Houyi, Chang'e, and the Elixir of Immortality

Hey guys! I hope everyone is doing well.

So far in my series of Chinese posts we've looked more at folklore than at mythology. Because of that, today's post is going to focus on a myth from an early period of Chinese history.

Heaven in Chinese mythology is a dwelling place for not only the gods, but for immortals and spirits as well. One of these immortals, Houyi, would be called upon to save the world from a most unusual calamity. Either the Jade Emperor or another god (depending on which version of the story you read) had ten sons. One day these sons decided to transform themselves into ten suns. Now, I live in Arizona. One sun already provides more than enough heat, thank you very much – and I don't even live in the hottest place on earth! Twice the heat would be unbearable, but ten times?

It didn't take long for the suns to begin to effect the earth. Plants withered and died. Lakes and rivers began to evaporate. The ground scorched, and people began to die.

The Jade Emperor knew that something had to be done, and so he called an immortal to aid him. This immortal was Houyi, and he was renowned for his skill in archery. The Emperor tasked Houyi with stopping the ten sons/suns, and saving the world.

Unfortunately, he was a little bit unspecific in how Houyi was to stop them.
 

The immortal archer descended to earth and began to do what he did best. He knocked an arrow to his bow, took aim, and fired. Whoosh! One sun fell from the sky, dead. Houyi drew another arrow. Another sun fell.

 

He repeated this process until only one sun was left in the sky. (According to some versions of the tale, someone saw that Houyi had no intentions of ceasing fire and so snuck up behind him to remove an arrow from his quiver, leaving him with only enough to take down nine of the suns.) After all, one sun is necessary for both warmth and for light.

Houyi returned to heaven, expecting to be thanked for having saved the world. Instead, he found himself facing punishment.

The father of the sons/suns had not expected the archer to kill his children. He was horrified, and grew wrathful in his rage. As punishment, Houyi was stripped of his immortality. The archer was not to bear this punishment alone – his wife, Chang'e, was also made mortal. Then the two were banished to earth.

Life on earth was hard for the couple. Houyi was particularly grieved by how difficult it was for his beautiful wife. Chang'e was used to the luxuries of heaven, not the hardships of earth. More than anything, he wanted to return her to her rightful place as an immortal.

Luckily, Houyi had heard of an elixir which could do just that – one made from the peaches of immortality (which we'll discuss more when I do my post on the Monkey King). This elixir was kept by an immortal named the Queen Mother of the West, who resided on earth on Mount Kunlun.

Houyi set out to find the Queen Mother and to beg the elixir from her. He successfully made his way to her palace and presented his case to the Queen Mother. She was sympathetic, and offered him the elixir of immortality. However, she also gave him a warning. There was just enough elixir that he and Chang'e could split it, granting both immortality – but they would be forced to live on earth, never returning to heaven. If one person drank the entire elixir, then they could have eternal life in heaven once again.
 

Houyi thanked her and returned home with the elixir. He was a good husband, and was not even tempted to drink the elixir all by himself. Sharing it with Chang'e would allow both to live forever, and that was enough for him.
 

Now, depending on which version of the story you read, Chang'e's next actions vary. In some cases Houyi did not tell her about the elixir before he was called away from the house. She found it in her curiosity, and drank the entire thing, not knowing that none would be left for her husband. In other versions of the story, Houyi told Chang'e everything. Not content with immortal life if she must live it on earth, Chang'e drank the entire elixir, wishing to be returned to the splendor of heaven...even if it means going without her husband.

In either case, the results are the same. After drinking the elixir, Chang'e's body grew light and airy. She began to float through the air, literally rising into the heavens. Yet Chang'e and Houyi had been banished from heaven due to the wrath of a mighty god. She could not return there. With nowhere else to go, Chang'e floated to the surface of the moon, and that is where she has made her home ever since.  She isn't alone up there - there's also a rabbit who lives on the moon.

A couple of fun facts before I finish this post:

In some versions of the story, Chang'e was transformed into a toad as punishment for her actions.

The Mid-Autumn Festival in China sees offerings laid out to the moon. This story is very important to that festival.

Two probes and a rover sent to the moon by China have all been named after Chang'e.

There is a white and purple variant on the Chinese New Year skin for Mei in Overwatch named after Chang'e.

 

I hope you guys enjoyed the story! I'll see you next week!