Changxi - a Short Story by Christine Welch

On the edge of the horizon, there was a pool of honeyed spring water where the most alluring of maidens would bathe. And before the world was sheathed in roads and houses, this pool was already radiant with natural beauty. The maidens were few in number, but they each shone like a ball of light. The most striking was named Changxi. Her skin shone with a pale, silvery glow, and her eyes were warm and milky. Gauzy wings protruded from her shoulder blades, gathering her up into the sky. Her raiment was slim and pearly, designed for the climate of the summer pool. She kept two white horses, dressed in crescent livery, letting them roam in the jungle near the water margin. The maidens would bathe by the starlight, for there was no moon, no sun, in those times. There was only immutable night. 

From the reeds at the edge of the pool, men would watch the maidens with covetous eyes. There were few people in this stygian world, and the men hungered for wives. They wanted children, driven by a primal need. And so they watched, and chose who would be their brides. 

One day the most venturesome of the men emerged from the reeds, and a ripple went through the ranks of maidens. They had never seen a man before, hidden away on the edge of the horizon, providing light only to their small corner of the world. But the maidens were strong, much taller than the men, and much more beautiful. They had no reason to be afraid. 

Di Jun was a bold warrior. He already had many children, scattered in various tribes across the continent. But when he heard about a mysterious pool in a faraway land, inhabited only by enigmatic, scantily-clad women, he could not resist the urge to make the journey. Intrepid, he immediately set his sights on the most resplendent of them all, Changxi. 

Changxi was daring and rebellious, and she was also intelligent. She often wondered what the world was like outside of the pool, if there was something that she was missing. Di Jun spoke to her of far off lands, of villages and history, of marriage and of children. Though she had lived for many years, she had never heard of such things. A fire lit in her eyes, and she began to yearn for adventure. And though she would not allow Di Jun to touch her, she lent him one of her horses and they rode together toward the settlements in the east. 

When they arrived at Di Jun's home, Changxi learned that he had other wives and many children. Di Jun bragged to the other men of his gorgeous, wild wife, who he had tamed and brought back from the west. She saw the way that the other wives of the village were treated: objectified, like animals bought and sold to rear offspring. If she stayed with this man, what would she become? She would not be free, commanding Changxi any longer. 

Taking her two steeds gently by the mane, she lifted them on her wings into the air, a gentle, luminous fairy soaring into the stars. The air was cool and her raiment thin, so she wrapped herself in stardust. She flew silently through the night air. The men and women on the plain gasped and looked up in wonder. What was this new ball of light that glided through the sky as if pulled along by horses? They called her the moon, and wondered if she would appear again. 

Changxi flew to the horizon, to the summer pool she once called her home. She had kept her power, kept her freedom. It was something she would allow no one to take from her. But now she knew of the ways of men and women, knew what she was missing. The thought of the villages on the plains and the secrets of mountains and rivers kept her curious. And so every so often, she would ride one of her steeds into the sky, wearing a thick gown of stardust, and peer below her, exploring the Earth with her inquisitive eyes. 

Changxi － 常羲

The most ancient Chinese moon goddess.
(also 常儀、尚儀)

Blurb on Changxi:

-wife of Di Jun
-created the 12 moons, or 12 months of the lunar calendar
-bathes in the moon

Sources:

Classic of the Mountains and Seas《山海經》:

This Classic contains one of the only mentions of Changxi in written literature. It only contains a few details about her: that she was the wife of Di Jun, one of the most prolific polygamist kings in ancient Chinese mythology, that she gave birth to the twelve moons (or months), and that she bathed in the moon.

「有女子方浴月。帝俊妻常羲，生月十有二，此始浴之。」
There was a girl who bathed in the moon. Di Jun married Changxi, and they gave birth to twelve moons, and from then on she began to bathe there.

This passage is one of the very obvious instances that early mythology was symbolic for very real concepts: although Changxi can be taken on a literal level as having given birth to twelve physical moons, it is obvious that moons refer to the twelve months of the lunar calendar. Thus Changxi was not only the goddess of the physical moon, but also of the calendar system.
*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.

Lv Shi Chun Qiu 《呂氏春秋》:

The Lv Shi Chun Qiu took the myth of Changyi and its meaning (the creation of the calendar), and demythologized it, trying to make it appear more like written history rather than myth. Still, the story of Shangyi (or Changxi) creating the moon/lunar calendar was still conveyed in this passage. However, since the author claimed that both Xihe and Shangyi (in the Classic of the Mountains and Seas, both wives of Di Jun) were ancient ministers, he thus masculinized them and made them into Confucian officials rather than early powerful women.

「⋯⋯羲和作占日，尚儀作占月，后益作占歲，胡曹作衣，夷羿作弓，祝融作市，儀狄作酒⋯⋯此二十官者，聖人之所以治天下也。」
Xihe created divination by the sun, Shangyi created divination by the moon, Hou Yi created divination by the years, Hu Cao created clothing, Yi Yi created the bow, Zhurong created the city, Yi Di created wine… these were the twelve ministerial positions, and thus the ancient sage could govern all that is under the sun.
*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.

——
Since there were so few mentions of Changxi in early written tradition, perhaps taking a look at Di Jun, another mythological figure who also only appears in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, will give us a better idea about Changxi’s place in the early mythological imagination.

Di Jun － 帝俊

In the Classic of Mountains and Seas, Di Jun mostly appears as the father of various races of people and countries. For example, Di Jun was responsible for the birth of the Zhongrong people, the Baimin people, the Black Teeth people, the Siyou people, and the Jili people.

「有中容之國。帝俊生中容，中容人食獸，木實，使四鳥：豹、虎、熊、羆。」
「有白民之國。帝俊生帝鴻，帝鴻生白民，白民銷姓，黍食，使四鳥：虎、豹、熊、羆。」
「有司幽之國。帝俊生晏龍，晏龍生司幽，司幽生思士，不妻；思女，不夫。食黍，食獸，是使四鳥。」
「有黑齒之國。帝俊生黑齒，姜姓，黍食，使四鳥。」
「有襄山。又有重陰之山。有人食獸，曰季釐。帝俊生季釐，故曰季釐之國。有緡淵。少昊生倍伐，倍伐降處緡淵。有水四方，名曰俊壇。」



He was also the father of many legendary mythological figures, who in turn were the inventors of many early objects and concepts. One example is Hou Ji, an agricultural early king surrounded by legends.

「帝俊生后稷，稷降以百穀。稷之弟曰台蠒，生叔均。叔均是代其父及稷播百穀，始作耕。」
Di Jun was the father of Houji, who brought down the hundred grains. His brother was Tai Jian, the father of Shu Jun. Shu Jun replaced his father and Houji in sowing the hundred grains, and was the first to plow.


Di Jun was also the father of Ou Hao:
「帝俊生禺號，禺號生淫梁，淫梁生番禺，是始為舟。」
Di Jun was the father of Ou Hao, who was the father of Yin Liang, who was the father of Fan Ou. He was the inventor of boats.


Di Jun’s son Yan Long was also an inventor:
「帝俊生晏龍，晏龍是為琴瑟。」
Di Jun was the father of Yan Long, who was the creator of the qin and the flute.


In addition to instruments, Di Jun’s other sons were also musicians:

「帝俊有子八人，是始為歌儛。」
Di Jun had eight sons, who were the inventors of singing and dancing.


Another son created carpentry:

「帝俊生三身，三身生義均，義均是始為巧倕，是始作下民百巧。」
Di Jun was the father of San Shen, San Shen was the father of Yi Jun, Yi Jun created carpentry, the first to invent clever crafts.


In addition to enumerating Di Jun’s sons, the Classic of Mountains and Seas also mentions his wives. Obviously, Changxi was one of his wives, but there was also Xihe and Ehuang.

「帝俊妻娥皇，生此三身之國，姚姓，黍食，使四鳥。」
Di Jun married Ehuang, and they gave birth to the Sanshen people. Their surname was Yao, they ate milled, and they tamed the four birds.

「東南海之外，甘水之間，有羲和之國。有女子名曰羲和，方浴日於甘淵。羲和者，帝俊之妻，生十日。」
Beyond the southeastern seas, between the sweet springs, there was the country of Xihe. There was a girl named Xihe, and she bathed in the sweat springs of the sun. Xihe was the wife of Di Jun, and she gave birth to the ten suns. (A week in ancient China was composed of 10 days.)

The story of Xihe is very comparable to that of Changxi, in that she bathed in sweet springs, married Di Jun, and gave birth to a part of the calendar system. This method of expression seems to intimate that bathing in springs and Di Jun were symbols of the act of reproduction, and this act in turn gave birth to the cycle of time, or days and moons. Both the female and male elements, Di Jun and his wives, were integral in this production.

In addition to giving birth to numerous peoples of the earth and the sun and moon, Di Jun was also tied closely to bird symbolism.

「有五彩之鳥，相鄉棄沙，惟帝俊下友，帝下兩壇，彩鳥是司。」
There was a five colored bird who also lived in Qisha, and his only friend was Di Jun. Beneath Di Jun’s two altars, this colored bird was his servant.

It has been surmised by scholars that since the bird is a symbol for the male reproductive organ in Chinese thought, this makes Di Jun the male mythological symbol for reproduction in the cosmology of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and the mythological system that it represented.

——

Returning to Changxi, through the analysis of Di Jun and the symbolism represented by the figure of his wives in general, we can see that Changxi represents an ancient Chinese female reproductive symbol who was the catalyst for the creation of the system of months or moons in the lunar calendar. She can both be taken as the literal wife of Di Jun who gave birth to twelve moons and henceforth bathed in them, and also as a mythological symbol of female reproduction, who created the lunar calendar cycle.

Nv Ba: a Short Story by Christine Welch

by Christine Welch

She was an odd looking creature, not something usually seen down on the plains or by the river. Difficult to explain, but she blended in to the forest on the mountain terrace. Her garments were green like the leafy trees she hid behind, and she had no hair, her head the same color as tree bark. But it was her eyes, her eyes that caught you and held you, like two emeralds piercing through the darkness.

No one seemed to like her, not even her father, who lived high and far away, atop another mountain to the west. It was not difficult to understand why. Wherever she walked, wherever her laugh sounded out, the flowers would shrivel and the riverbeds dry up. Like there was a curse upon her that sucked the water out of everything.

Because of this curse, she was confined to the terrace, doomed to walk amid its brittle branches until the end of time -- or so she thought. Her father would not have her walking upon the plains, destroying the crops, ruining the fields, sucking the moisture out of the air. So she sought enjoyment from the trees and meadows, moving between them, watching them die and then, eventually, be reborn.

It never rained on that mountain.

Soon thunder and clashes came from the south. Her father was at war with a rebel, Chiyou, and both sides were  supported by numerous gods and goddesses. The bald girl began to worry, wondering if there was any way she could help her father.

She heard tell that one of her favorite neighbors, a handsome dragon god with powerful wings named Yinglong, had been sent by her father to attack the rebels in one of the southern realms. In more peaceful times, Yinglong had always kept watch over her, making sure the forest and terrace did not become too brittle and catch on fire, dousing the land with his magic rain when she was far enough away in one direction. Although as rain god and drought goddess, they could not draw too close to each other, she liked the way he soared through the air above her, keeping watch, and he liked to hear the sound of her laughter.

The bald girl yearned to help, too.

She saw Yinglong soaring through the air to the south, drawing all the water in the land away to the west, to her father's realm. She saw Chiyou respond in kind, calling up the power of his friends, the wind and storm gods, to bring water back to the land and sweep away her father's forces. She knew what had to be done. It was not possible for Yinglong to defeat all three gods at once. The only solution was for her father to set her free from her prison. And just then he called for her.

Yinglong soared back to find her, enveloping her in his claws and taking her down to the battlefield, although it cost him much of his strength. As soon as her toes brushed the earth on the southern plain, the soil turned to sand, and the crops to dust. The wind and storm gods fled, their hurricane spent. Fearing the drought would spread through all the lands, Chiyou surrendered, and was promptly executed. His lands peaceful again, the Yellow Emperor returned to his seat on the mountain, his mind turned to other matters.

The bald girl roamed the land, searching for a new home, a new purpose. Yinglong was gone, roaming the mountains of the north. Her father seemed to have more important matters on his mind. Everywhere she went, people would curse and spit at her, their livelihoods ruined by her very existence. They called out "Han Ba! Go away! Leave this place! Don't return! You aren't welcome here!"

But Han Ba was not welcome anywhere. She began to wail, although no tears would fall. She curled up in a ball and would not move for many days, wailing and screaming her misery. She wanted to die, wanted to be different, wanted to be like everyone else. She felt very sorry for herself.
And that just made the drought worse.

She cried until she had no more strength, and then she slept. While she slept, the grass and flowers grew up beneath her, and the water returned to the riverbeds. Rain fell and the crops flourished. Still she slept, unnoticed by anyone. But then the rains wouldn’t stop. The crops were in danger of flooding, spoiling, and worse. Villagers’ roofs were caving in and some were dying from exposure. They were saying that the gods had disrupted the weather with their battle, and this was nature’s punishment.

That’s when Han Ba awoke, disoriented. She had never before slept in a bed of flowers, or been covered in a blanket of grass. Her next thought was to wonder what had awoken her. But then she realized that someone was pulling at her hand, pleading in a pitiful voice, “Please, stop the rain! Please, stop the rain!” The bald girl sat up, and saw that the someone was a small child, wet and starving, with the most haunted eyes.

The rain clouds began to shrink, until there was nothing left but blue sky. The puddles shrank, and the villagers’ flooded houses dried out. The little girl laughed and clapped her hands, and Han Ba felt a new emotion, one that she had never felt before. She was happy to be herself.

The villagers slowly emerged and gathered around her, thanking her earnestly and shaking her hand, their spite and hate forgotten. Han Ba didn’t know what to do, so she smiled and fled, not wanting to instigate another drought. She ran until she reached a dense thicket, where no people would ever come, and then she sat on the crumbling ground and stared at a pine tree. Alone.

Her power was not a curse after all.

She had learned so much since she had been set free from her prison, so much that she shook her head, feeling slightly old. Life isn’t fair. She never asked for this power, never wanted to be anything other than ordinary. But it was never going to go away. It was out of her control, it was fate.

There was something she could control: her actions, where she went, who she affected. She had a choice: she could thoughtlessly roam places that needed water, ruining lives. She could find some deserted spot and hide from the world which had outcasted her. Or she could seek out those people who needed her help, for whom a small drought was a blessing rather than a curse.

Remembering the laugh of the small villager child, Han Ba stood, raised her head, and made her decision. She wanted to use her power to help people, to create happiness rather than misery. It was time for her to find a place of her own. Laughing, she realized that she was free. 


For the Chinese version: click here!