Transcript The Lord of the Sky - Rex: King of Carnival

Gods of Water and Rivers
English I – Louise S. McGehee
2005
By: Gina and Kathryn
Water Gods
In Chinese Mythology there is a god to
represent everything from professions like
butchering and acting, to gods for success
and childbirth. More importantly, there are
many water gods, controlling everything
from droughts, to rain, to floods. Almost all
water gods are represented as dragons.
The major water gods will be discussed in
these slides.
(Coy Pond)
Gong Gong
• Description: a black water demon
• Gong Gong is one of the better known gods in Chinese
Mythology, for he created the first floods on earth.
• Gong Gong wanted to rule on the throne of heaven instead
of being a worker there, so he then decided to overthrow
the current holder of the throne, Zhu – Rong (the god of
fire). They started a battle that lasted for many days and to
the defeat of Gong Gong after falling to earth.
Gong Gong contd.
• Because of that defeat Gong Gong tried to commit suicide
by crushing his head on a pillar of heaven. Though it
worked, it disrupted the pattern of the sky, tilted heaven
and caused a great flood all over earth.
(flood)
(“Chinese Characters”)
He Bo
• A mortal man who made a sacrifice and became a deity.
• The Yellow River flooded very easily, and that
endangered many people. A man named He Bo made an
extreme sacrifice to the river by tying himself to rocks
and throwing himself to the river. For his selfless
sacrifice he was made into the god and protector of the
Yellow River and was granted immortality.
• To make sure the Yellow River and He Bo were placated
young women were thrown into the Yellow River as
sacrifices which gave them the name of “the brides of He
Bo”.
(Upper Region of
the Yellow River)
Lesser Known Gods &
Goddesses
• Feng Po Po - goddess of
winds, that symbolizes
water, moisture, and
precipitation.
• Mo-Hi-Hai - the god of
water
• Lo Shen – goddess of
rivers
• Mo-Hou-Lo-Chia dragon king, god of all
waters
Dragon God of Rain
(Edward H. Schafer,
“Ancient China”, 58)
Works Cited
Byte, Tera. “Chinese Gods.” God Checker. 2005. Swordfish Web Design. 6 January 2005.
<http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/chinese-mythology.php?_gods-list>.
Byte, Tera. “Chinese Gods.” God Checker. 2005. Swordfish Web Design. 6 January 2005.
<http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/chinese-mythology.php?deity=GONG-GONG>.
Bartholomew, Bruce. “Upper Region of the Yellow River Near Ra’gvagoinba.” Photographs by Bruce
Bartholomew, California Academy of Sciences. 11 January 2005.
<http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/images/bruce14.jpg>.
“Chinese Gods and Goddesses.” Chinese Gods and Goddesses. Tripod. 6 January 2005.
<http://fullmoon_deities.tripod.com/chinese.html>.
“Coy Pond.” Webshots. 2005. CNET network. 11 January 2005.
<http://community.webshots.com/photo/197453042/197757857hhHmLJ>.
Schafer, Edward H. Ancient China. New York: Time Inc, 1967.
Shan, Jun. “Chinese Characters.” China Online. 2005. A Primedia Company. 6 January 2005.
<http://chineseculture.about.com/library/symbol/blcc_flowingwater.htm>.