Warring States period (before 221 BC). Gonggong appears in the ancient "Heavenly Questions" (Tianwen) poem of the Chu Ci ,where he is blamed for knocking the Earth's axis off center,causing it to tilt to the southeast and the sky to tilt to the northwest. [2] This axial tilt is used to explain why the rivers of China generally flow to the southeast,especially the Yangzi River and the Yellow River,and why the Sun,Moon,and stars move towards the northwest. Literature from the Han dynasty becomes much more detailed regarding Gonggong.
Gonggong was credited in various mythological contexts as being responsible for great floods,often in concert with his minister Xiangliu (a.k.a. Xiangyao),who has nine heads and the body of a snake.
Gonggong was ashamed that he lost the fight with Zhurong,the Chinese god of fire,to claim the throne of Heaven. In a fit of rage,he smashed his head against Buzhou Mountain,one of eight pillars holding up the sky,greatly damaging it and causing the sky to tilt towards the northwest and the Earth to shift to the southeast,which caused great floods and suffering. In one account of the myth,Gonggong kills himself in the process and fire comes out of the shattered mountain alongside floods. [3]
The goddess Nüwa cut off the legs of the giant turtle Ao and used them in place of the fallen pillar,ending the floods and suffering;she was,however,unable to fully correct the tilted sky and Earth and alter their effects on the Sun,Moon,stars,and rivers in China.
Chinese mythology is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural traditions. Populated with engaging narratives featuring extraordinary individuals and beings endowed with magical powers,these stories often unfold in fantastical mythological realms or historical epochs. Similar to numerous other mythologies,Chinese mythology has historically been regarded,at least partially,as a factual record of the past.
Nüwa,also read Nügua,is a mother goddess,culture hero,and/or member of the Three Sovereigns of Chinese mythology. She is a goddess in Chinese folk religion,Chinese Buddhism,Confucianism and Taoism. She is credited with creating humanity and repairing the Pillar of Heaven.
Yinglong is a winged dragon and rain deity in ancient Chinese mythology.
The Santa language,also known as Dongxiang,is a Mongolic language spoken by the Dongxiang people in Northwest China.
The Four Symbols are mythological creatures appearing among the Chinese constellations along the ecliptic,and viewed as the guardians of the four cardinal directions. These four creatures are also referred to by a variety of other names,including "Four Guardians","Four Gods",and "Four Auspicious Beasts". They are the Azure Dragon of the East,the Vermilion Bird of the South,the White Tiger of the West,and the Black Tortoise of the North. Each of the creatures is most closely associated with a cardinal direction and a color,but also additionally represents other aspects,including a season of the year,an emotion,virtue,and one of the Chinese "five elements". Each has been given its own individual traits,origin story and a reason for being. Symbolically,and as part of spiritual and religious belief and meaning,these creatures have been culturally important across countries in the Sinosphere.
Zhurong,also known as Chongli,is an important personage in Chinese mythology and Chinese folk religion. According to the Huainanzi and the philosophical texts of Mozi and his followers,Zhurong is a god of fire and of the south.
Hong or jiang is a Chinese dragon with two heads on each end in Chinese mythology,comparable with Rainbow Serpent legends in various cultures and mythologies.
Zhulong or Zhuyin,also known in English as the Torch Dragon,was a giant red solar dragon and god in Chinese mythology. It supposedly had a human's face and snake's body,created day and night by opening and closing its eyes,and created seasonal winds by breathing.
Hòutǔ or Hòutǔshén,also known as HòutǔNiángniáng,otherwise called Dimǔ or DimǔNiángniáng,is the deity of all land and earth in Chinese religion and mythology. Houtu is the overlord of all the Tudigongs,Sheji,Shan Shen,City Gods,and landlord gods worldwide.
Hong is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese surname 洪 (Hóng). It was listed 184th among the Song-era Hundred Family Surnames. Today it is not among the 100 most common surnames in mainland China but it was the 15th-most-common surname in Taiwan in 2005. As counted by a Chinese census,Taiwan is the area with the largest number of people with the name. It is also the pinyin romanization of a number of less-common names including Hóng,Hóng,and Hóng. All of those names are romanized as Hung in Wade-Giles.
Gun,also known as Count of Chong,is a figure in Chinese mythology,sometimes noted as the father of Yu the Great,the founder of the Xia dynasty. 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.
Mount Buzhou was an ancient Chinese mythological mountain which,according to old texts,lay to the northwest of the Kunlun Mountains,in a location today referred to as the Pamir Mountains. It is the mountain said to have supported the heavens,against which the Chinese water god Gonggong smashed his head in a fit of anger,requiring the goddess Nüwa to repair the sky. Nevertheless,once the spacer between the Earth and Sky was damaged,the land of China was permanently tilted to the southeast,causing all the rivers to flow in that same direction.
Xiangliu,known in the Classic of Mountains and Seas as Xiangyao,is a venomous nine-headed snake monster that brings floods and destruction in Chinese mythology.
The Flood Mythology of China,or Great Flood of China is a deluge theme which happened in China. Derk Bodde (1961) stated that "from all mythological themes in ancient Chinese,the earliest and so far most pervasive is about flood." The mythology also has shared characteristics with other Great Floods all over the world,although it also has unique characteristics or different focuses. Lu Yilu (2002) groups all versions of great flood into three themes:"the heroes controls the flood;"brother-sister marriage to repopulating the world";and "the flood which is drowning the whole city along with its citizens".
The Four Perils are four malevolent beings that exist in Chinese mythology.
The Eight Pillars also known as Eight Pillars of the Sky are a concept from Chinese mythology. Located in the eight cardinal directions,they are a group of eight mountains or pillars which have been thought to hold up the sky. They are symbolically important as types of axis mundi and cosmology. Their functions in mythology ranged from pillars which functioned to hold apart the Earth and the Sky,as ladders allowing travel between the two,and as the location of various paradises or wonderland with associated magical people,plants,and animals. The Eight Pillars are a central aspect to Chinese mythology,and also have been used extensively in poetic allusion. Some variations exist,such as only having four pillars.
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