In Chinese mythology, the sun is sometimes symbolized as a three-legged bird, called Sun-Birds. There were ten of these sunbirds, all of whom are the offspring of Dijun, God of the Eastern Heaven. The ten sun birds resided in a mulberry tree in the eastern sea; each day one of the Sun-Birds would travel around the world on a carriage, driven by Xihe, the Mother of the Suns.

Folklore also held that, at around 2170 BC, the Sun-birds grew tired of the routine and decided that all of them were to rise at the same time. The heat on earth became intense. At a result, crops shriveled in the fields. Lakes and ponds dried up. Human and non-human animals cowered in shelters or collapsed from exhaustion. Time passed and the suffering continued. Yao, the Emperor of China, decided to plead for divine intervention and to ask Dijun for aid.

Dijun was well aware of his sons’ misdeeds, and sent for Houyi, the God of Archery, to teach his sons a lesson. Dijun wanted Houyi to simply frighten them so that they would not dare to cause mischief again. Houyi, too, wanted to settle this crisis peacefully, but a single glance at the scorched land was enough to convince him that desperate measures were needed. Angered by the suffering of the people caused by the Sun-birds’ misconduct, Houyi lifted up his bow and shot them down one by one. Upon killing the ninth, Emperor Yao hurried to halt him as killing the last one would leave the world in total darkness. Houyi agreed and was hailed as a hero for mankind. Yet, later, Houyi’s actions caused him to make enemies in Heaven and as a result he was punished with divine wrath.