Huaxu
Huaxu (Chinese: 華胥; pinyin: Huáxū) is a Chinese goddess and mother of the gods Nüwa and Fuxi.
Legend
According to legend, the creation god Pangu died after standing up, and his body turned into rivers, mountains, plants, animals, and everything else in the world, among which was a powerful being known as Huaxu. Huaxu suddenly became pregnant with twins Fuxi and Nüwa after stepping in a footprint left by the thunder god, Lei Shen. They are said to be creatures that have faces of human and bodies of snakes.[1][2]
Legends of the later Yellow Emperor state that, during a period of fasting, the emperor dreamed of Huaxu's mythical kingdom, "beyond the reach of ship or chariot or any mortal foot...only the soul could travel so far." The residents of this heavenly place "rode space as though walking the solid earth, and slept on the air as though on their beds...mountains and valleys did not trip their feet, for they made only journeys of the spirit."[3] This specific legend is from the second chapter of the taoist book Liezi, and the chengyu huaxuzhimeng(華胥之夢) originated from the legend.[4]
Mentions
Lot of chinese and East asian literature used the figure as a metaphor for divine intervention or the golden ages. In the veritable records of king Jeongjo in the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, one of the officials use the figure as a metaphor.[5] Mengyuanlao, a writer who lived in the Northern Song dynasty, describes in his prologue that he named the book "Dongjingmenghualu(東京夢華錄)" after the dream of Huaxu related with the aforementioned Yellow Emperor legend.[6] The legend of the dream of Huaxu is also mentioned in the book Shijia Shipu(釋迦氏譜) by Tang buddhist monk Daoxuan as cited in the korean buddhist compilation book Sŏkposangjŏl.[7] Korean novelist Chae Man-sik used Hwaseo as his early pen name, named after the figure.[8]
References
- ^ Millidge, Judith (1999). Chinese Gods and Myths. Chartwell Books. ISBN 978-0-7858-1078-0.
- ^ Worshiping the Three Sage Kings and Five Virtuous Emperors - The Imperial Temple of Emperors of Successive Dynasties in Beijing. Beijing: Foreign Language Press. 2007. ISBN 978-7-119-04635-8.
- ^ Cotterell, Arthur (1979). A Dictionary of World Mythology. Book Club Associates. ISBN 978-0-19-217747-6.
- ^ "[서예로 익히는 한자]華胥之夢".
- ^ "《인서록》이 완성되니 편전에 나가 받다. 기신들이 전을 올려 축하하다".
- ^ "동양고전해제집사부(史部)동경몽화록(東京夢華錄)".
- ^ "釋迦氏譜序".
- ^ "[문화] 채만식의 20년대 단편소설 4편 찾았다".