Myth 17 The god of fire is blessed

Mondo Culture Updated on 2024-01-30

Zhu Rong, who was revered as a god of the Three Emperors period in ancient times, was rumored to be a descendant of Emperor Yan, and there are even records that he was listed as a descendant of the Yellow Emperor, but judging from various historical records, Zhu Rong seems to be more inclined to be a descendant of Emperor Yan. Whether in official history or myths and legends, Zhurong is a highly revered deity.

In mythology, Zhu Rong is revered as the Red Emperor, he is the god of fire, because the south represents fire, also known as the god of the south, one of the five elements of the gods. There is a record in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas: Overseas Southern Classics": "Nanzhurong, the body of a beast and a human face, riding two dragons." "Most of the gods recorded in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" are half-human, half-beast forms. This shows that most of the gods of that era were half-human, half-beast, or beast images with special divine powers, and were revered as gods. Nan Zhurong, as the god of the south, gradually evolved into the god of creation in myths and legends. Fire is an indispensable tool for human beings, and in early mythology, Zhurong has a very high status.

According to the record of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas: The Classic of the Sea": "Emperor Yan's wife was the son of Chishui and gave birth to Yanju. Yanju gave birth to the festival, and the festival gave birth to the play, and the player gave birth to Zhurong. Zhu Rong was born in the river, and Gonggong is his brother. This account describes Zhu Rong as a descendant of Emperor Yan, and Gonggong as his brother. But one of the sons of Emperor Yan was the god of fire and the other was the god of water, and the attributes of the two were inherently incompatible, so there was a fight between father and son. The Gonggong lost the battle and crashed into Buzhou Mountain in anger, which is another story. Yu's father, Kun, was unfavorable to control the water and was killed by Zhu Rong, which also laid the groundwork for the later conflicts between the tribes. Although Yu and Gonggong are both good at water control, the two have always been at odds.

In addition, the "Classic of Mountains and Seas: The Great Wilderness of the West" recorded: "Zhuan gave birth to an old child, and an old child gave birth to Zhurong." "Here Zhu Rong is listed as the grandson of Emperor Zhuan, and Zhuan is the grandson of Emperor Huangdi. Therefore, there is no conclusive record to show whether Zhu Rong is a descendant of the Yellow Emperor or a descendant of the Yan Emperor. Today we are only talking about the mythical god of fire, Zhurong.

As the god of fire, Zhu Rong is in charge of the fire in the world. In ancient times, people had not yet mastered the technology of using fire to cook, living in the era of Ru Mao drinking blood, bacteria breed frequently, and the food people eat is raw, so human life is very short. Zhu Rong, as the god of fire who existed at the beginning of heaven and earth, was well aware of his responsibilities, so after a heavenly fire, he taught the Suiren clan how to preserve the fire. However, to preserve the fire, it is necessary to prevent the fire from going out, and even more importantly, to prevent the fire from going out. Under Zhu Rong's guidance, the Suiren clan mastered the method of preserving fire, so that the tribal residents could use fire to cook food, avoiding the discomfort of eating raw food in severe cold weather. At the same time, it also reduces the growth of bacteria, and the number of diseases in people is greatly reduced. During the harsh winter months, people learned to use fire to ward off the cold, a discovery that saved more people from freezing to death or frostbite in the cold of winter. This invention is still an immortal discovery, and the Suiren clan is remembered by future generations.

However, the misfortune of the god of fire was to give birth to a son of the water attribute. Under Zhu Rong's expectations, Gonggong was born. At first, Zhu Rong was full of expectations for this son, but as Gonggong grew up, Zhu Rong found that he and his son were fundamentally different. Zhu Rong can walk naturally in the fire without being harmed, and he hopes to train Gonggong to become a fire god like himself, so he starts training him. However, the co-workers tried to enter the fire, but the fire was extinguished naturally without Zhu Rong's guidance, as if it had been extinguished by water. Despite Zhu Rong's hard work in cultivating the co-workers, the co-workers still could not walk in the fire. As a result, frequent quarrels began between father and son. After the incident happened many times, Zhu Rong found the then Emperor Dijun and asked him to explain why Gonggong could not walk in the fire. Di Jun bluntly told Zhu Rong that co-work is a water attribute, and he will control floods in the future and become a water god. Water and fire are incompatible, this is a sworn enemy. Although Zhu Rong, who learned the facts, was unhappy, he was helpless. But later, due to the raging flood in the world, the major tribes fought each other for territory, and worked together to serve the Yellow Emperor tribe, which made Zhu Rong feel very angry, and the conflict between father and son became more and more intense. They quarreled to the point where the candle dragon of Buzhou Mountain was. Seeing the fight spread to his own territory, the candle dragon blamed the co-workers for their unfilial piety, and the co-workers were ashamed and angry after being blamed, and crashed directly into the top of Buzhou Mountain, causing the mountain to break. Seeing that Gonggong was dying, Zhu Rong immediately picked him up and took him to Heavenly Court, asking the Emperor of Heaven to help extend Gonggong's life. After that, the father and son gave up their duties as gods, no longer served as gods of fire and water, and lived a life of free and loose immortals.

Digression: Why is the newly built hospital in Wuhan called "Huoshenshan"?

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