THE LEGEND

(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.