Y is for the lost epic of Yi (Epics from A to Z)

Stories, much like people, have a life cycle. Epics are created, told, and when people cease telling them, they slowly break apart and disappear. Some cultures pick up the pieces (like it happened with the Kalevala or the Kalevipoeg). For today, I will write about an epic that might or might not have ever existed.

Origins

In 1995, Mori Masako published an article in Asian Folklore Studies, suggesting that the many accounts and tales of Hou Yi, the most famous archer-hero of Chinese mythology, are actually the scattered fragments of what once was a coherent epic, much like the epic of Gilgamesh. She drew a parallel between Gilgamesh and Hou Yi, trying to arrange the fragments into their original order, from the hero's birth to his death. It is an intriguing article. I was familiar with the tales of Hou Yi before, but never thought of them as an epic; Mori Masako, however, makes a compelling argument.

It is an epic I would love to hear.

The Hero

Hou Yi is an archer. In his part of the world, he is THE archer, really. Some people suggest that Yi is not actually his name at all - it is a title that refers to archers. Hou Yi is known for one very famous feat: He shot nine suns out of the sky, saving the world from being scorched to ashes.

Other feats of his include killing various demons and monsters, and traveling to Kunlun Mountain in search of immortality (much like Gilgamesh did). He never became immortal, though; his wife, Chang'e, drank both bottles of the elixir he brought home, and flew away to live alone in the Moon forever.

Hou Yi is ambiguous in many sources; sometimes he is a hero, sometimes he is a tyrant. Mori Masako claims that those features are reconcilable in an epic; most heroes, like Gilgamesh, have both good and bad sides as well.

The Highlights

Instead of highlights, here are some versions of the story of Yi that you can read:

There is a nice and detailed version in Virginia Schomp's book of Ancient Chinese mythology.

There is also a detailed analysis in Sarah Allan's book The Shape of the Turtle.

In Treasure Mountain: Folktales from Southern China there is a Yao minority tale called Shooting the Moon, in which a brave archer and his wife work together to save the world from a scorching fiery moon. In the end they rise into the moon together as well. It is one of my favorite versions.

Here is a short animated video from the website of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

There is also the Mongolian version of the tale type where the hero Erkhii Mergen shoots seven suns.