Chi You
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In Chinese and Korean mythology, Chi You is a war deity. For Hmongs, Chi You is a sagacious mythical king. Chi You meaning "txiv yawg" in Hmong or grandfather. Some Koreans see Chi You as a mythical emperor of ancient Korea.
Chi You is also sometimes known as Qi Yu, the god of rain, and a descendant of Shen Nong, the inventor of agriculture. His appearance is half giant, half bull, with the front of his head covered with (or made of) iron.
| Chi You | |
|---|---|
| Chinese name | |
| Traditional Chinese: | 蚩尤 |
| Simplified Chinese: | 蚩尤 |
| Hanyu Pinyin: | Chī Yóu |
| Wade-Giles: | Ch'ih Yu |
| Hmong name | |
| RPA: | Txiv Yawg |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul: | 치우 |
| Hanja: | 蚩尤 |
| Revised Romanization: | Chi U |
| McCune-Reischauer: | Ch'i U |
[edit] Mythology
Along with Yan Di and Huang Di, Chi You is a deity in Hmong mythology, Chi You was the mythical leader of the Hmongs, king of Jiuli, and once a follower of Yan Di. When Huang Di subdued Yan Di, Chi You was weary of the suppression and conspired with Yan Liang, another deity. Soon, Hmong and Han clashed in the battle of Zhuolu.
According to Chinese legends, Chi You and his people rebelled against Huang Di at Zhuolu plains. Both sides used magical powers, but Chi You had the advantage because his troops were armed with forged swords and halberds. Using his power (perhaps a mythological explanation of meteorology used in warfare), Chi You covered the battle field in thick fog. Only with the help of a magical compass chariot (South Pointing Chariot) could Huang Di's troops could find their way through the mist. He also used his daughter Nü Ba, the Goddess of Drought, to harm Chi You's troops. Later on, Chi You suffered more defeats and was captured. Only Ying Long, the winged dragon, being a brave servant of Huang Di, dared to slay him. Chi You's chains were transformed into acorn trees, while Ying Long was cursed to remain on earth forever.
According to Chinese legend, the people under Chiyou (蚩尤 Chīyoú) was defeated at Zhuolu (涿鹿 Zhuōlù, a defunct prefecture on the border of today provinces of Hebei and Liaoning) by the military unification of Huang Di (黃帝 Huángdì) and Yandi, leaders of the Huaxia (華夏 Huáxià) tribe as they struggled for supremacy of the Huang He valley. The compass was believed to be the crucial reason of Huaxia's victory. The battle, believed to be taken place in the 26th century B.C, was fought under heavy fog as Huaxia was able to match against Miao with the compass. After the loss, the original tribe split into two smaller splinter tribes, the Miao (Hmong) and the Li (黎 lí). Miao continuously moving southwest and Li southeast as the Huaxia race, now known as Han Chinese race, expanding southwards. During the course of Chinese history, they were regarded as "barbarians" by the increasingly technologically and culturally advanced Han Chinese. Some fragments of the races were assimilated into the Chinese during Zhou Dynasty.
Yet, in other versions, the people of Jiuli fragmented in 3 different directions. It is said Chiyou had 3 sons, and after the fall of Jiuli, his oldest son led some people south, his middle son led some people north, and his youngest son remained in Zhuolu and assimilated into the Huaxia culture. Those who were led to the south established the San-Miao nation. Perhaps due to this splitting into multiple groups, many Far Eastern people regard Chiyou as their ancestors, and by the same token, many question the ethnicity of Chiyou as exclusively Hmong or otherwise. In some circles of thought, the Koreans also regard Chiyou as an ethnic ancestor. Furthermore, under China's ethnic unification policy, Chiyou is now also regarded as one of China's forefathers alongside the ethnic Han ancestors, Huangdi and Yandi.
Other mythology states that Chi You had 81 brothers, and was a grotesque looking creature: he had six arms, four eyes, the head and hooves resembled an ox and his head was made of metal (copper and iron, mentioned 銅頭鐵額). He only ate stones and pebbles; therefore his teeth were almost unbreakable. One of his achievements was the first use of metal weapons in warfare. He is said to have forged the first swords from bronze or copper. He was violent and no one could defeat him.
[edit] Historical records
Across the Eastern Asia, many people had worshipped Chi You as the war guardian deity. According to Chinese history record Records of the Grand Historian, Liu Bang worshipped at Chi You's shrine before the last battle against Xiang Yu and won. Joseon Admiral Yi Sun-sin also worshipped Chi You.
[edit] Figure in Korea
According to Korean controversial history book Hwandan Gogi which published in 1979 and known to be written by Gye Yeonsoo in 1911 , Chiwoo(Emperor Chi-Woo the Great of Baedalguk) was 14th Emperor, named Jaoji-Hwanwoong, of the Empire of Baedal, which was to be succeeded by Go-Joseon, as the book says. He ruled the Empire during 109 years, from 2707 BC to 2599 BC.
He was good at making weapons such as an arrow, a bow, a spear, an amor and a helmet, and he also could deal with copper and iron. In addition, he united 12 feudal states, and was not defeated for about 70 wars. The books claims that Chiwoo's grave was in present Shandong province of China, and that in every July, the red flag, the symbol of Chi You's army appeared on top of his grave.
In another book, Gyuwonsahwa also describes the 'Chi-Woo', but in different way, in that 'Chi-Woo' is not only a person's name, but also a name of a tribe which consists the nation of the ancient east asia.
Chiwoo, also called "Chiwoo Cheonwang"(means 'Great Emperor Chiwoo from Heaven') in Korea, is the mascot of the Red Devils, the supporters' group to the South Korea national football team.
The manhwa Heavenly Executioner Chi Woo is partly based on the legends about Emperor Chi Woo.
