Chiyou
Chiyou is the leader of the Nine Li in the Shanhaijing and the Huainanzi, described as bronze-headed and iron-browed, a maker of weapons and a master of fog and rain. He fought the Yellow Emperor at Zhuolu.
The Huainanzi and the Shanhaijing differ on the details of Zhuolu and on whether Nüba or Yinglong ended the drought; both are recorded. The planetary, elemental, zodiac and tarot values are modern overlays; the traditional associations are war, bronze and iron, fog and the colour red.
Correspondences
- Planetary Correspondence
- Mars
Offerings
- Offerings
- IronBronzeRed wineMeatIncenseA whetstone
Sacred timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- Chi YouCh'ih YuThe Bronze-HeadedLord of the Nine Li
- Gender Expression
- Masculine
- Titles
- God of WarThe Bronze-Headed RebelMaster of WeaponsLord of the Nine LiThe Fog-Maker
- Symbols
- Bronze headAxeShieldFogNine li bannerWhetstone
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- ToneMartial directAddressChiyouLord of the Nine LiBronze-Headed OneRelationshipThe smith and the soldier who know the costWarningHe taught the craft and lost the warResonanceSmiths soldiers the dispossessed those who make weapons
- Modern Practice
Worked with by smiths, soldiers and those who make a living from a craft the official story disapproves of. The practice is the whetstone and the account of what the weapon is for.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- WarMetallurgyRebellionFogRainWeaponsThe outsider
- Mythology Summary
Chiyou is the leader of the Nine Li in the Shanhaijing and the Huainanzi, described as bronze-headed and iron-browed, a maker of weapons and a master of fog and rain. He fought the Yellow Emperor at Zhuolu; the imperial forces could not find their way in the fog until the south-pointing chariot was devised, and the drought goddess Nüba, or in some tellings Yinglong, was brought in to break his rain. Chiyou was captured and executed, and his blood was said to have stained the ground. Later cults honoured him as a god of war — Qin Shi Huang and Liu Bang are both recorded as sacrificing to him — even while the official histories cast him as the rebel.
Details
- Correspondences
- ColorsRedBlackGreyScentsDragons bloodMyrrhCedarMetalsIronBronzeSteelAnimalsOxTigerSnakeCrow
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