Topic Archive

Myths about Yellow River

Explore myths connected by the recurring theme of Yellow River across cultures, characters, and sacred places.

5 myths currently featured for Yellow River.

The Eternal Feud of the Cat and the Rat

🐉 Chinese MythologyYellow River, Henan, ChinaJade Emperor • Cat • Rat

In the ancient days of the Jade Emperor, a great race across the silty Yellow River was held to determine the order of the Chinese Zodiac. Though the cat and the rat were once the closest of friends, the rat's desperate ambition led him to push the cat into the treacherous currents to secure first place. This act of betrayal forever excluded the cat from the zodiac and sparked a primal enmity...

Bi Xiao Deploying the Nine-Bend Yellow River Array Against the Zhou Army

🐉 Chinese MythologyMengjin, Yellow River, ChinaBi Xiao • Yun Xiao • Qiong Xiao

Following the death of their brother Zhao Gongming, the goddess Bi Xiao and her sisters Yun Xiao and Qiong Xiao sought vengeance against the Zhou army by constructing the formidable Nine-Bend Yellow River Array. This magical formation, established at the strategic crossing of Mengjin, utilized the power of the Mixed Sky Primordial Dipper to capture and depower the elite Twelve Golden...

Yu the Great Cleaving the Sanmenxia Gorge

🐉 Chinese MythologySanmenxia Gorge, Henan, ChinaYu the Great • The Divine Dragon • Gun

Yu the Great combats a catastrophic flood by redirecting the Yellow River. With the help of a divine dragon, he cleaves through the rocky Sanmenxia Gorge to allow the waters to flow freely to the sea.

Gun Stealing the Self-Expanding Soil (Xirang) from Heaven to Stop the Floods

🐉 Chinese MythologySanmenxia, Yellow River, ChinaGun (Count of Chong) • Emperor Yao • Zhurong

During the Great Flood of China, the hero Gun stole the magical self-expanding soil known as Xirang from the Heavens to dam the rising waters. Although he successfully halted the floods for a time, the Emperor of Heaven was enraged by the theft and ordered Gun's execution at Feather Mountain. From the remains of the fallen hero, his son Yu the Great was born to complete the task of taming the...

Nüwa Flicking Mud from a Vine to Create the Common People

🐉 Chinese MythologyYellow River, Henan, ChinaNüwa • Fuxi

The goddess Nüwa, feeling lonely in a world devoid of human company, shapes the first humans from yellow clay. While hand-crafting the nobility, she discovers a faster method by flicking mud from a vine, creating the common people. This myth explains the origins of humanity and the social stratification of ancient society.