Feather Mountain

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Feather Mountain (Chinese: 羽山; pinyin: Yǔshān) is an important mythological mountain in Chinese mythology, particularly associated with the Great Flood (China). According to the mythological studies of Lihui Yang, et al. (2005:127-128), Gun was executed on the "outskirts" of Feather Mountain by Zhurong, either for stealing the Xirang or for failing to control the flood waters. According to K. C. Wu (1982:86 and 105, note 109), emperor Shun exiled Gun to Feather Mountain for lese-majesty, but that Gun was not executed; and, rather, that such accounts result from misunderstanding the meanings associated with the ancient Chinese character ji, which appears in certain source works. Anthony Christie (1968:87) relays the following three mythic story versions: that on Feather Mountain Gun was either killed by Zhurong, torn into pieces by tortoises and owls, or else that his lifeless-seeming body lay there for three years before being slashed open at the belly with the Wu sword, after which his son Yu emerged as a winged dragon and Gun himself metamorphosed into a yellow bear. Near to Feather Mountain an important mythological spring (Feather Spring = Yuyuan) was said to be. Feather Mountain is one of a number of important mountains in Chinese mythology.

See also

  • Heavenly Questions
  • Kunlun Mountain: a mythical mountain, dwelling of various divinities, and fabulous plants and animals
  • Jade Mountain: in some accounts the dwelling of Xiwangmu, Queen Mother of the West
  • Mount Buzhou: mythical mountain
  • Mount Penglai: paradise; a fabled fairy isle on the China Sea

References

  • Christie, Anthony (1968). Chinese Mythology. Feltham: Hamlyn Publishing. ISBN 0600006379.
  • Wu, K. C. (1982). The Chinese Heritage. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-517-54475X.
  • Yang, Lihui, et al. (2005). Handbook of Chinese Mythology. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-533263-6


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