At the beginning of his reign, Zhuanxu (颛顼), the legendary Emperor of Heaven, initiated a major religious reform. After the Yellow Emperor (黄帝) had conquered the Jiuli tribe (九黎), who refused to honor the heavens and were instead focused on witchcraft and sorcery, Zhuanxu issued a decree banning these practices. He ordered the Jiuli people to adopt the teachings of the Yellow Emperor’s lineage, thereby solidifying his authority and establishing his prestige.
Zhuanxu (颛顼) had a particular fondness for the northern regions, as he had once been assigned to the north. Even after ascending the throne, his attachment to the north remained strong. Therefore, he ordered that the sun, moon, and stars be fixed permanently in the northern sky, so they would always shine upon the northern people. However, this decision caused great inconvenience to the people in the east (东方), south (南方), and west (西方), who lived in constant darkness. Despite the suffering of the people, Zhuanxu remained indifferent, finding comfort in the fact that the north was always bathed in light, allowing him to enjoy his position without concern for others. Eventually, this nearly absurd policy was overturned, and the celestial bodies returned to their natural orbits, once again bringing light to all.
Zhuanxu (颛顼) was a ruler who placed great importance on ritual and law. According to the Huainanzi (淮南子), Zhuanxu established the first “male superiority, female inferiority” law in human society. This law mandated that women must immediately yield the path when encountering men on the road. If a woman failed to do so, she would be dragged to a crossroads, where priests would perform rituals to exorcise any “evil spirits” from her. This law was highly unfair, and women lived in constant fear of punishment. They became so paranoid that they would flee from men as if escaping a plague, running at speeds so fast that even today’s world-class sprinters might struggle to catch them. The men, pleased with their newfound authority, took advantage of this law, bullying the women without remorse.
Zhuanxu (颛顼), pleased with his “success,” believed his law had achieved its intended purpose. Whether this legislation was beneficial or harmful to society is debatable, but one thing is clear: from the perspective of suppressing women, it was absurd.
One particularly tragic tale involved a brother and sister, who, deeply in love with each other, married. When Zhuanxu (颛顼) learned of this, he was enraged, viewing their relationship as immoral and disruptive to the social order. He exiled them to the remote Mount Kongtong (崆峒山), a mountain filled with jagged rocks and perilous cliffs. The siblings, facing bitter cold and hunger, had no food or clothing to protect themselves. In the midst of their suffering, they huddled together for warmth, but eventually, they succumbed to death, possibly from the cold or starvation. However, despite their tragic end, their love for each other remained unbroken.
Some years later, a giant mythical bird called Yuqiang (禹强) flew by. Upon seeing the tragic fate of the siblings, the bird felt pity and decided to revive them. After some consideration, it flew away and returned with the Immortal Herb (不死神草). The bird spread the herb over their bodies, and soon, the siblings came back to life. However, their bodies had fused together—now they had two heads, four arms, and four legs. Despite their unusual form, they were happy, for they could never be separated again. The two siblings formed a new tribe, called the Shuangmeng Clan (双蒙氏), and from them, descendants were born with the same strange appearance.
As for Zhuanxu’s (颛顼) death, it is said that the death of an emperor can bring about peculiar transformations, and Zhuanxu’s case was no different. One day, a fierce wind blew from the north, and the underground springs began to bubble to the surface. The wind was so strong that snakes turned into fish. A fisherman, amazed by this bizarre phenomenon, witnessed a dead person taking advantage of the transformation. The dead man attached himself to one of the fish and came back to life. That person was Zhuanxu (颛顼). After his resurrection, his upper body remained human, but his lower half had turned into that of a fish.
Though he had lost his former grandeur and dignity, the revived Zhuanxu (颛顼) was still proud. He declared, “I am the Heavenly Emperor, Zhuanxu (颛顼). I have risen from the dead, and now I am called ‘Yufu’ (鱼妇, Fish Woman).” After making this declaration, the fish-woman vanished.
The reason Zhuanxu (颛顼) was referred to as “Yufu” (鱼妇) may be because the fish had saved his life, turning him into a creature that was half human and half fish. This image of the “fish-woman” bears a striking resemblance to the modern mythical idea of the “mermaid.” However, no one knew what happened to the fish-woman after that.
A similar transformation is also said to have occurred with Hou Ji (后稷), the ancestor of the Zhou people (周民族). After his death, he too was resurrected, with one half of his body turning into a fish. His transformation bore a remarkable similarity to that of Zhuanxu’s (颛顼), though the reasons behind his change remain unknown. The records of this transformation are scarce, but the myth has been passed down in ancient texts.
Zhuanxu’s (颛顼) life and death are filled with absurdities, from his tyrannical laws to his resurrection as a half-human, half-fish figure. His story, rich with symbolism and moral lessons, reflects the complex and often contradictory nature of ancient mythological rulers in Chinese lore.