Let's start with the ten suns:
Mother Sun's name is "Xihe", she is responsible for managing the order of the ten suns on duty, in the order from the eldest son to the youngest son, let the ten suns take turns on duty, and as the messenger of the sun, driving a two-wheeled vehicle pulled by six dragons, strictly adhering to the fixed itinerary, carrying the sun from the Eastern Yutani Fuso tree, falling from the Western Yugu Wakasagi. Later, the ten suns appeared internally contradictory, demanding that they jump out of the duty rules set by their mothers, not to appear in the sky in turn, but to come out together, causing the destruction of life and the destruction of all things. There was a man named Houyi, a sharpshooter, who made a bow from the sacred tree and an arrow from the branches, and shot nine suns, and the smallest sun left, which now hangs in our sky, rises from the east and sets from the west every day.
So do you know what kind of password is included in this mythical story?
Question 1: Who is Xihe?
The Classic of Mountains and Seas and the Great Wilderness of the South Sutra says, "Xi He, who covers the heavens and the earth, is born, and so is the Lord of the Sun and the Moon." Its ancient meaning is that the heavens and the earth were first generated, presiding over the formation and motion mechanisms of the sun and moon. In the Commentary on the Interpretation of Texts, it is said that "Xi, Qi also", and in the Tao Te Ching, it is said that "the Tao Sheng one, the life of two, the second birth of three, the third birth of all things, all things bear the yin and embrace the yang, and the middle qi thinks that it is peace". Combined, it can be directly understood that "Xihe" is actually the Tao, that is, the intersection of yin and yang and the two qi to form a state of moderation.
The state of balance and harmony between yin and yang is the best result, but in the change of yin and yang, there is a movement of yin and yang dissipation, and there will also be specific climate change, or heat (yang is too strong), or extreme cold during the ice age (yang is too weak), which also has the situation of ten suns coming out at the same time, and the mythological plot after shooting nine suns.
Therefore, all things in heaven and earth, sun and moon have a Tao, and they all operate according to the rules of the Tao. Our ancient philosophers, observing these phenomena, in order to make more people understand, educated the people through analogy and symbolism, so that they could better live in a taoist way, which may be the inner meaning contained in ancient mythology.
Question 2: What do the ten suns represent?
Xi He, as the embodiment of the Tao, manages the time of the sun's rise and fall and the place where it appears, and there will never be a mistake. The ten suns in its mythological story are actually the ten days of dry in the ancient Chinese calendar, that is, "A, B, C, D, E, He, Geng, Xin, Nong, and 癸". The meaning of the branches of heaven and earth comes from trees, and for a more vivid illustration, it is natural to extend that there are ten suns living on the branches of a sacred tree between heaven and earth.
Tiangan is derived from the observation of celestial phenomena and natural phenomena in ancient China, when the sun rotates around the earth, it is manifested as a circadian rhythm and a four-season law on the earth, and our ancient sages recorded the influence of the sun on the life of the earth through the ten days of dryness, especially the process of plant growth and collection.
A: Like the image of the cracked seed coat worn after the buds of grass and trees, it extends the initial budding state of the occurrence and development of all things, which is the first stage of the beginning of the yin qi and the initial birth of the yang qi.
B: The appearance of the grass and trees at the beginning, the branches and leaves are soft and flexed, which is extended to the flexion growth form due to weakness and weakness after the seed germinates, which is the second stage of the development of yang qi.
C: Branches like slits (inverted), by extension, the plant begins to grow branches, which is the third stage of the development of yang qi.
Ding: Grass and trees grow strongly, and by extension, plants have grown and masculine appearance, which is the fourth stage of yang development.
E: Lush also symbolizes the lush prosperity of the earth's grass and trees, and is the most vigorous stage of Yang Qi development.
Self: The state in which the grass and trees grow to the limit and stop growing, is the period when the yang develops to the end.
Geng: More also, replace also, like the way plants shrink into the ground, plant growth begins to change from the growth period to the decline period, the autumn harvest waits for the spring, for the yang qi to begin to decline, the yin qi begins to develop stage.
Xin: All things are solemn, beautiful and new, plants are tortured by the laws of nature, leaves fall and branches wither, yang qi continues to decline, and yin qi continues to develop in the stage of slaughter.
Nong: 妊 also, yang qi lurks in the ground, all things are pregnant, the new journey of life will also begin to be conceived from the nut, and the life activity will be carried out in the seed shell, which is still the stage of yin and yang.
癸: 揆也, the state of all things hidden, pregnant underground, sprouting, plants developing in the shell, stretching in all directions, is the final stage of yin qi.
Question 3: What is a Fuso tree?
Fuso is a tree name in ancient mythology, and this tree is first mentioned in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Fuso also became "Fumu", born in the East, for the ten days of residence. This kind of tree grows in the blue sea, the tree two or two with the same root, more dependent on each other, the leaves are like mulberry, and there are trees. It sounds like it's actually a mulberry tree, just two trees that grow from one root.
How did ancient humans observe the world? Look up at the astronomy, look down at the geography, take the body near, take the things from afar.
Due to the observation of the interaction between the sun and the moon on the earth's cold and heat cycle changes in December, a set of dry chronological calendars suitable for the development of agricultural production on the mainland are summarized.
Observing the things around you, using the method of taking images and analogies, the world's everything is simply divided into five categories, and on this basis, the relationship of life and restraint is used to explain and explain the interconnection and change between things. This relationship between things that is born and gram, gram and life, complements each other, and uses each other to promote and maintain the continuous growth, change and development of things. The "Wings of the Class Scripture" says: "The opportunity to build and create must not be lifeless, nor can it be uncontrolled." If there is no birth, there is no reason for development, and if there is no system, it is harmful. The cycle of life and death runs endlessly, and the way of heaven and earth is infinite. ”
Having said all this, what does it have to do with the Fuso Sacred Tree? In fact, I want to tell you that the analogy of the sun is a three-legged crow, that is, a kind of bird, and birds generally live on trees. If we need to choose a tree to be the prototype of the sacred tree, which tree will we choose?
Mulberry ( Latin name : Morus alba L.) is a mulberry family of deciduous trees or shrubs of the genus Mulberry , up to 15 m tall. The body of the tree is rich in milk and the bark is yellowish brown. The leaves are ovate to broadly ovate, with pointed ends, a rounded or shallow heart-shaped leaf base, with coarsely serrated edges and sometimes irregular divisions. The leaf surface is glabrous and shiny, with hairs on the dorsal veins of the leaves. Hermaphroditic, flowering in May, inflorescence. The ripening period is 6-7 months, and the polyflora and fruit are oval or cylindrical, black-purple or white. Loves light and is slightly shade tolerant when young. Prefers warm and humid climates and is hardy. Drought tolerant, strong water and moisture resistance.
From the above encyclopedia content, we can understand that mulberry trees can be up to 15 meters tall, dioecious, flowering and fruiting time are in the hottest summer, strong water and moisture resistance. The above conditions better meet the analogy requirements. Therefore, it has become the prototype of the mythical sacred tree.
Question 4: Is the spiritual soul of the sun a three-legged crow?
Three-legged crow is also known as three-legged golden crow, in ancient Chinese mythology, there is a black three-legged crow in the center of the red sun, the black crow crouches around the center of the red sun is the golden light flashing "red light", is one of the ancient Chinese myths and legends of the sacred birds, and because it is different from the crow in nature, add a foot to distinguish.
The ancients may have noticed that crows liked to stay in smoke, while other birds were far away from fireworks, so they thought that crows were fire-related gods, and coupled with the fact that crows were as dark as charcoal, as if they were melted out of fire, the ancients were more likely to simply think that crows were the embodiment of fire, another manifestation of the vigorous "fire". Therefore, it is reasonable to associate the crow with fire and with the sun.
Our ancient sages liked to associate with the characteristics of animals and natural properties that they understood, such as the 24 zodiac signs of rats, ugly cows, yin tigers, rabbits, tatsu dragons, snakes, noon horses, and ungods, which are combined through animals and earth branches, making it easier for people to remember and not easy to forget, all of which we can still remember very clearly today, and even children can easily recite these knowledge. There are many more, we will talk about it slowly later.
In a word, it is to use similar things to represent or explain the essence of a natural phenomenon or thing, which is the most common way of education used by ancient Chinese philosophers. In fact, including modern times, in order to explain something to others, we will also compare some things to illustrate it.
Question 5: Why is the car on which the Sun rides a two-wheeled vehicle pulled by six dragons?
The Chinese nation uses the dragon as a totem, and Chinese claims to be the descendant of the dragon. Where do the six dragons in the story come from? From a Chinese classic "Zhou Yi", the first gua in the opening chapter of the book is "Qiangua", which tells the story of the dragon. Then the names of these six dragons, namely the hidden dragon, the seeing dragon, the tilong, the leaping dragon, the flying dragon and the kang dragon, represent the six stages of the development of things, and also tell us that only by accumulating energy, strengthening ourselves, and being modest and cautious, vigilant and low-key, can we achieve ourselves and realize the value of our lives.
The first stage: the hidden dragon is not used, and the yang is also under it. We must concentrate on cultivating strength and accumulating energy to wait for opportunities.
Stage 2: See the dragon in the field, see the lord. When your energy is accumulated to a certain stage, your ability is there, your position is there, your time is ripe, then you will show it.
The third stage: the gentleman is dry all day long, and the sunset is like a good day. When you have achieved a little success, you must calm down, do not be proud, a gentleman is erudite and self-conscious, then you know and act without fault.
Stage Four: Or Leap in the Abyss. Strikes ensued from all sides, but don't be vigilant all the time, do not do anything, you should do the same thing, that is, continue to accumulate energy.
Stage 5: The Wyvern is in the sky, and it is good to see the adult. Your life has reached its peak, at this time you must not think that it is once and for all, you still have to take this opportunity to cultivate your virtue! Virtue is not good, and no matter how high it is, it is useless.
Stage Six: The Dragon has remorse. Warn people that nobility and abundance cannot be maintained for long.
The car on which the sun rides is actually the car of time, and within a day, the sun will be in different places, representing different times, such as the time when the sun rises in the east is morning, the time when the sun is due south is noon, and the sun is late when it sets in the west, so our ancient sages marked time, season, and solar terms through the position and change of celestial bodies (because the changes of the sun are not obvious, so the moon and stars were added).
The six dragons are an important part of the car of time, representing the stage changes of things, and through the interaction and dissipation of the two forces of one yin and one yang, the trajectory of the development and change of things can be understood.
Question 6: Why is the person who shoots the sun a houyi?
From the composition of yi, the combination of "feather" and "廾" means "grasping the direction of the arrow with both hands", which shows that he must be a person who is good at archery.
One of the highest rulers in the early years of the Xia Dynasty was "Houyi". "Houyi" is written as "Siyi". "Division" means "father and son successively engaged in a certain profession". "Si Yi" is "hereditary archer". Beginning with the Xia Qi, the Emperors of the Xia Dynasty adopted the new character "Hou" (hou), which was caused by the reverse writing of the character "Si" (si), as their official title, which was used until 1640 BC (the last year of Xia Jie). Therefore, "Hou" was the most honorable title of the Xia Dynasty, and because "Si Yi" did hold the royal power of the early Xia Dynasty, later generations honored "Si Yi" as "Hou Yi".
Some historians believe that Houyi shooting the sun has a side that reflects the historical facts, reflecting that at that time, Houyi shot several monarchs of the Xia Dynasty and usurped the Throne of the Xia Dynasty, only Shaokang after Xia survived, and finally the only surviving Shaokang successfully restored Bactria, known in history as "Shaokang Zhongxing".
The sun-shooting recorded in the ancient texts of the Classic of Mountains and Seas is not Houyi, but a person named Dayi. He was the leader of a tribe in the Yao period, and finally unified the various tribes in the east and established a powerful state, and the people of this country worshipped the sun, so it was called the Ten Days Kingdom.