Where Does the Legend of Chang'e Come From?

Author: Christine Welch

Northwestern University BA (Chinese Literature)

National Taiwan Normal University MA student (Chinese Literature)

Chang'e - 嫦娥

-Goddess of the moon

-Symbol of beauty, loneliness, sometimes as a thief

-Often portrayed with a rabbit, toad, pipa, moon, flowing garments, elixir of immortality, cassia tree

With origins in ancient divination texts, Chang'e has a long history stretching back to the time of the creation of Chinese characters, and yet her story is still retold today in popular culture, most often at the time of the Moon Festival, or the Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋節, which occurs in September or October (depending on the lunar calendar). Let's trace the evolution of her figure throughout written history.

Origins of Chang'e 嫦娥

Background on Ancient Chinese Divination Texts

- Confucian records hold that there were five main classic texts, one of which was called the "Classic of Changes," or the Yijing 易經. This Classic was supposed to be composed of three different texts, the Lian Shan 連山, Gui Cang 歸藏, and the Zhou Yi 周易. Only the Zhou Yi was passed down complete through written tradition. The Lian Shan and Gui Cang were only preserved in fragments. However, in 1993, a copy of the Gui Cang from the Qin Dynasty (~200 BC) was unearthed, leading to new study of the text.

- The Lian Shan was supposed to be from the Xia Dynasty (2070 – c. 1600 BC), the Gui Cang from the Shang (1600 BC to 1046 BC), and the Zhou Yi from the early years of the Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC). By the late Zhou Dynasty, it was already almost unreadable. Thus many misinterpretations of the texts came about.

- Chinese divination texts are composed of trigrams, or ba gua 八卦, which are then arranged in pairs to form 64 hexagrams. The ba gua are composed of three broken or unbroken lines (-- or _), which come together to create a certain meaning (ex: three broken lines is earth, while three unbroken lines is heaven, etc.) These ba gua are then stacked vertically, one upon the other, to make hexagrams, with six lines each. Each line (broken or unbroken) is called a yao 爻.

- Depending on the diviner, a set of methods were used to achieve the result of a certain trigram and then hexagram, which in turn gave a meaning. Early diviners used tortoise shells, yarrow stalks, and later, coins.

- Looking at the South Korean flag, you can see that it has four trigrams on it!! (heaven, earth, fire, and water) This demonstrates how great an influence Confucianism had on Korea.

Zhou Yi 周易 Example

- Here is an example of how a hexagram might be explained in the Zhou Yi (translation by James Legge).

Hexagram: "Song"

訟：有孚，窒。惕中吉。終凶。利見大人，不利涉大川。

"Song" intimates how, though there is sincerity in one's contention, he will yet meet with opposition and obstruction; but if he cherish an apprehensive caution, there will be good fortune, while, if he must prosecute the contention to the (bitter) end, there will be evil. It will be advantageous to see the great man; it will not be advantageous to cross the great stream.

- Obviously the meaning of this is very difficult to grasp. The explanation of the "Song" hexagram is a series of symbols meant to give the diviner an arrow toward a meaning, but is vague enough that it can apply to many situations.

Chang'e's 嫦娥 Appearance in the Gui Cang 歸藏:

*Wen Xuan 文選 is an anthology of Qin and Han literature compiled by Xiao Tong during the Liang Dynasty, 520 AD.

*The Wen Xuan records excerpts from the Gui Cang, supposed to be the Shang Dynasty version of the Zhou Yi, a part of the original Yi Jing.

Wen Xuan -《文選》引《歸藏》

昔常娥以西王母不死之藥服之，遂奔月，為月精。

Ancient Chang'e drank Xi Wangmu's elixir of immortality, then fled to the moon, where she became a moon fairy.

- This excerpt tallies well with later versions of Chang'e's legend. But was this the original version found in the Shang Dynasty Gui Cang? We can get a little closer to this answer, by looking at an excavated copy of the Gui Cang, dated to the Qin Dynasty (about 700 years before the Wen Xuan).

- Since it is an excavated copy, many characters are unreadable, lost through the wear of time, but that which we can see is very interesting.

Excavated Gui Cang -《王家台秦簡歸藏 》

「歸妹曰：昔者恆我竊毋死之[藥]/（307）/□□奔月而?占□□□/（201）

Returning Bride: In ancient times Heng'wo (Eternal Me) stole the elixir of immortality...fleeing to the moon and divining...

- As explanation and in comparison to the Zhou Yi, "Returning Bride" or "Gui Mei" is a hexagram like the above-mentioned "Song." What follows the hexagram's name is a description of how the hexagram is to be read.

- This seems very similar to the Wen Xuan version, but it is different in several important ways. For instance, the title of the passage (returning bride), and Chang'e's name change, to Heng'wo. Missing components (Xi Wang Mu, Yi) are also conspicuous.

Let's compare the Gui Cang 歸藏 Returning Bride 歸妹 to the Zhou Yi 周易 Returning Bride 歸妹 passage:

歸妹：征凶，无攸利。歸妹，天地之大義也。天地不交，而萬物不興，歸妹人之終始也。說以動，所歸妹也。征凶，位不當也。无攸利，柔乘剛也。

Gui Mei indicates that (under the conditions which it denotes) action will be evil, and in no way advantageous. By Gui Mei (the marrying away of a younger sister) the great and righteous relation between heaven and earth (is suggested to us). If heaven and earth were to have no intercommunication, things would not grow and flourish as they do. The marriage of a younger sister is the end (of her maidenhood) and the beginning (of her motherhood). We have (in the hexagram the desire of) pleasure and, on the ground of that, movement following. The marrying away is of a younger sister. 'Any action will be evil:' - the places (of the lines) are not those appropriate to them. 'It will be in no wise advantageous:' - the weak (third and fifth lines) are mounted on strong lines.

- This passage seems extremely different from the Gui Cang passage on Chang'e and the stealing of the elixir of immortality and fleeing to the moon. How on Earth did one passage evolve into the other? Both are explanations evolving from the pairing of two trigrams, in the case of Returning Bride: Zhen and Dui, or the thunder and lake trigrams. The pairing of these two trigrams results in the hexagram of Returning Bride.

- Because I am not a scholar of the Yi Jing, just find it extremely fascinating, I will here quote the findings of one and translate them for you!

Explanation of the Gui Cang text using Zhou Yi symbolism

- The following is quoted from a prominent scholar of ancient Chinese divination manuals at Tzu Chi University in Taiwan, and the original text can be seen here.

- Professor Zhang analyzes how the Gui Cang relates to the Zhou Yi, and how we can use what we know about the Zhou Yi to analyze the Gui Cang.

兌為歸、震為女（《周易·隨》《周易·震·上六》），故曰「歸妹」。歸妹：意思是把媳婦娶回家。兌與震為夫婦（《周易·隨》），兌男娶震女，故曰「歸妹」。

Dui (兌 the Lake trigram) is the same as "Returning," and Zhen (震, the Thunder trigram) is the same as "Bride," as according to the Zhou Yi commentary, and thus this hexagram is titled "Returning Bride." The meaning of "Returning Bride" is marrying a woman and taking her back to one's house. In the Zhou Yi, "Dui" and "Zhen" are a married couple, the male Dui marrying the female Zhen, and thus it corresponds with "Returning Bride. "

-This paragraph ties the meaning in Zhou Yi of the trigrams Dui and Zhen to the Gui Cang's Returning Bride. The trigrams and hexagrams used in both texts are the same, so this has some foundation, although the correspondence needs to be proved.

歸妹卦三至五爻為坎，坎為常（《周易·坤·六五》），故曰「恆」。我，當讀作「娥」。震為女，故曰娥。坎為盜寇（《周易·蒙·上九》），故曰「竊」。坎為常、震主生，常生，故曰「毋死」。歸妹卦二至四爻為離，離為藥（《周易·無妄·九五》），故曰「毋死之[藥]」。震為足（《周易·剝·初六》）、兌為月（秦簡《歸藏·大過》、秦簡《歸藏·兌》），故曰「奔月」。

The 3－5 yao in Returning Bride make the trigram Kan (坎, the Water trigram) which means "chang" or eternal, thus it reads "heng" (which also means eternal). The character "wo" was pronounced "e" at the time, and thus can be read as the "e" in Chang'e. Zhen is female, thus “Zhen" refers to Chang'e. Kan can also mean to steal, and thus it is here read as "qie" or to steal. As previously stated, "kan" also means eternal, or to be immortal, and Zhen, a subjective existence, thus the next portion is "immortality." The 2-4 yao in Returning Bride make the  trigram Li, which means "medicine," thus it reads an elixir of immortality. Zhen can mean "foot," and Dui can mean "moon," thus this trigram reads "fleeing to the moon."

- (The reason why the "chang" in Chang'e began as "heng" is another story. Whenever an Emperor was named a certain character, that character became unusable, taboo. Thus Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty's name was Heng, and this character became taboo during his life. In all works written after this time, the "heng" eternal character was changed to "chang," with a similar meaning. Texts unearthed today from before the Han Dynasty thus often read "heng" where modern versions read "chang". The "heng" character slowly came back into usage, but in old texts that were rewritten during this time, the "chang" was never changed back to "heng.")

- Each of these descriptions corresponds to the ancient divination system passed from the Shang dynasty to the Zhou dynasty, with a character corresponding to a trigram, which has a set of distinct meanings. These meanings are woven together to create divinations with vague and all-applicable meanings.

- Explaining how the symbols in Gui Cang evolved into those of the Zhou Yi's greatest implication is that these symbols were originally not meant to tell a story, but rather were a set of symbols with meanings for divining the future, and did not apply to a specific person or thing at all.

- Thus if one returns to look at the Gui Mei of the Zhou Yi, one can see some similarities to the deeper divination meaning of the passage. There is reference to the eternal, the immortal, the undying, similar to talk of growth and flourishing in the Zhou Yi. There is also the relation of Heaven and Earth, similar to talk of the moon, which was often looked upon as a bridge between the two places in Chinese mythology. While the Gui Cang text does not specifically mention that the divination is unauspicious, it seems the talk of "stealing" and fleeing" gives the passage a negative tone.

- In addition, Xi Wang Mu's later addition can also be explained by the meaning of Zhen and Dui in this divination.

兌為西（《周易·小畜》）、震為帝王、離為牝（《周易·離》）、離為大腹（《說卦》），故曰「西王母」。

Dui corresponds to the West, while Zhen can mean a king or emperor, Li can mean female, or stomach. Thus came about the "Western King Mother," or Xi Wang Mu (who was the keeper of the elixir of immortality in mythology).

- Later divination manuals added another character, Feng Yi, into this phrase. It was Feng Yi to whom Xi Wang Mu gave the elixir of immortality. Chang'e stole it from Feng Yi and escaped to the moon.

有馮羿者，得不死之藥於西王母，娘[2]娥竊之以奔月。將往，枚筮於有黃，有黃佔之曰：「吉。翩翩歸妹，獨將西行，逢天晦芒，無恐無驚，後且大昌。」姮娥遂托身於月。（李淳風《乙巳占》） *Tang divination manual.

There was one called Feng Yi, he received the elixir of immortality from Xi Wang Mu, Niang'e stole it and fled to the moon. In the past, there was a shaman who knew about the diagram "huang" (yellow), and the diagram's divination was: "Auspicious, graceful 'returning bride,' she walks alone in the west, she comes across a darkened sky, but she is unafraid, for later she will come across a great light." Thus Chang'e ran away to the moon.

「嫦娥奔月」這一神話是由筮人根據歸妹卦的卦象、卦義而創造的。在秦簡《歸藏》中，恆娥奔月尚未與馮羿聯繫在一起。

Chang'e's myth springs from divination manuals and the shamans' later interpretation of them. In the Gui Cang, Chang'e and Hou Yi had not yet been tied together.

- Although the Gui Cang's passage is simply a string of divination symbols and meanings, later shamans read it to be a recorded legend or story, and created the figure of Chang'e. Thus later versions of this text grow closer and closer to the legend as we know it today.

*Again, the Wen Xuan is an anthology of Qin and Han literature compiled by Xiao Tong during the Liang Dynasty, 520 AD.

The Gui Cang was a Shang Dynasty divination manual (much like the Zhou Yi was for the Zhou Dynasty), lost between the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Some fragments can be seen today in other works, and a Qin dynasty copy was unearthed in 1993.

Another Possible Source - The Classic of Mountains and Seas or Shanhai Jing 山海經

《山海經 - Shanhai Jing》

《大荒西經》:有女子方浴月。帝俊妻常羲，生月十有二，此始浴之。

There was a woman who bathed the moon. Di Jun married Changxi, and she birthed twelve moons. It was from then on that the bathing began.

(At the time of the Shanhaijing's writing, Xi was pronounced E, and looked very similar to "Wo")

- Probably another source of the tradition of Chang'e as a moon goddess, the Shanhai Jing records a goddess named "Changxi" who gave birth to twelve moons. Thus she is also looked on as the creator of the lunar calendar (12 moons in a year). The similarities end here however. She was married to Di Jun, another god who is found mostly only in this classic, like Changxi. They both seem to be transitional gods whose traits were passed on to other gods in later works.

- It seems most likely that Changxi and Hengwo, and perhaps other elements in oral legend long since lost, were melded to form today's Chang'e, goddess of the moon.

*The Shanhaijing 《山海經》, or Classic of the Mountains and Seas, is a many genred classic which continually changed in form from about 400 BC until about 100 BC, when it reached the form which can be seen today. Its author(s) are unknown.

Conclusion

From the Shang Dynasty to the early Han Dynasty, Chang'e's story was much in flux, gathering elements from various sources until it became basically fixed in the Han Dynasty. It is after the Han Dynasty that Chang'e begins to appear as a symbol or reference in popular literature. But it seems that her early beginnings as a symbol in a dusty divination text, lost several times throughout history, remains a little known fact today, especially in English literature. For future reference on this topic, please see the blog of Professor Zhang of Tzu Chi University in Taiwan, for it was upon seeing his class notes based upon his research of the Gui Cang that I discovered this little known fact and was able to compare all of these sources and verify the possibility of this earliest known Chang'e.

As always, thanks for your comments and suggestions. ~:)

Literature in Translation -- Chang'e in Tang Dynasty Poetry

＊Chang'e is the Chinese 嫦娥, an ancient moon goddess, and one of the most popular stories still present in Chinese culture today

From the "Complete Tang Poems - 全唐詩" 

(in all, 46 poems translated, all containing the name Chang'e)

Authors: *Various Tang authors, taken from the years 618-906 AD.

《宮中行樂詞八首》 李白
Lyrics for Meandering through the Hall

笑出花間語，嬌來竹下歌。莫教明月去，留著醉嫦娥。

Laughing words among the flowers

Pretty girls come to sing beneath the bamboo

No one tell the next moon to pass

And keep behind drunken Chang'e

《經月岩山》韓翃
Passing the Moon and the Rocky Mountains, Han Hong

驅車過閩越，路出饒陽西。

仙山翠如畫，簇簇生虹蜺。

群峰若侍從，眾阜如嬰提。

岩巒互吞吐，嶺岫相追攜。

中有月輪滿，皎潔如圓珪。

玉皇恣遊覽，到此神應迷。

嫦娥曳霞帔，引我同攀躋。

騰騰上天半，玉鏡懸飛梯。

瑤池何悄悄，鸞鶴煙中棲。

回頭望塵事，露下寒淒淒。

The cart passed through Min and Yue

And the road through Yang Xi.

Mt. Immortal was blue-green as if a painting

And was crowded with rainbows.

Each of the lower mountains as though in obeisance,

And the small mounds like infants being carried along.

The rocks and crests spilling forth

And the mountain tops racing after each other.

Amid it all was a full wheel of a moon

White and pure like a white jade circlet.

The Jade Emperor vacations here,

even gods who come here will be allured.

Chang'e sheds her dawn robe,

Calling me to climb up to her.

Roiling halfway up to heaven,

up a jade mirror hanging stair.

The Jade Pool is so quiet,

and the phoenixes and cranes perch among its mist.

Looking back upon simple earthly matters

They are like cold winter dew.

《甘州歌》符載
Gan Zhou Song, Fu Zai

月裏嫦娥不畫眉，只將雲霧作羅衣。

不知夢逐青鸞去，猶把花枝蓋面歸。

Chang'e does not crinkle her brown on the moon

She only has the clouds and mist for clothing.

I'm not sure if I flew away with the cranes in a dream

It seems if I cover my face with flowers and branches then I will return.

《樂府雜詠六首：月成弦》陸龜蒙
Six Yue Fu Mixed Poems: Moon Becomes a String, Lu Guimeng

孤光照還沒，轉益傷離別。妾若是嫦娥，長圓不教缺。

The lone light has not yet been extinguished

I turn and parting sorrow grows

If Chang'e could be my concubine

I would tell the moon to never wane

《戲李文遠》孫棨
To Li Wenyuan, Sun Qi

引君來訪洞中仙，新月如眉拂戶前。

領取嫦娥攀取桂，便從陵谷一時遷。

Leading me up to visit the immortal of the caves

The new moon like eyebrows brushing the front of the door

To get to Chang'e, I climb up the cassia tree

Suddenly transported from this valley

《曉歌》莊南傑
Song of the Dawn, Zhuang Nanjie

鶤雞哭樹星河轉，海上金烏翅如電。嫦娥斂發綰雲頭，

玉女舒霞織天面。九土廚煙滿城邑，商洛隴頭車馬急。

魏宮鐘動繡窗明，夢娥驚對殘燈立。

The rocs cry in the trees, and the starry river turns

On the sea, the golden birds' wings are like lightning

Chang'e's face twines the clouds together

The Jade girl calms the rosy clouds and weaves the face of the heavens together

The kitchen smoke from all nine lands fills the cities and fields

Among the houses of Shang and Luo the carts and horses hurry along

In the Wei Palace, the clocks tick and the embroidered windows are lit

I dream that Chang'e is suddenly standing across from the spent candle

《謁金門》韋莊
Visiting the Golden Gate, Wei Zhuang

春雨足，染就一溪新綠。柳外飛來雙羽玉，弄晴相對浴¤

樓外翠簾高軸，倚遍闌幹幾曲。雲淡水平煙樹簇，

寸心千里目。

春漏促，金燼暗挑殘燭。一夜簾前風撼竹，夢魂相斷續¤

有個嬌饒如玉，夜夜繡屏孤宿。閑抱琵琶尋舊曲，

遠山眉黛綠。

空相憶，無計得傳消息。天上嫦娥人不識，寄書何處覓¤

新睡覺來無力，不忍把君書跡。滿院落花春寂寂，

斷腸芳草碧。

The spring rain is enough, to dye the whole stream a new green

Outside the willows flies a pair of feathered jade birds

In the clear weather bathing each other

Outside the tower, the blue green curtain is a high wheel

Leaning upon the curved fence

The clouds are bland, the water still, and the fog and trees crowd together

With a little bit of heart, one can see a thousand miles

Spring leaks by quickly

The golden burner seeks spent candles in the dark

A night before the curtain, the wind shakes the bamboo

My dream spirit is also broken off

There is a beauty like jade

Who embroiders screens every night, sleeping alone

When idle, hugging a pipa and searching for old songs

The far off mountains, blue green eyebrows

Remembering in the emptiness

Without any thought to receiving news

Chang'e up in the heavens, no man knows her

How could one send a letter to her?

A new sleep, but then I wake up again

I can't help but take up a book

The yard is full of fallen flowers, spring is so still

Heart broken among the fragrant jade grasses

《巫山一段雲》毛文錫
Shaman Mountain, a Trail of Cloud, Mao Wenxi

雨霽巫山上，雲輕映碧天。遠風吹散又相連，十二晚峰前¤

暗濕啼猿樹，高籠過客船。朝朝暮暮楚江邊，幾度降神仙。

貌掩巫山色，才過濯錦波。阿誰提筆上銀河，月裏寫嫦娥¤

薄薄施鉛粉，盈盈掛綺羅。菖蒲花役夢魂多，年代屬元和。

The rain clears upon Shaman Mountain

The clouds are light, reflecting upon the blue jade sky

The far off wind blows them away, and then they come together again

Before the twelve evening peaks

Dark and wet, the apes call from the trees

Tall cages pass the boats

Every dawn and dusk beside the Chu River

How many times do the gods and immortals descend?

The color of Shaman Mountain is concealed

Crossing the cleansing silk waves

Who lifts their pen upon the Milky Way

Writing about Chang'e in the night

Creating thin lines of ink

Hanging out pretty garments

Sweet sedge flowers attract many wandering dream spirits

It is the year of Yuan He.

《把酒問月》李白
Drinking Wine Questioning the Moon, Li Bai

青天有月來幾時，我今停杯一問之。

人攀明月不可得，月行卻與人相隨。

皎如飛鏡臨丹闕，綠煙滅盡清輝發。

但見宵從海上來，甯知曉向雲間沒。

白兔搗藥秋複春，嫦娥孤棲與誰鄰。

今人不見古時月，今月曾經照古人。

古人今人若流水，共看明月皆如此。

唯願當歌對酒時，月光長照金樽裏。

When does the moon appear in the clear sky?

Today I stopped drinking to ask this question.

Men try to climb up to the moon, but they all fail.

The moon moves and yet follows men around.

White like a flying mirror above the red tower

When the green mist disperses its clear rays pour forth.

But I see the evening draw near over the ocean.

Peacefully realizing that the dawn will drown into the clouds.

The white rabbit grinding the elixir to make autumn turn to spring

Chang'e perches alone, who is her neighbor?

Men today cannot see the moon of yesterday

But the moon of today shone on the men of yesterday.

The men of today and yesterday are like running water

All those who watch the bright moon are like this.

Only for those who sing into their wine cups

The moon's rays pour into their golden goblets.

《詠月》羅隱
Ode to the Moon, Luo Yin

湖上風高動白蘋，暫延清景此逡巡。來年違別成何事，

半夜相看似故人。蟾向靜中矜爪距，兔隈明處弄精神。

嫦娥老大應惆悵，倚泣蒼蒼桂一輪。

The wind is strong over the lake, moving the white apples in the trees

I stop for a while at this clear scene, in the middle of my pacing.

Last year I left, now I have come to see how this place has changed

Seeing it at midnight, it seems like an old friend.

The toads leap to the center of the stillness, making distance between their feet

The rabbit jumps to a bright inlet, playing with the ghosts and gods.

Old Chang'e should be broken hearted

Leaning against the old green cassia sphere and crying.

《牡丹》唐彥謙
Peony, Tang Yanxian

真宰多情巧思新，固將能事送殘春。為雲為雨徒虛語，

傾國傾城不在人。開日綺霞應失色，落時青帝合傷神。

嫦娥婺女曾相送，留下鴉黃作蕊塵。

That which created all things was emotional and clever

Thus he was able to create the peony blossom to send away the spring chill

Those who say that the mountain goddess of Shaman Mountain is present in the clouds and rain are simply speaking nonsense

Those great poets of times past will not necessarily rise again

The peony upon opening its blossom causes the dawn to lose some color

And when it withers the Eastern God is heartbroken

Chang'e and the Weaver Girl both were parted from their lovers

Leaving behind the yellow makeup from their faces to paint the peony's bud.

**http://big5.dushu.com/showbook/101709/1057341.html

《浣溪沙》閻選
Wan Stream Sand, Yan Xuan

寂寞流蘇冷繡茵，倚屏山枕惹香塵，小庭花露泣濃春¤

劉阮信非仙洞客，嫦娥終是月中人，此生無路訪東鄰。

Lonely moss on the tent, cold embroidered pillows

Leaning against the mountain shaped pillow, among fragrant smoke

In this little courtyard, the flower dew cries of the thick springtime

Liu and Ruan were surely not guests of this Immortal Cave

Chang'e in the end is a girl on the moon

In this life, there is no path to visit the Eastern Villages

**劉阮：南朝宋劉義慶小說《幽明錄》中人物劉晨、阮肇二人的合稱。二人俱東漢剡縣人，永平年間同入天台山采藥，遇二女子，留居半年辭歸。及還鄉，子孫已曆七世。後又離鄉，不知所終。

**東鄰：借代爲美女之稱

http://tc.wangchao.net.cn/baike/detail_2044830.html

無題詩，李商隱
Untitled, Li Shangyin

雲母屏風燭影深，長河漸落曉星沉。嫦娥應悔偷靈藥，碧海青天夜夜心。

Black and white screen, dark shadows cast by the candle

The long Milky Way slowly falls, and Venus sinks into dawn

Chang'e probably regrets stealing the magic elixir

Blue jade ocean, clear skies, her lonely heart the same every night

http://lsw1230795.mysinablog.com/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=2038598

《名姝詠》 梁鍠
Ode to Famous Zhu, Liang Huang

阿嬌年未多，弱體性能和。怕重愁拈鏡，憐輕喜曳羅。

臨津雙洛浦，對月兩嫦娥。獨有荊王殿，時時暮雨過。

A Jiao was still young

Her weak body and sensuality still intact.

She was afraid of that intense sadness that came when she looked in the mirror

So she pitifully played lightly with her skirts.

Close to the ford, the twin Luo stream

She faced the double Chang'e

Alone at the Xing Wang Pavilian

At dusk there was the occasional rain that passed.

《別佳人》 崔膺
Another Beauty, Cui Ying

壟上流泉壟下分，斷腸嗚咽不堪聞。

嫦娥一入月中去，巫峽千秋空白雲。

The spring surges over the ridge and then splits,

such heartbroken moaning is difficult to listen to.

As soon as Chang'e entered the moon,

A thousand autumns at Shaman Gorge became empty white clouds.

《七夕二首》 劉禹錫
Two Poems for Qi Xi, Liu Yuxi

河鼓靈旗動，嫦娥破鏡斜。滿空天是幕，徐轉鬥為車。

機罷猶安石，橋成不礙槎。誰知觀津女，竟夕望雲涯。

The river beat and ghostly flags moved

Chang'e broke the slanted mirror.

The whole night sky is a curtain

Slowly turning around as if pulled by a cart.

Then the mechanism stops like a rock coming to rest.

The bridge is made and no longer is there any hindrance.

Who knows to look to the river girl

At evening look to the end of the clouds.

《遇湖州妓宋態宜二首》李涉
Chance Meeting with Song Taiyi Dancing Girl of Hu Zhou, Two Poems, Li She

陵陽夜會使君筵，解語花枝出眼前。

一從明月西沉海，不見嫦娥二十年。

This hilly night is cause for a banquet

Unravelling flowery phrases before my eyes

Since the moon sank into the ocean

I didn't see Chang'e for twenty years.

《贈施仙姑》施肩吾
For Shi Xiangu, Shi Jianwu

縹緲吾家一女仙，冰容雖小不知年。

有時頻夜看明月，心在嫦娥幾案邊。

Flowing silk, my house has a fairy lady

Icy in manner, although young in years

Sometimes she watches the moon for many nights

Her heart is with Chang'e far away

《詠鏡》姚合
Ode to the Mirror, Yao He

鑄為明鏡絕塵埃，翡翠窗前掛玉台。繡帶共尋龍口出，

菱花爭向匣中開。孤光常見鸞蹤在，分處還因鵲影回。

好是照身宜謝女，嫦娥飛向玉宮來。

Cast into a bright mirror to cut off the dust

Before the turquoise window hangs a jade terrace.

This embroidered belt searches for the dragon's mouth

The water crest flower competes to bloom toward the center of the belt.

In the lonely light I often see traces of rocs

Splitting up to return home because the shadows of magpies have appeared

It is best when the light reflects from my body, easy to thank the lady,

Chang'e flies toward the Jade Palace.

《江上蚊子》常楚老
Mosquitoes on the River, Chang Chulao

飄搖挾翅亞紅腹，江邊夜起如雷哭。請問貪婪一點心。

臭腐填腹幾多足。越女如花住江曲，嫦娥夜夜凝雙睩。

怕君撩亂錦窗中，十軸輕綃圍夜玉。

Fluttering and shaking, furling its wings, ugly red belly

At the riverside at night it cries like lightning

I ask if it has a bit of a greedy heart

Filling its belly with rot, are you content yet?

The flowery Yue girl lives at the bend in the river.

And Chang'e stares down fixedly every night.

I fear to raise the cotton curtains

Ten rings of light silk wrapped around evening jade.

《唁人喪侍兒》裴夷直
Consolation on the Passing of a Serving Girl, Pei Yizhi

夜情河耿耿，春恨草綿綿。唯有嫦娥月，從今照墓田。

The feeling of the night, the fiery river water

Dreading spring, the wide spreading grass

Only Chang'e's moon

Will light the graveyard tonight.

《中秋夜戲酬顧道流》孫蜀
Mid Autumn Festival Evening Play for Gu Daoliu, Sun Chu

不那此身偏愛月，等閒看月即更深。

仙翁每被嫦娥使，一度逢圓一度吟。

Wasn't it me who was partial to the moon?

And yet I wait and look at the moon again, and am even more partial.

Each time this immortal sage is served by Chang'e

Upon seeing a full moon, he will always recite poetry.

《天竺寺八月十五日夜桂子》皮日休
Cassia Tree of Tian Lan Temple on August 15, Pi Rixiu

玉顆珊珊下月輪，殿前拾得露華新。

至今不會天中事，應是嫦娥擲與人。

A piece of coral red jade, the sinking moon

In front of the hall collecting the early dew

Nothing unexpected ever happens in the heavens

This must be a gift from Chang'e

《自嶺下泛鷁到清遠峽作》胡曾
From under the Cliffs, Passing Fishhawks, to Qingyuan Gorge, Hu Ceng

乘船浮鷁下韶水，絕境方知在嶺南。薜荔雨餘山自黛，

蒹葭煙盡島如藍。旦游蕭帝新松寺，夜宿嫦娥桂影潭。

不為篋中書未獻，便來茲地結茅庵。

I ride on a boat, and the fishhawks dive into the Shao River

The horizon I know is southern Ling

The lychee are plentiful on the mountain, turning black

Among the reeds the fog passes and the island turns blue

At dawn I travel past Emperor Xiao's new Pine Temple

At night I rest at in the shade of Chang'e's Cassia Lake

I have not yet written the documents in my case

I have come here to tie reed knots

《中秋夜玩月》唐彥謙
Mid Autumn Evening Playing with the Moon, Tang Yanxian

一夜高樓萬景奇，碧天無際水無涯。只留皎月當層漢，

並送浮雲出四維。霧靜不容玄豹隱，冰生惟恐夏蟲疑。

坐來離思憂將曉，爭得嫦娥仔細知。

One night atop the tower holds ten thousand odd sights

The boundless jade blue sky and the endless water

Only leaving behind the white moon among the Milky Way

And sending the floating clouds out into the galaxy

The fog is still, not allowing the black panther a place to hide

The icy night is frightening, holding fear of insects

I sit to keep far from my thoughts, nearing dawn

And watch for all the details of Chang'e.

《春晚書懷》吳融
Writing of Late Spring Remembrances, Wu Rong

落盡紅芳春意闌，綠蕪空鎖辟疆園。嫦娥斷影霜輪冷，

帝子無蹤淚竹繁。未達東鄰還絕想，不勞南浦更銷魂。

晚來雖共殘鶯約，爭奈風淒又雨昏。

The red flower petals have all fallen upon the spring railing

The green mass of weeds seal off the far garden

Chang'e's shadow is cut off, the frosty wheel cold

Without a trace of the prince, tears run down the bamboo stalks

I hadn't even reached the eastern township when I ceased to hope

I hadn't made my way to the southern shore when my soul was overwhelmed with sorrow

It was late when I arrived, although I was to meet with the last green finches

Fighting against the frigid winds and the evening rain

《啟帳》黃滔
Setting up the Tent, Huang Tao

得人憎定繡芙蓉，愛鎖嫦娥出月蹤。

侍女莫嫌抬素手，撥開珠翠待相逢。

The wise man is not fond of embroidered hibiscus

But loves to watch the trail of Chang'e in the moon

The serving girl does not disdain raising her white hand

To push aside the pearl curtain and wait for her reunion

《贈齊己》徐仲雅
For Qi Ji, Xu Zhongya (abridged)

真宰夜來調暖律，聲聲吹出嫩青春。調何雅，

澗底孤松秋雨灑。嫦娥月裏學步虛，桂風吹落玉山下。

The creator god comes in the night to play a warm tune

With each sound blowing of soft youth

What song is this?

At the bottom of the spring there is a lonely pine, and autumn rain sprinkles down

Chang'e learns to dance upon the moon

And wind blows cassia flowers down upon the Jade Mountain

《宮詞》花蕊夫人
Palace Lyrics, Madame Flower Bud  (abridged)

東宮花燭彩樓新，天上仙橋上鎖春。

偏出六宮歌舞奏，嫦娥初到月虛輪。

紗幔薄垂金麥穗，簾鉤纖掛玉蔥條。

樓西別起長春殿，香碧紅泥透蜀椒。

Flowers and candles upon the Eastern Palace, the building's rainbow paint new

On the heavenly bridge, the immortals locked in spring

Suddenly one can hear six palace dancing songs

As when Chang'e first came to the moon's empty wheel

The silken curtain thinly hangs, a golden wheat tassel

From the curtain's hook hangs woven jade onion trails

On the palace's west side is the hall of eternal spring

Fragrant blue jade and red mud mixed with Shu peppers

《賦淩雲寺二首》薛濤
For Passing Clouds Temple, Two Poems, Xue Tao

聞說淩雲寺裏苔，風高日近絕纖埃。

橫雲點染芙蓉壁，似待詩人寶月來。

聞說淩雲寺裏花，飛空繞磴逐江斜。

有時鎖得嫦娥鏡，鏤出瑤台五色霞。

I heard that there was moss in the Passing Clouds Temple

The wind was strong, the sun almost set upon the woven dust cut off in the air

Sideways clouds dotted the hibiscus wall

Like a poet waiting for the jeweled moon to arrive

I heard that there were flowers in the Passing Clouds Temple

Flying through emptiness, circling the steps on the sky, following the slanted river

Sometimes I am locked on to Chang'e's mirror

Carving out a jade terrace from the five colors of the rosy clouds of dawn

《試新服裁制初成三首》薛濤
Getting New Clothes Fitted, Three Poems, Xue Tao

紫陽宮裏賜紅綃，仙霧朦朧隔海遙。

霜兔毳寒冰繭淨，嫦娥笑指織星橋。

九氣分為九色霞，五靈仙馭五雲車。

春風因過東君舍，偷樣人間染百花。

長裾本是上清儀，曾逐群仙把玉芝。

每到宮中歌舞會，折腰齊唱步虛詞。

In the Purple Sun Palace red silk is offered

Immortal fog is hazy, cutting off the faraway sea

The frosty rabbit's fine winter fur, the clean icy chrysalises

Chang'e smiling, pointing out the Weaver Girl's bridge

The nine qi have split into the nine colors of the rosy clouds of dawn

The five spirit immortals riding upon a five cloud cart

The spring wind, because it has passed the residence of the Eastern God

Has stolen the appearance of hundreds of flowers from the human realm

This long skirt was originally worn by Qing Yi

He once chased the immortals picking jade sesame

Each time I come to the palace dances

I bend my waist and join in to sing, dancing to empty lyrics

《遊春台詩》春台仙
Traveling Past the Spring Terrace, Immortal of the Spring Terrace

玉幢亙碧虛，此乃真人居。裴回仍未進，邪省猶難除。

日落煙水黯，驪珠色豈昏。寒光射萬里，霜縞遍千門。

玉魄東方開，嫦娥逐影來。洗心兼滌目，怳若遊春台。

清波滔碧天，烏藏黯黮連。二儀不辨處，忽吐清光圓。

烏沈海西岸，蟾吐天東頭。

鳳凰三十六，碧天高太清。元君夫人蹋雲語，

冷風颯颯吹鵝笙。

The jade curtain extends across the blue jade emptiness

This is where the immortals live

Pacing back and forth, I still have not entered

Evil thoughts are hard to completely get rid of

The sun sets and the mist and water darken

The color of black pearl, evening

Frozen light fills the lands

And frosty silk on all of the doors

The jade ghost appears in the east

Chang'e comes chasing shadows

Washing my heart and eyes

As though traveling over the Spring Terrace

Clear waves and ripples in the blue jade sky

The birds hide in dark black chains

Where two meanings are unravelable

Suddenly the clear bright round belches forth

The deep black sea of the western shore

The toad belches from the eastern sky

Thirty six phoenixes

In the blue jade sky, supremely clear

The wife of Yuan God stumbles, uttering cloud words

The cold wind whistles through the swan pipes

《附：檢悼亡姬詩》韋檢
I Mourn the Concubine, Wei Jian

寶劍化龍歸碧落，嫦娥隨月下黃泉。

一杯酒向青春晚，寂寞書窗恨獨眠。

The jeweled sword transforms into a dragon and returns into the jade blue, falling

Chang'e follows the moon to fall into the Yellow Spring

A cup of wine, toward the end of youth

I hate sleeping alone, lonely by this library window

《東城桂三首》白居易
Western Palace Cassia, Three Poems, Bai Juyi

遙知天上桂花孤，試問嫦娥更要無。

月宮幸有閒田地，何不中央種兩株。

From far away I know that upon the heavens hangs a sole cassia flower,

I tried to ask Chang'e but she said there were none.

The palace on the moon luckily has a lazy field

Why not grow two pearls in the middle of it?

《春暮思平泉雜詠二十首：月桂》李德裕
Spring Evening Thinking of the Still Stream, Twenty Mixed Odes: Moon Cassia, Li Deyu

何年霜夜月，桂子落寒山。

翠幹生岩下，金英在世間。

幽崖空自老，清漢未知還。

惟有涼秋夜，嫦娥來暫攀。

On some frosty night, the moon

Shed its cassia tree upon the winter mountain.

The blue roots grew beneath the rocks

And its golden heroism grew upon the earth.

On this ghostly, empty cliff  it grew old

It did not know yet how to return to the Milky Way.

It was only on some cool autumn night

Chang'e came to climb it.

《幽居有白菊一叢因而成詠呈知己》陸龜蒙
White Chrysanthemums in the Ghostly Dwelling, An Ode to a Flower, For my Friend, Lu Guimeng

還是延年一種材，即將瑤朵冒霜開。不如紅豔臨歌扇，

欲伴黃英入酒杯。陶令接??堪岸著，梁王高屋好欹來。

月中若有閒田地，為勸嫦娥作意裁。

For many years there has been a kind of chrysanthemum

Just about to open its jade blossom covered in frost

I didn't know that such crimson beauty grew near the singing hall and thus created this fan to commemorate it

I wanted to pair it with a dandelion placed in my wine cup

The pottery together with ... hard to reach the shore

The tall hats from the time of Emperor Liang offer good support

If there is any empty land on the moon

I hope Chang'e will grow such flowers on it

《句》羅隱
A Sentence, Luo Yin (abridged)

細看月輪真有意，已知青桂近嫦娥。

Looking closely at the moon wheel is very interesting

I already know that the green cassia is near to Chang'e

《題畫柏》吳融
Titled Painted Cypress, Wu Rong (abridged)

不得月中桂，轉思陵上柏。閑取畫圖看，煩紆果冰釋。

桂生在青冥，萬古煙霧隔。下蔭玄兔窟，上映嫦娥魄。

I can't reach the cassia in the moon

So I think instead of the cypress on the mound

Bored, I take up a picture and peer at it

Anxious, I play with fruit and watch ice melt

The cassia springs from the blue abyss

A space amid ancient mist and fog

In the shade, a black rabbit hole

In the light, Chang'e's spirit

《紙帳》徐夤
Paper Screen, Xu Yin

幾笑文園四壁空，避寒深入剡藤中。誤懸謝守澄江練，

自宿嫦娥白兔宮。幾疊玉山開洞壑，半岩春霧結房櫳。

針羅截錦饒君侈，爭及蒙茸暖避風。

After how many laughs, the literature garden is now four empty walls

To escape the cold, sinking into sharp ivy

I thought I hung by a thread over the clear river

And slept in Chang'e's white rabbit palace

How many layers of the Jade Mountain's caves and ravines

Half rocks and spring fog winding into a cage

《月》袁郊
Moon, Yuan Jiao

嫦娥竊藥出人間，藏在蟾宮不放還。

後羿遍尋無覓處，誰知天上卻容奸。

Chang'e stole the elixir of immortality and left the human world

Hiding in the toad palace, not to return

Not letting Yi find her anywhere

Who knew the heavens would hold such trickery?

《捲簾》黃滔
Rolled up Curtain, Huang Tao

綠鬟侍女手纖纖，新捧嫦娥出素蟾。

衛玠官高難久立，莫辭雙卷水精簾。

The serving girl with a green bun, her hands so slender

Chang'e holds up her hands for a white toad

It is hard to keep a high position for a long time

Don't forget the double scroll of water hanging down in curtains

《謝劉相寄天柱茶》薛能
Thanking Liu Xiang for the Tianzhu Tea, Xue Neng

兩串春團敵夜光，名題天柱印維揚。偷嫌曼倩桃無味，

搗覺嫦娥藥不香。惜恐被分緣利市，盡應難覓為供堂。

粗官寄與真拋卻，賴有詩情合得嘗。

Two lengths of spring tea fight the moonlight

Famous Tianzhu tea marked as from Yang Zhou

I privately think it would Xi Wang Mu's immortal peaches seem tasteless

And Chang'e's elixir of immortality without aroma.

Fearing to anger these goddesses

I shall immediately go offer expensive gifts to their shrines.

Such a low official as I does not deserve such good tea

But as a poet I shall eagerly accept a taste.

《感興四首》李群玉
Feeling Excited, Four Poems, Li Qunyu

昔竊不死藥，奔空有嫦娥。盈盈天上豔，孤潔棲金波。

織女了無語，長宵隔銀河。軋軋揮素手，幾時停玉梭。

In ancient times, she stole the immortal elixir,

And fled into space, this is Chang'e.

Filling the heavens with beauty

Perching alone and pure upon the golden wave.

The Weaver Girl has no words

Cut off across the endless Milky Way

Rolling along, waving a white hand

How long until she stops weaving at her jade loom?

《小遊仙詩九十八首》曹唐
98 Little Traveling Immortal Poems, Cao Tang

忘卻教人鎖後宮，還丹失盡玉壺空。

嫦娥若不偷靈藥，爭得長生在月中。

I forgot to tell someone to lock the back door

Upon returning, the cinnabar was gone and the jade pots empty

As if Chang'e hadn't stolen the ghostly elixir

Come to compete for immortality in the moon

《七言》呂岩
Seven Character Poem, Lv Yan (abridged)

閑來掉臂入天門，拂袂徐徐撮彩雲。無語下窺黃穀子，

破顏平揖紫霞君。擬登瑤殿參金母，回訪瀛洲看日輪。

恰值嫦娥排宴會，瑤漿新熟味氤氳。

When I am idle, I drop both arms through the gate of heaven

Slowly brushing my sleeves against the rainbow clouds

Wordless, I look down upon the yellow grain

Broken faced, I bow low to the Purple Cloud god

Planning to ascend the Jade Hall and visit the Golden Mother

I descend to Ying Zhou to see the wheel of the sun

Just then Chang'e has planned a banquet

Of Jade Elixir and freshly prepared Immortal Mist

《王內人琵琶引》李群玉
The Pipa Song of the Emperor's Wife

檀槽一曲黃鐘羽，細撥紫雲金鳳語。萬里胡天海寒秋，

分明彈出風沙愁。三千宮嬪推第一，斂黛傾鬟豔蘭室。

嬴女停吹降浦簫，嫦娥淨掩空波瑟。翠幕橫雲蠟焰光，

銀龍吐酒菊花香，皓魄翻⋯⋯(下缺）

Sandalwood groove, the song "Yellow Bell Wing"

Lightly picking out a tune of purple clouds and golden phoenixes

The endless sky, cold autumn sea

Plucking out the sadness of sand in the wind

Of the three thousand court ladies, she is said to be the best

Drawn black eyebrows, angled bun, the beauty of the Orchid Room

The girl Ying ceases to blow through her Pu panpipes

Chang'e covers the heavens with waves of sound from her pipa

A blue-green curtain of clouds, blazing candlelight

The silver dragon belches chrysanthemum wine

(The rest of this poem has been lost)

Cangjie／倉頡 － Chinese God of Writing, Literature, Chinese Characters

Cangjie 倉頡／蒼頡 Simplified: 仓颉

• God of writing, Chinese characters, Literacy

Blurb on Cangjie

• Cangjie was originally known only as a cultural hero, one of the Yellow Emperor's ministers, who invented writing 
• When his legend was incorporated into Daoist mythology centuries later, his figure began to take on more mythical attributes: four eyes, a dragon face, being able to write upon birth. 
• After his creation of writing, it was said that the heavens rained grain, and ghosts cried out during the night. 
• Some sources said that he lived the life of a hermit, creating his system of writing out in the wilderness, and that he died alone there. 
• As for his invention of writing, there are a few main theories as to how it came about: 1) he was born being able to write, 2) he viewed the natural patterns around him and modeled the characters on them, 3) he invented the characters after thinking deeply about everything around him, 4) he took natural patterns, the divination trigrams, the five elements, and combined them all into a writing system
• These theories reflect several philosophical schools of thought on the nature of writing, a main theme in ancient Chinese philosophy
• In summary, Cangjie seems to have started out as a cultural hero who created writing, and was eventually imbued with mythological traits until he became the god of writing worshipped in some areas of China today. 
• "Cangjie" more recently was used to title the Cangjie input system for inputting characters on a computer, a secondary input system today. It was created by the Taiwanese government but later adapted for Mainland China Simplified Character use. 

Blurb on Ancient Chinese Philosophy

Xunzi was a philosopher who lived about two hundred years after Confucius. Since Confucius did not directly address whether people are born inherently good or evil or neutral, his followers split into several sects after his death over this question. Mencius, another famous philosopher, argued that humans were inherently good (and his views were generally accepted by Confucians throughout the ages), while Xunzi believed that humans were inherently evil, and that we must overcome this evil through intense study of the classics. This attention to study and the written word was carried on by the Legalists, who believed that since humans were inherently evil, they must be controlled by strict laws and punishments to keep the world in order. 

Sources

Xunzi - 荀子

• In the Xunzi, Cangjie is referred to as a cultural hero who was one of many to create a writing system, but since he devoted his whole life to the process, his system was the only one to be passed down to future generations. 

《解蔽》故好書者眾矣，而倉頡獨傳者，壹也；好稼者眾矣，而后稷獨傳者，壹也⋯⋯自古及今，未嘗有兩而能精者也。

Thus, there were many who liked to write, but there was only one whose writing was passed down through the ages, Cangjie, because of the soleness of his creation. There were many who liked to farm, but only one whose farming techniques were passed down, Houji, due to the soleness of his passion...From early times until now, there has not been a person who could polish two different things to their finest.

(Translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

*Xunzi was a Confucian philosopher who lived from 313-238 BC. He wrote the Xunzi as a manual for his disciples later in life. Xunzi was a the teacher of Han Fei, and many of Han Fei's Legalist ideas were inspired by Xunzi's take on Confucianism. 

Hanfeizi －韓非子

• Han Fei spoke of Cangjie as the inventor of writing, but also attached some high knowledge of the nature of things to his method of creation, saying that Cangjie must have known that the nature of the self is to be selfish, and that the nature of something that is public is to be good for all, thus creating these mutually conflicting characters with said meaning attached. Cangjie is seen to be a wise man who created the Chinese conceptual system of thought. As a Legalist philosopher, the exact meaning of words was a very important subject, as it was the basis for the system of rules and punishments that would keep the masses in check and keep order in the kingdom. 

《五蠹》古者蒼頡之作書也，自環者謂之私，背私謂之公，公私之相背也，乃蒼頡固以知之矣。

The ancient Cangjie, when he created characters, he must have known that that which revolves around itself (the meaning of the character 私) is selfish, and that which turns its back on the self (the meaning of the character 公) is for the good of all or public, and that selfish and public are mutually conflicting ideas.

(Translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

*The Han Feizi is a Legalist philosophical book written by Han Fei (280-233 BC) at the end of the Warring States period.

Lv Shi Chun Qiu －呂氏春秋 

• In the Lv Shi Chun Qiu's description of Cangjie, he is seen to be a mere inventor of a tool (writing). This invention was merely something that he made, rather than proceeding from a natural process. Thus Cangjie was simply a man and could not even be considered a sage, or a complete man, who works through non-action (無為) and follows the natural way of things. In extension, writing is unnatural and a human creation, and thus somehow "fake" or "false" in nature. Such a notion is rather Daoist in philosophy (harkening back to the Daodejing 道德經 and Zhuangzi 莊子, which also decry writing as being fundamentally flawed and unable to fully convey meaning). 

《審分覽：君守》奚仲作車，蒼頡作書，后稷作稼，皋陶作刑，昆吾作陶，夏鯀作城，此六人者所作當矣，然而非主道者，故曰作者憂，因者平。惟彼君道，得命之情，故任天下而不彊，此之謂全人。

Xi Zhong invented the cart, Cangjie invented writing, Houji discovered farming, Gaotao created the law code, Kunwu invented pottery, Xia Gun created the wall, what these six men created still stands, and yet they do not belong to the main ruling Dao, and thus it is said that those who "make" are despondent, and those who are the "cause" are peaceful. It is only that gentlemanly Dao, the feeling of succumbing to one's fate, that thus allows one to rule everything on the earth without change, and this ruler is what is called the Complete Man.

(Translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

*The Lv Shi Chun Qiu was compiled around 239 BC by Qin Dynasty chancellor Lv Buwei, and is an enormously long encyclopedic book with essays on many varied topics.

Huainanzi － 淮南子 

• It is in the Huainanzi that the first mention of Cangjie being anything more than a normal man appears. This is perhaps due to the mixed philosophical nature of this text, which takes Confucian and Legalist philosophy, and mixes it with early Daoist philosophy and later Daoist mysticism. And thus the figure of Cangjie, who had appeared only as a mere human minister to the historical figure of the Yellow Emperor entered the supernatural world and caused a series of unnatural reactions with his invention of writing, although he still seems to be on the level of legendary hero rather than god. 
• When Cangjie created writing, the heavens rained millet and ghosts wailed in the night, both bad omens. At the same time, when Boyi made wells, the dragons and gods disappeared from the earth. 
• Since both of these acts are "doing" rather than "letting be," a quality prized by Daoism, the heavens and earth responded with bad omens and the world became more chaotic. 

《本經訓》昔者蒼頡作書，而天雨粟，鬼夜哭；伯益作井，而龍登玄雲，神棲昆侖；能愈多而德愈薄矣。

In ancient times, Cangjie created writing, and the heavens rained grain, and the ghosts wailed in the night. Boyi made wells, and the dragons climbed into the murky clouds, and the gods went up to the top of Mt. Kunlun. There was more and more "ability" (a learned habit) and less and less "virtue" (something inherent or natural).

(Translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

• Later in the Huainanzi, however, such cultural hero inventors are complimented as having godly and sagely powers. By being able to pass their works down through the ages, they have accomplished something most could not. But even men as talented as they were could only be blessed in one such area, therefore each of them only invented one thing. The notion of doing something over and over until it is refined as being sage like and worthy of pursuit is quite Legalist and slightly Confucian in nature. 

《脩務訓》昔者，蒼頡作書，容成造曆，胡曹為衣，後稷耕稼，儀狄作酒，奚仲為車，此六人者，皆有神明之道，聖智之跡，故人作一事而遺後世，非能一人而獨兼有之。

In ancient times, Cangjie invented writing, Rongcheng created the calendar, Hucao made clothing, Houji discovered farming, Yidi made wine, Xizhong invented carts. These six men all had a godly Dao, and the intelligence of a sage. Thus when a man does something well enough that it can be passed down to later ages, it is not possible for that one man to be good at two things at the same time.

(Translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

*The Huainanzi is a philosophical classic completed in 139 BC by Liu An during the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is a mixture of the Confucian, Daoist, and Legalist philosophical ideas of the time. 

Lunheng － 論衡 

• The Lunheng, on the other hand, is an atheist book which tries to rationalize the now slightly mythological historical figures passed down in the Huainanzi. The book cuts ties of Cangjie to the ghosts and raining millet, saying that they were unrelated.
• Slightly confusing in logic, the book then goes on to use his opponents logic to defeat them (hereby slightly weakening his own argument), saying that since the heavens sent down pictures and drawings as good omens to the people, and pictures are very similar to characters, then Cangjie's creation of writing is also good in nature. 
• The author Wang Chong strikingly believed that humans can better themselves through writing, a concept which would be considered to be enlightened by a modern audience. 

《感虛：傳書》言：「倉頡作書，天雨粟，鬼夜哭。」此言文章興而亂漸見，故其妖變致天雨粟、鬼夜哭也。夫言天雨粟、鬼夜哭，實也。言其應倉頡作書，虛也。夫河出《圖》，洛出《書》，聖帝明王之瑞應也。圖書文章，與倉頡所作字畫何以異？天地為圖書，倉頡作文字，業與天地同⋯⋯天不惡人有書，作書何非，而致此怪？或時倉頡適作書，天適雨粟，鬼偶夜哭，而雨粟、鬼神哭，自有所為，世見應書而至，則謂作書生亂敗之象，應事而動也。

"Chuan Shu" says: "Cangjie created writing, grain rained from the skies, and the ghosts cried through the night." This means that literacy spread through the land and chaos began to spread as a result, and thus the demons created the phenomenon of raining grain and ghosts cried at night. When it said that grain fell from the skies and ghosts cried, this truly happened. But when it implies that the cause was Cangjie's creation of writing, this is false. Drawings first came from the Yellow River, and books from the Luo. These are good omens in response to the holiness of emperors and the enlightenment of kings. Pictures, books, writings, how are these different from the characters created by Cangjie? The heavens and earth created books and pictures, Cangjie created characters, the work done by Cangjie is the same as that done by heaven and earth...Heaven does not dislike that man has writing, what is wrong with writing? And why would it blame humans because of it? Perhaps when Cangjie created writing, the heavens really did rain millet, or the ghosts did perhaps cry out, but these occurences had their own reasons, occurring simultaneously by chance. Humans should become better people through writing. Thus the act of creating writing to be thought to cause the world to become more chaotic should be considered on a case by case basis.

(Translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

• Although Cangjie has been de-deified in the Lunheng, he still holds up the invention of writing as being no small feat, a monumental task. 

《謝短》造車作書，易曉也，必將應曰：「倉頡作書，奚仲作車。」詰曰：「倉頡何感而作書？奚仲何起而作車？」又不知也。文吏所當知，然而不知，亦不博覽之過也。

"Making carts, writing, these are easy tasks to understand." If you hear such a statement, you must thus reply: "Cangjie wrote, and Xizhong made carts." They will then question you saying, "Why did Cangjie write? How did Xizhong first make a cart?" They will not know the answer. Officials who think they know everything, do not know anything. Thus one should learn as much as one can.

(Translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

• Although the Lunheng still perpetuates the story of Cangjie as seeing natural phenomena and then modeling characters on them, he disagrees with the thought that he was inspired by the gods or the heavens to do these things. Cangjie was inspired by natural phenomena and patterns, not ordered to do so by the gods. 

《感類》以見鳥跡而知為書，見蜚蓬而知為車，天非以鳥跡命倉頡，以蜚蓬使奚仲也。奚仲感蜚蓬，而倉頡起鳥跡也。

Seeing bird footprints and knowing how to write, seeing insects transport food and knowing how to make a cart, Heaven did not use the footprints as an order to Cangjie, just as Heaven did not use insects as an order to Xizhong. Xizhong was inspired to make a cart after he saw the insects, just as Cangjie started writing after seeing the footprints.

(Translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

• During this period of time, people believed that the sounds of the wind and the shapes of fog were really ghosts, but Wang Chong puts forth the notion that they were really simply natural phenomena. 

《訂鬼》世稱紂之時，夜郊鬼哭，及倉頡作書，鬼夜哭。氣能象人聲而哭，則亦能象人形而見，則人以為鬼矣。

When Zhou was the ruler of the world, ghosts would cry in the rural areas at night, and thus when Cangjie created writing, ghosts cried at night. The weather can create sounds that are like people crying, and thus it can also create forms that look like people's outlines, and so people think that these are ghosts.

(Translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

• Lastly, in the Lunheng we find the first mention of Cangjie having four eyes. In earlier (Daoist) books, it was often told that the Yellow Emperor and other early leaders of China had "four eyes," a symbol of intelligence and omniscience. Some think that this refers to early glasses?, but whether or not this was true, later Daoist legends obviously perpetuate the notion that these early leaders/gods really did have four eyes. And Cangjie was no exception. 

《骨相》蒼頡四目，為黃帝史。

Cangjie had four eyes, and was minister for the Yellow Emperor.

(Translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

*The Lunheng is a Confucian and markedly atheist work written by Wang Chong (27-97 AD) during the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Shuowen Jiezi －說文解字

• The Shuowen gives a more diplomatic account of Cangjie's invention process: he looked at the patterns and shapes of the things around him, and created picture-like characters from them. Later, sound components were added to these picture characters, making them into the modern ideograms, and allowing for more abstract thinking and complete correspondence with spoken language. 

《說文解字序》：“倉頡之初作書，蓋依類象形，故謂之文；其後形聲相益，即謂之字。”

When Cangjie first created characters, he acted according to kind to create shapes and patterns, and thus these were  called “wen" (文); later shape and sound became mutually reinforcing, and these were called characters (字).

(Translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

*The Shuowen is an early dictionary, finished in 100 AD but presented to the emperor in 121, compiled by Xu Shen of the Western Han Dynasty.

Zhonglun  － 中論

• It is finally in the Zhonglun that Cangjie seems to achieve the level of "god," rather than simply a cultural hero. He is put on the level of Tai Hao, Suiren, and the Yellow Emperor in his feat of creating writing. This knowledge is also called "godly" and said to have come from the natural pattern of things, rather than how earlier works described the invention as something made rather than natural. 

《治學》故太昊觀天地而畫八卦，燧人察時令而鑽火，帝軒聞鳳鳴而調律，倉頡視鳥跡而作書，斯大聖之學乎神明而發乎物類也。

Thus Tai Hao looked at the earth and the sky, and drew the divination trigrams, Suiren observed the passing of time and created fire, the Yellow Emperor heard the calls of the phoenix and tuned his instrument, Cangjie viewed the markings of bird's feet on the ground and created writing. The knowledge garnered by these wise men is godly and springs from the natural patterns of things. 

(Translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

*Zhonglun is a political and philosophical book written with Confucian and Daoist influences by Xu Gan (171-217 AD) during the Wei Jin period.

Wen Xin Diao Long － 文心雕龍

• In this later book, Cangjie is still seen as the creator of writing, but of a writing that has since disappeared with the burning of the books during the Qin Dynasty. 
• Cangjie is described as a hermit, who created writing out in the wilderness, where he lived and was later burned on a pyre. 
• Cangjie is again described as having four eyes and creating the characters through a wealth of methods, including combining natural patterns with divination symbols and the five elements, a mark of how the philosophies of Confucianism and Daoism had so completely mixed together by this point in history. 
• Writing is condemned as a machination, and something that leads humans to chaos and away from their natural state, following from (slightly misappropriated)  Daoist thought. 

《卷十六 : 穀水》古文出于黃帝之世，倉頡本鳥跡為字，取其孳乳相生，故文字有六義焉。自秦用篆書，焚燒先典，古文絶矣。

Ancient writing began in the time of the Yellow Emperor, Cangjie first based characters off of bird footprints, then using the shape of their milk and offspring too,  thus characters each have six meanings. Since the Qin Dynasty began using seal script, and burned all of the ancient books, the original ancient writing has disappeared.

(Translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

《群書治要：卷十一：史記上：本紀》

故號曰黄帝四目，又使岐伯嘗味草木，典醫疾，今經方本草之書咸出焉。其史倉頡，又象鳥迹，始作文字，自黄帝以上，穴居而野處，死則厚衣以薪，葬之中野。

And thus the Yellow Emperor had four eyes, and he ordered his minister Qi Bo to try all of the vegetation, in order to create medicine to heal ailments. Today we go by the medical book written after this experimentation. His minister Cangjie, from the shapes of the footprints of birds, was the first to invent writing and characters, and from the Yellow Emperor on, he lived in a cave and dwelled in the wild, and when he died he was burned on a pyre wearing heavy clothes, and buried in the middle of the wilderness.

(Translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

《藝文類聚：卷五十八：雜文部四：筆》

《晉成公綏故筆賦》曰：有倉頡之奇生，列四目而兼明，慕羲氏之畫卦，載萬物於五行，乃發慮於書契⋯⋯乃皆是筆之勳，人日用而不寤，仡盡力於萬機，卒見棄於行路。

"Jin Cheng Gong Sui Gu Bi Fu" recorded: There was the mysterious birth of Cangjie, who could see from each of four eyes, he took the trigrams of Fuxi, added to them the five elements that comprise all things, and created characters etched into stone⋯⋯These all are the 'merits' of the pen, which men use and do not wake, valiant in using all of their strength to accomplish their many machinations, in the end to be seen discarded at the side of the road.

(Translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

＊The Wen Xin Diao Long was China's first book of art and literature theory, using the concepts from the Yi Jing, the first Chinese divination manual. It was written by Liu Xie (465- ? AD) during the North and South Dynasties.

Famous Paintings throughout the Ages － 歷代名畫記

• It is in this book, which tells of the origins of painting in China, that a more legendary/mythical account of Cangjie comes to light. It is probable that while a more literary, believable, historical version of Cangjie's story was recorded in philosophical books before this time, a different, more mythical version was being circulated orally, and this is simply the first time that it was written down in its entirety. Cangjie is a god with four eyes, who viewed the nature around him: the sky, the birds' footprints, the prints of turtles, and then created characters in their image. In response, heaven rained millet and the ghosts, afraid of how the characters would be used against them, cried out in the night. Since Cangjie was a god, it is only natural that Zhang Yanyuan went on to say that it was the gods who created writing to express things that could not be talked about or could not be seen. While more matter of fact in the legendary aspects of this story, the subject matter remains almost exactly the same. 

頡有四目，仰觀天象。因儷烏龜之跡，遂定書字之形。造化不能藏其秘，故天雨粟；靈怪不能遁其形，故鬼夜哭。是時也，書畫同體而未分，象制肇創而猶略。無以傳其意故有書，無以見其形故有畫，天地聖人之意也。

Cangjie had four eyes, and he looked up at the sky. According to the footprints of the birds and the turtles, he created set shapes for written characters. The secret of this sort of change could not be hidden, and thus the heavens rained millet; the ghosts and spirits were afraid that they would be scolded by these signs which they could not follow, and thus they cried in the night. At this time, pictures and characters were the same, and had not yet been separated. Images were created and then seemed as if forgotten. The intention of the heavens and earth and the sages was that when they were unable to pass on their meaning, they created a character to do it for them, and when others were unable to perceive a shape, they created a picture.

(Translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

*The Famous Paintings throughout the Ages was written by Zhang Yanyuan (815-907), considered to be the father of Chinese painting history, during the Tang Dynasty.

Chun Qiu Yuan Ming Bao － 春秋元命苞

• This very late quote (Qing Dynasty) comes from a collections of divinations and legends of the time. It was labelled as a "wei shu," or a book that interprets the classics according to mysticism, and was black listed many times, but it is really simply a record of the myths being told at the time. Here it is recorded that Cangjie had the face of a dragon, four eyes, was clever, godly, and could write upon birth. Again, he viewed nature and created characters from their image. After he had made them, millet rained down and the ghosts cried out, and the dragons hid themselves away. This rings as a synopsis of many of the previous quotes, and is basically the legend still told orally today. 

龍顏侈侈，四目靈光，實有睿德，生而能書。於是窮天地之變，仰觀奎星圓曲之勢，俯察龜文鳥羽山川，指掌而創文字，天為雨粟，鬼為夜哭，龍乃潛藏。

Cangjie had a large dragon's face, with four bright eyes. He was clever and virtuous, and could write upon birth. Because of the endless changes of the universe, he looked up at how the stars turned about in the heavens, and looked down upon the cracks in the tortoise's shell and the birds' feathers in the mountains and valleys, made a fist and create characters for writing. And then the heavens made grain rain from the sky, and the ghosts cried in the night, and the dragons hid away out of sight.

(Translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

*The Chun Qiu Yuan Ming Bao was a book that fell into the category of "Wei Shu," or a forbidden book due to its false use of mysticism to interpret the classics. It is essentially a collection of divinations and legends compiled by Ma Guohan (1794-1857) during the Qing Dynasty.

Conclusion

The story of Cangjie seemed to take a road slightly different from many other myths. Cangjie began as a normal man who created writing, probably the collective embodiment of many scribes during the Shang Dynasty who formulated the writing system first used for divination and then for crop records and later, historical records. Then, as Daoism repossessed many of the Confucian historical figures and mythicized them, turning them into gods, Cangjie too became an almost animalistic deity, with a dragon face and four eyes, the embodiment of wisdom and brains. The origin of Chinese characters is an interesting tale in and of itself, and the way the philosophy of the 

Secondary Reference Materials

http://crlao.ehess.fr/docannexe.php?id=647

ctext.org 

Nv Ba 女魃 - The Drought Goddess

author : Christine Welch

Ba 魃，Nv Ba 女魃，Han Ba 旱魃

Blurb on Nv Ba

• Nv Ba is the pinyin pronunciation approximation for the ancient Chinese drought goddess--nv meaning "female" and ba meaning “drought demon."
• Nv Ba wore green clothing and was purportedly bald.
• She made her home on Mt. Xikun, in the Terrace of Gong Gong (共工). 
• She was the daughter of the Yellow Emperor (黃帝). 
• She was sent down to the human realm by her father to combat Chiyou (蚩尤), god of war. 
• Wherever she went, she would bring drought with her. 
• After the Yellow Emperor defeated Chiyou with her aid, she was unable to return to her home in the heavens. 
• She wandered the Earth, casting a blight on many peoples. 
• The god of the fields, Shu Jun (叔均), asked that she be banished to the northern wilderness. 

Sources

Classic of Poetry - 詩經

• The term ba, or "drought demon" was first recorded in the Classic of Poetry, mentioned as a symbol of drought and an oppressive force, and something that could be alleviated through the right conduct of the government officials. But no personification was yet used in this source. 

<雲漢>

旱既大甚、滌滌山川。

旱魃為虐、如惔如焚。

我心憚暑、憂心如熏。

群公先正、則不我聞。

昊天上帝、寧俾我遯。

The drought is great,

parching the mountain streams.

Han Ba is oppressive,

like an inflammation or a bonfire.

My heart dreads the summer heat,

my heart heavy like it's burning.

All those great ministers above me,

they do not hear me.

Emperor of the Heavens,

please allow humble me to flee.

(translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

＊The Shijing 《詩經》, or the Classic of Poetry, was compiled from various sources between 1000 BC to 700 BC. 

The Classic of the Mountains and Seas －《山海經》

• The later collection of mythology and geography, the Shanhaijing or Classic of the Mountains and Seas, also mentions Nv Ba (女魃), and it is here that her full mythological story can be first seen. Nv Ba could be found on Mt. Xikun (係昆), on the Terrace of Gonggong (共工). She wore green garments and was the daughter of the Yellow Emperor (黃帝), thus she lived in the heavens with him. She was employed as a combatant against the invading Chiyou 蚩尤 (god of war and weapon-making), and dried up the storms created by his fellow rebel gods, Feng Bo 風伯 (god of the wind) and Yu Shi 雨師 (god of the rain). After Chiyou was defeated, Nv Ba could not return to the heavens, so she traveled around, plaguing different lands with the drought that followed her. The field god Shu Jun (叔均) asked that she be banished from the fertile plains, so the Yellow Emperor sent her away to the north. 

《山海經：大荒北經》有係昆之山者，有共工之臺，射者不敢北鄉。有人衣青衣，名曰黄帝女魃。蚩尤作兵伐黄帝，黄帝乃令應龍攻之冀州之野。應龍畜水。蚩尤請風伯雨師，縱大風雨。黄帝乃下天女曰魃，雨止，遂殺蚩尤。魃不得復上，所居不雨。叔均言之帝，後置之赤水之北。叔均乃為田祖。魃時亡之，所欲逐之者，令曰：「神北行！」先除水道，决通溝瀆。

There was Mt. Xikun, and the Terrace of Gonggong, and archers didn't dare to face its direction to the north. There was a person there who wore green clothing, named Nv Ba, the daughter of the Yellow Emperor. Chiyou gathered an army and attacked the Yellow Emperor, so he ordered Yinglong to attack the wilderness of Yi Zhou. Yinglong gathered up all of the water. Chiyou asked Feng Bo and Yu Shi to create a great storm. Thus the Yellow Emperor sent Nv Ba down from the heavens, the rain stopped, and he executed Chiyou. But Nv Ba could not return to the heavens, and wherever she stayed it did not rain. Shu Jun complained to the Emperor, and so he placed her to the north of the Red Waters. Shu Jun then became the god of the fields. Whenever Ba was near, people would die, and those who wished to drive her away would say: Goddess, go north! But first they would clean out the canals of debris.

(translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

*The Shanhaijing 《山海經》, or Classic of the Mountains and Seas, is a many genred classic which continually changed in form from about 400 BC until about 100 BC, when it reached the form which can be seen today. Its author(s) are unknown. 

Hou Han Shu －《後漢書》

• Yinglong was coupled as a companion to Nv Ba in the myth. They fought simultaneously against Chiyou's forces. This coupling led to the mythological romance of Nv Ba and Yinglong in later centuries.
• Yinglong (應龍) was an early winged dragon and rain god. 

《後漢書·張衡傳》：“夫女魃北而應龍翔，洪鼎聲而軍容息。” 

李賢注：“ 女魃，旱神也。” 

Nv Ba went to the north, and Yinglong flew through the sky, the sound of the flood cauldrons rang out, and the troops were allowed to rest.

Li Xian commented: Nv Ba, drought goddess.

(translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

*Hou Han Shu 《後漢書》is a text describing Eastern Han history, written by Fan Ye (398-445) of the Southern Dynasty, one of the four early histories, along with the Shiji 《史記》。

The Yilin - 《焦氏易林》

• Since Ba was not allowed or could not to return to her home in the heavens, she continually plagues the earth with heat and drought. 

《焦氏易林: 小畜之》

61 ：魃為燔虐，風吹雲卻；欲上不得，反歸其宅。

Ba was a burning oppression, but the winds still blew and the clouds still gathered overhead. She wanted to go back to the heavens, but she could not return home. 

(translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

*The Yilin, or 《焦氏易林》, was written by Jiao Yanshou during the Western Han Dynasty, or around 100 AD. 

Wenzi Zhigui - 《文字指歸》

• Later accounts also described Nv Ba as being bald and having no hair. 
• However, the basic archetypal drought goddess who stops the rain wherever she goes remained the same. 

郝懿行箋疏：“《玉篇》引《文字指歸》曰：女妭，禿無髮，所居之處天不雨也，同魃。” 

Nv Ba, bald with no hair, where she lives rain does not fall, same as Ba.

(translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

*The Wenzi Zhigui or 《文字指歸》was written by Sui Dynasty Cao Xian, around 600 AD. 

Rong Tu Long Wen - 《禜土龍文》

• Even in the Tang Dynasty, Ba was still used as a simple symbol for drought in poetic writing and historical prose.  
• However, one can see a shift in the ideological paradigm used to explain the cause for the coming of Ba. While 2000 years before, the bad conduct of ministers was used to explain the presence of the goddess, during the Tang Dynasty, Du Guji uses the metaphysical Confucian theory of yinyang and their imbalance as an explanation. 

唐 獨孤及《禜土龍文》：“陽驕陰伏，女魃作孽，孟夏不雨，至於是月，后土將乾，百穀恐竭。”

Yang was prominent and Yin declined, Nv Ba has worked her evil, it didn't rain during the monsoon season, and as for this month, the fields are dry, and it is feared that the grain supply will soon run out.

(translated by the blogger, Christine Welch)

*《禜土龍文》, or the Rongtu Longwen is a historical poem written during the Tang Dynasty by Du Guji (726-777). 

Conclusion

While I personally feel sorry for Nv Ba (why couldn't she return home? how could her father just abandon her after she helped him win his battle against Chiyou?), she was still a strong female figure from early China who was imbued with much power. Unfortunately, like many other strong female figures, she was also demonized from the beginning. The character for her name ba meant "drought demon", which carried an obvious negative connotation from its very inception, as the meaning component to the character is gui, or ghost or demon. She was always a symbol of a hated phenomenon, drought, and thus seemed to garner very little pity from any authors who commented on her myth. Today, she is a little known female deity, and her usage is confined mostly to study of Chinese mythology in classical literature, especially before the Tang Dynasty, although her name might still occasionally be invoked by modern poets. Unlike many other Chinese myths, her archetype has not changed much for the past three thousand years, and her myth remains much as it was told during the Han Dynasty.