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Zhurong (Chinese:祝融), also known asChongli (Chinese:重黎),[citation needed] is an important personage inChinese mythology andChinese folk religion. According to theHuainanzi and the philosophical texts ofMozi and his followers, Zhurong is a god of fire and of the south.[citation needed] Some sources associate Zhurong with some of the principal early and ancient myths of China, such as those ofNüwa (Nüwa Mends the Heavens),Gonggong, and theGreat Flood.[1]
One aspect of the traditional Chinese characters used in the case of Zhurong's name is that the character融 is composed by combining the character鬲 which refers to a ritual cauldron ortripodal vessel with three hollow legs, which is well known from archeological reports as a characteristicChalcolithic (Late Neolithic/Early Bronze) Age feature encountered in archaeological sites in northern China.[2] This character is combined with another character,虫; which, in the case of certain other complex characters is used productively to represent words with meanings related to worms, snakes, or insects.David Hawkes makes a connection between the characters in Zhurong's name and the culture and ceramic technology in ancient China.
Chinese mythology has in the past been believed to be, at least in part, a factual recording of history. Thus, in the study of historical Chinese culture, many of the stories that have been told regarding characters and events which have been written or told of the distant past have a double tradition: one tradition which presents a more historicised and one which presents a more mythological version.[3] This is also true in the case of Zhurong. InSima Qian'sRecords of the Grand Historian, Zhurong is portrayed as a historical person, who held the governmental office of Minister of Fire.[4]
TheClassic of Mountains and Seas gives alternative genealogies for Zhurong, including descent from both theYan Emperor andYellow Emperor.[5] However, it is recorded in the suspicious part ofDahuangjing (大荒經) andHaineijing (海內經) that were written last.
TheClassic of Mountains and Seas represents Zhurong as the son of a father whose name translates as "Play-with-Pots", who in turn is represented as the son of a father whose name translates as "Skillful Pot" (and is described as having a square top upon his head). In "General Introduction" to theChu Ci anthology, Hawkes uses these observations to bolster his speculation of a significant relationship between the archeological evidence regarding ceramic technology and the cultural background of theChu Ci material.[2]
Zhurong was said to be the son of Gaoyang (also known asZhuanxu), a sky god.[6] (Again, the more historicised versions of the mythology portray Zhuanxu as a historical person; in this case an "Emperor of China"). Gaoyang also had a son,Gun, who fatheredYu the Great.
TheWu Liang Shrine inscriptions describe Zhurong as:
However, in one myth, Zhurong was interested in physical power and fought against Gonggong for days in a contest to see who was stronger.[8] According to theClassic of Mountains and Seas,Gonggong is a descendant of Zhurong.[9] This raises suspicions thatHaineijing's record was distorted in theHan dynasty for Chinese political purposes.
The imperial clan of theQin dynasty also claimed descent through Gaoyang (but not Zhurong). Zhurong was also claimed to be an ancestor to the eight lineages of the royal families of thestate of Chu.
