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)

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www.godchecker.com/pantheon/chinese-mythology.php?_gods-list>.

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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>.

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