The sun is not supposed to rise ten times. But in Chinese mythology, it once did —and the world nearly ended.

The story of Hou Yi, the divine archer who shot down nine of the ten suns, is one of China’s oldest myths. It explains the origin of the single sun, the creation of the Moon Goddess, and the price of heroism. It is also a cautionary tale about the dangers of absolute power —even when used for good.

The Ten Suns

In the earliest Chinese cosmology, there were ten suns —not one. Each sun was a three-legged crow (sanzuwu, 三足乌） that lived in a giant mulberry tree called the Fusang (扶桑), located in the eastern sea.

Every day, one sun would climb into the sky and cross from east to west, pulled by the chariot of the sun goddess Xihe. The other nine remained in the tree, resting. This system worked for eons.

But one day —for reasons that vary by version —all ten suns rose together. The heat was catastrophic:

  • Rivers and lakes evaporated
  • Crops withered in the fields
  • Forests caught fire
  • The earth cracked
  • Monsters and demons emerged from the scorched landscape

Humanity begged the gods for help. The gods did nothing.

The Archer Who Acted

Hou Yi was a mortal —a master archer of extraordinary skill. When he saw the suffering caused by the ten suns, he did not wait for divine permission. He strung his bow, nocked an arrow, and began to shoot.

One by one, the suns fell. Each shot crow exploded into a shower of golden feathers. Nine suns died. When Hou Yi reached for his tenth arrow, a voice stopped him: without at least one sun, the world would freeze. Humanity needed light and warmth to survive.

Hou Yi lowered his bow. The tenth sun —the one we see today —was spared.

The Reward and the Curse

The Jade Emperor, ruler of Heaven, was furious. The ten suns were his sons (or grandsons, in some versions). Hou Yi had killed nine of them. But he could not deny that Hou Yi had saved the world.

The compromise: Hou Yi would be banished from Heaven and made mortal, but he would be given the elixir of immortality as a reward. If he drank it, he would ascend to Heaven as an immortal and live forever.

Hou Yi took the elixir home to his wife, Chang’e. He did not drink it immediately. Some versions say he wanted to wait for an auspicious day. Others say he wanted to share it with Chang’e. Either way, the elixir sat in their home —and temptation sat with it.

The Aftermath: Chang’e and the Moon

What happened next depends on which version you read. In the most common telling:

An apprentice of Hou Yi named Fengmeng broke into their home and demanded the elixir. Chang’e, realizing she could not defeat him, swallowed the elixir herself to prevent it from falling into evil hands.

The elixir was too powerful for a mortal. Chang’e began to float upward, weightless, unable to stop her ascent. She floated past the clouds, past the stars, and finally came to rest on the moon —the coldest, loneliest place in the cosmos.

Hou Yi returned home to find his wife gone. He looked up and saw her shadow on the moon. He laid out her favorite cakes and fruits in the garden, hoping she could see them. This became the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Chang’e remains on the moon to this day, accompanied only by the Jade Rabbit, who pounds the elixir of immortality in a mortar —an elixir that will never be finished.

The Tragedy of Hou Yi

Hou Yi’s story is not a simple hero narrative. It is a tragedy of unintended consequences:

  • He saved the world but killed nine divine beings
  • He was rewarded but banished
  • He gained immortality but lost his wife
  • He became a legend but lived in loneliness

In later mythology, Hou Yi is sometimes conflated with the historical figure Hou Yi, a ruler of the Xia Dynasty who was overthrown for tyranny. This conflation adds another layer: the hero who becomes the villain, the savior who becomes the oppressor.

Explore Further

  • The Mid-Autumn Festival: Mooncakes and Moon Legends
  • The Jade Rabbit: Who Is He Really?