(蚩尤)CHI YOU
According to the Song dynasty history
book Lushi (路史), Chi You's surname was Jiang (姜), and he was a descendant of Yandi.
According to legend, Chi You had a
bronze head with metal foreheads. He had 4 eyes and 6 arms, wielding terrible
sharp weapons in every hand. His head was that of a bull with two horns, but the
body was that of a human. He is said to have been unbelievably fierce, and to
have had 81 brothers. Historical sources often described him as 'cruel and
greedy', as well as 'tyrannical'. Some sources have asserted that the figure
81 should rather be associated with 81 clans in his kingdom.
Tribe
Chi You is regarded as a leader of
the nine Li tribe (九黎) by nearly all sources. However, his
exact ethnic affiliations are quite complex, with multiple sources reporting
him as belonging to various tribes, in addition to a number of diverse peoples
supposed to have directly descended from him.
Some sources from later dynasties,
such as the Guoyu book, considered Chi You's Li tribe to be related to the
ancient San miao tribe (三苗). In the ancient Zhuolu Town is a
statue of Chi You claiming him to be the original ancestor of the Hmong people.
The place is regarded as the birthplace of the San miao / Miao people, the
Hmong being a subgroup of the Miao. In sources following the Hmong view, the
"nine Li" tribe is called the "Jiuli" kingdom, Jiuli
meaning "nine Li". Modern Han Chinese scholar Weng Dujian identifies
Chi You as belonging to the Man ethnic group. Chi You has also been counted as
part of the Dongyi.
Epic battles
Main article: Battle of Zhuolu
When the Yan emperor was leading his
tribe, he met Chi You leading his Nine Li tribes. The Yan emperor stood no
chance and lost the fight. He escaped, and later ended up in Zhuolu begging for
help from the Yellow Emperor. At this point the epic Battle of Zhuolu between
Chi You and the Yellow Emperor's forces began. According to legend, Chi You
breathed out a thick fog and obscured the sunlight. The battle dragged on for
days while the emperor's side was in danger. Only after the Yellow Emperor
invented the South Pointing Chariot, did he find his way out of the battlefield.
Chi You then conjured up a heavy storm. The Yellow Emperor then called upon the
drought demon Nuba, who blew away the storm clouds and cleared the battlefield.
Chi You and his army could not hold up, and were later killed by the Yellow
Emperor. After this defeat, the Yellow Emperor is said to become the ancestor
of all Huaxia Chinese. The Hmong were forced to live in the mountains and leave
their Li kingdom.
