The Highest Good Is Like Water: The Nourishing Virtue of Yushui and How Heaven-One Begets Water
This article offers a deep reading of Yushui (Rain Water) among the Twenty-Four Solar Terms, drawing on pre-Qin Confucian and Daoist philosophy, etymology, and astronomical phenology. Through an examination of the original meanings of the characters "雨" (rain) and "水" (water), the astronomical positioning of the sun at 330° of celestial longitude, and the three phenological signs of the term, combined with Laozi's teaching that 'the highest good is like water,' Guanzi's view of water as the origin of all things, and the Book of Changes' vision of Heaven-One begetting water and clouds moving to bring forth rain, the essay reveals the virtue of water and the meaning—between Heaven and humanity—of spring rain nourishing all things.
Chapter 14 Water in High-Antiquity Myth: Water Spirits, the Rain Master, and the Responding Dragon
1. Gonggong: Water Spirit and Sovereign of the Virtue of Water
In high-antiquity myth, the water spirit Gonggong is an exceedingly important figure. As noted earlier (in discussing the correspondence of the Five Phases with the Five Sovereigns), the sovereign of winter is Zhuanxu (Water virtue), while Gonggong is often regarded as a spirit associated with water. The myth of Gonggong offers an important point of entry for understanding the ancients' complex feelings toward water.
Gonggong, in high-antiquity myth, is a water spirit, and also a figure of the tragic rebel, steeped in pathos. The most famous myth is "Gonggong, in his rage, butts Mount Buzhou": Gonggong contended with Zhuanxu (in some accounts, with Zhurong) for the throne, and, having been defeated, in his fury rammed his head against Mount Buzhou—the pillar of Heaven that supported the sky. As a result, the pillar of Heaven snapped, the sky tilted toward the northwest, and the earth sank toward the southeast. This is why (in the ancients' explanation) the sun, moon, and stars all move toward the west, and why all rivers flow toward the southeast.
What is the deeper meaning of this myth$16 It is not merely a mythological explanation of natural geography (China's terrain being higher in the northwest and lower in the southeast, with rivers flowing eastward), but a narrative concerning the immense power of "water." As the water spirit, Gonggong's rage (butting Mount Buzhou) was able to shake Heaven and Earth and alter the very structure of the cosmos—this symbolizes precisely water's tremendous power to "breach dikes," "move mountains," and "overturn Heaven and Earth." Earlier we discussed water's quality of "the yielding overcoming the unyielding"; the myth of Gonggong, from another angle, reveals the "firm" aspect of water—once water grows enraged (as in a flood), its power is enough to destroy everything.
It is worth noting that the myth of Gonggong also reveals the "duality" of water—water is both a grace that nourishes all things (spring rain nourishing all things) and a calamity that destroys everything (flooding and inundation). This duality is precisely the root of the ancients' complex feelings toward water: they were grateful for water's nourishment (rain nourishing all things), yet also feared water's destructiveness (flooding causing disaster). The enraged, destructive water spirit in the myth of Gonggong is precisely the personified expression of water's "calamitous" aspect. What the Yushui solar term venerates, by contrast, is water's aspect of "grace"—the gentle, nourishing spring rain that "excels in benefiting the ten thousand things without contending." Only by understanding this duality of water can we fully understand the ancients' complex attitude of both worshipping and fearing water.
2. The Responding Dragon: The Divine Dragon That Summons Clouds and Brings Rain
In high-antiquity myth, the spirit most closely associated with bringing rain is the Responding Dragon (Yinglong). The Responding Dragon is a winged divine dragon, said to be capable of summoning clouds and bringing rain.
The "Classic of the Eastern Wilds" chapter of the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhaijing) records: "In the northeastern corner of the great wilderness there is a mountain called Xiongli Earth Mound. The Responding Dragon dwells at the southern pole. Having killed Chiyou and Kuafu, he could no longer return above, and so the world below has often suffered drought. Whenever there is drought, people dress up in the likeness of the Responding Dragon, and heavy rain is thereby obtained." In the northeastern corner of the great wilderness stands a mountain called Xiongli Earth Mound. The Responding Dragon dwells at the southern pole; having once killed Chiyou and Kuafu, he was unable to return to Heaven, and so the world below has since often suffered drought. Whenever drought comes, people dress themselves in the likeness of the Responding Dragon, praying for rain, and heavy rain is thereby obtained.
This myth is exceedingly important. It tells us: the Responding Dragon is the divine dragon who governs rainfall, and one of the ancients' methods of praying for rain was to "take on the likeness of the Responding Dragon"—imitating the appearance of the Responding Dragon in order to pray for rain. This is precisely the mythological basis for the "Yu sacrifice" (the rain-praying ritual) discussed earlier. The ancients believed that, by imitating the Responding Dragon (the rain spirit), they could summon rainfall. "Whenever there is drought, people take on the likeness of the Responding Dragon, and heavy rain is thereby obtained"—these words tie myth (the Responding Dragon bringing rain) and ritual (the rain-praying dance) closely together.
Why should the "dragon" govern rainfall$17 Because, in high-antiquity myth, the dragon was, from the very outset, a divine creature closely associated with water, cloud, and rain. The dragon dwells within water (deep abysses, rivers and seas), and is able to rise up into the clouds, summoning clouds and making rain. The Qian hexagram in the Book of Changes takes the "dragon" as its image (the submerged dragon, the dragon appearing in the field, the flying dragon, the dragon that has flown too high), and the Tuanzhuan commentary on the Qian hexagram says "clouds move and rain is bestowed"—the dragon (the image of the Qian hexagram) and rain (clouds moving and rain being bestowed) are, from the very outset, closely linked within the Book of Changes. The dragon's ability to bring rain stems precisely from its nature as "a divine creature that rises from water into the heavens"—it connects water (the earth) with cloud (the heavens), and is thereby able to summon clouds and bring rain. The Yushui solar term, as the season when the first spring rains fall, is precisely the season when the dragon (the rain spirit) begins to "move and bestow rain," exercising its power to bring rain. The later folk customs of the "Spring Dragon Festival" and "the Dragon Raises Its Head" likewise trace back to this ancient belief that "the dragon governs the spring rains."
3. The Rain Master and the Earl of the Wind: The Personification of Nature Spirits
Besides the Responding Dragon, high-antiquity myth also features the dedicated "Rain Master" (Yushi) and "Earl of the Wind" (Fengbo), governing rainfall and wind respectively.
The Rain Master is the spirit specifically in charge of rainfall. Across different texts, the Rain Master takes different forms and names (such as the "Fenglong" mentioned earlier, which in some accounts is indeed associated with rain). The Earl of the Wind is the spirit specifically in charge of wind. Wind and rain are often born together (the compound "wind and rain," fengyu), and so the Earl of the Wind and the Rain Master are also frequently mentioned together. That the ancients established such nature spirits as the Rain Master and the Earl of the Wind was, in essence, a personification and sacralization of natural phenomena such as "rainfall" and "wind"—enabling them to "communicate" with these phenomena through sacrifice and prayer.
Why did the ancients personify natural phenomena as spirits$18 This reflects the ancients' cosmology of "all things possessing spirit" (wanwu youling). In the ancients' view, natural forces such as wind, rain, thunder, and lightning were not cold physical processes, but the doings of "spirits" possessing will and emotion. Rainfall was the Rain Master's bestowal; the blowing of wind was the Earl of the Wind's doing. Since these natural forces were spirits possessing will, human beings could, through devout sacrifice and prayer, move them and petition them—this is precisely the foundation of belief upon which rain-praying rituals such as the Yu sacrifice rested.
The Yushui solar term, as the season when the first spring rains fall, is precisely the season when nature spirits such as the Rain Master and the Earl of the Wind "manifest their power," exercising their doings. When the ancients welcomed the first gentle spring rain during the Yushui season, they felt it to be the Rain Master's bestowal, Heaven's favor. This notion of attributing nature's grace to the favor of spirits may, from today's perspective, seem like "superstition," yet it contains within it an exceedingly precious sentiment—gratitude and reverent awe toward nature, toward Heaven and Earth. It was precisely this gratitude and awe that allowed the ancients to face Heaven and Earth's bestowals always with a humble, grateful heart, rather than taking nature's gifts for granted.
4. The Significance of Myth: A Poetic Expression of Water's Sacredness
Reflecting on the above discussion of Gonggong, the Responding Dragon, the Rain Master, the Earl of the Wind, and other water and rain spirits, we must ask: what is the fundamental significance of these myths$19
The fundamental significance of these myths lies in expressing "the sacredness of water." Within the ancients' spiritual world, water was not an ordinary substance, but a sacred, spirit-filled presence. It was the origin of the ten thousand things (in Master Guan's words), the element closest to the Way (in Laozi's words), the crystallization of Heaven and Earth's resonance (yin and yang resonating to produce rain), the source of life and the foundation of agriculture. Such a sacred presence was naturally personified into spirits (Gonggong, the Responding Dragon, the Rain Master), and naturally worshipped, sacrificed to, and celebrated.
And the Yushui solar term is precisely the season in which this "sacredness of water" finds its most concentrated expression within the yearly sequence. As the first spring rains fall, water becomes active once more, and all things begin to revive—in this season, the ancients' worship of water, their yearning for rain, and their gratitude toward the grace of Heaven and Earth all reach a peak. Those magnificent imaginings of water spirits and rain spirits in high-antiquity myth are, in the final analysis, all poetic expressions of the ancients toward this season in which "the sacredness of water" finds its most concentrated manifestation. When we revisit these myths today, we are not merely appreciating ancient stories, but touching once more that heart of the ancients, brimming with worship and gratitude toward water, toward rain, toward the grace of Heaven and Earth. This is the most profound revelation the myths of Yushui offer us.