Topic Archive
Explore myths connected by the recurring theme of Mythology across cultures, characters, and sacred places.
496 myths currently featured for Mythology.
The story tells of Niulang, a poor cowherd who, guided by a magical ox, marries Zhinü, the heavenly Weaver Girl. Their mortal happiness is cut short when the Queen Mother of the West forces Zhinü back to the sky, creating the Milky Way to separate the lovers. Touched by their devotion, the heavens allow them to reunite once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month via a bridge of...
Zhinü, the celestial weaver and daughter of the Jade Emperor, descends from the heavens to find respite from her eternal labors. In the lush landscape of Yiyuan, she and her sisters discover a magical spring where they bathe, momentarily setting aside their divine duties. This pivotal moment marks the transition from her life of celestial solitude to her fated encounter with the mortal world.
In ancient China, a miraculous five-colored dragon-dog named Panhu answered an Emperor's call to defeat a dangerous rebel general. After bringing the enemy's head to the court, Panhu underwent a magical transformation to marry the Emperor's daughter. Together, they founded the ancestral lineages of the Yao and She people within the remote Wuling Mountains.
The elder Yugong, frustrated by two massive mountains blocking his path, resolves to move them by hand with his family. Despite ridicule from a 'wise' neighbor, Yugong persists, believing that successive generations will eventually finish the task. The Heavenly Emperor, moved by such unwavering determination, sends celestial giants to relocate the mountains, rewarding the old man's faith.
Yugong, a ninety-year-old man, was tired of the two massive mountains blocking his path and decided to move them by hand. Despite being mocked for his age and the scale of the task, he believed his descendants would eventually finish the work. Impressed by his unwavering determination, the Jade Emperor intervened and sent divine beings to relocate the mountains.
The myth follows Nüwa, the daughter of the Flame Emperor, who drowns in the Eastern Sea and is reborn as the bird Jingwei. To prevent others from suffering her fate, she vows to fill the vast ocean with pebbles and twigs from the mountains. It is a timeless story of indomitable will and the refusal to surrender to overwhelming odds.
Nüwa, the youngest daughter of the Flame Emperor Yandi, drowned in the East Sea and was reborn as a bird named Jingwei. Resenting the sea for taking her life, she vowed to fill it up by carrying stones and twigs from the mountains to the water. This myth serves as a timeless symbol of indomitable will and perseverance against impossible odds.
Kuafu, a heroic giant from Chinese mythology, sought to capture the sun to regulate its path and bring relief to a world suffering from drought. He chased the sun across the horizon, drinking entire rivers dry in a desperate attempt to quench his thirst, only to succumb to exhaustion and heat. His final act of sacrifice saw his body and staff transform into mountains and a peach forest,...
In the age of the Great Flood, the hero Yu the Great labored to tame the waters, eventually marrying Nü Jiao of Mount Tu. After a misunderstanding led his pregnant wife to transform into a stone statue in terror, Yu demanded his son, causing the rock to split open and the future King Qi to be born.
A myth detailing the efforts of Yu the Great to control the devastating floods of ancient China. In a creative retelling, he transforms into a giant bear to carve paths through the stubborn mountains of Mount Tu to allow waters to drain into the sea.