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Shuimu

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In Chinese mythology, Shuimu/水母 (as a variant of Shuimu Niangniang/ 水母娘娘), is a water demon, spirit or witch of Buddhist and Taoist origin.[1] She is also identified with the youngest sister of the transcendent White Elephant (Buddha’s gate-warder).[2] According to Chinese folklore, she is responsible for submerging Ssuchou/Sizhou (泗州) (an ancient Chinese city located in today’s Jiangsu/江苏 Province) under the waters of lake Hongze Lake/洪泽湖 in 1574 A.D. and is currently sealed at the foot of a mountain in Xuyi/盱眙 District.[3] However, Shuimu is interpreted differently in specific regions of China. For example, in Sizhou, people believe that she is a demon goddess[3] while in Nanlao Quan, it is believed that she was a women who was gifted a magical whip by an old man.[4] In Mandarin, the word “Shui” means ‘water’ while “mu” points to ‘mother’ and “niangniang” stands for ‘queen or concubine of the king’. Shuimu is also referred to as The Old Mother of Waters[3], Fountain Goddess[4], and Sea/Chaos/潮 Goddess.[5]

Appearance

She is described as a woman that can turn into a dragon and resembles Tiamat (sea dragon), a Mesopotamian Goddess of the ocean.[4] According to Henri Dorés "Researches into Chinese Superstitions", in her ‘human’ form she carries a sword along with two buckets and has black hair with a youthful appearance.[6]

Shui-mu, Old Mother of Water

Mythology

The Old Mother of Water

According to Chinese folklore, Shuimu inundated Sizhou/泗州 yearly and so on the insistence of the locals, Yu Huang/玉皇, The High God (or in some versions, The Jade Emperor)[4] raised an army to capture Shuimu and deprive her of her powers. The water demoness, however, was able to trick the army and escape after which she continued to wreak havoc upon the city. One day Shuimu was carrying two buckets of water near the city gate. Li Lao-chun (a famous philosopher from Tao that takes on a mythological personification here) suspected that she was going to attack Sizhou/泗州 so while she was away, he led a donkey to the buckets and allowed it to drink the water. However, the donkey was unable to finish all the water as the buckets contained the sources of the five great lakes. Shuimu saw through Li Lao’s scheme and overturned one of the buckets with her foot creating a massive flood which submerged the city.[3]

The Magic Vermicelli

The Magic Vermicelli is a continuation of The Old Mother of the Waters and is another folklore tale that took place after Shuimu sank Sizhou. The Monkey King tried to capture her but she continued to slip through his fingers and so asked Kwan-yin/观音 (the dragon slaying Goddess of Mercy and also the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara)[7] for help. Shuimu was famished after being constantly chased so she went to a vermicelli stand where Kwan-yin (disguised as a woman) was waiting for customers with two bowls of food. However, while she ate, the vermicelli in her stomach turned into iron chains with the end protruding from her mouth. The remaining contents of the bowl also became chains and welded themselves to the end of the ones in her mouth after which she surrendered. Kwan-yin then ordered The Monkey King to chain Shuimu in a well at the foot of a mountain in Xuyi District. It is believed that the end of her chain can still be seen when the water is low.[3]

Battle against the Celestial warriors

In another tale (documented by Henri Doré) Shuimu fought alongside Tuh-hwo-kwei (a fiery demon) against Wang Lingquan (The supreme God of Taoists) and his army (the celestial warriors) at the request of the Water Elephant. She arrived with five thousand sailors, her magic tortoises, and crabs from the Eastern seas. Despite, Wang Lingquan’s warnings, she and Tuh-hwo-kwei attacked with water and fire torrents respectively. Shuimu also created large tidal waves from the five great lakes that swept over the plains. However, reinforcements for the celestial warriors arrived and Shuimu was overpowered. The Red Child demon heated her water to the boiling point and so she along with her troops fled to a place called Sze Chow(Sizhou) after which Wang and his army won the battle.[6]

Nanlao Quan Shuimu Lou temple

The Shuimu Lou temple is a two-storied structure built above the spring Nanlao Quan/难老泉. It is dedicated to Shuimu and is where people worship her and leave coins. On the upper floor, there is a statue of her along with two large mural paintings. The temple itself dates back to the 16th century and is dedicated to a peasant women who was given a magical whip by an old man. Whenever she needed water, she would simply knock her jug with the whip and immediately water would spring out from it. However, her mother-in-law found out about the whip and tried to do the same thing herself, only this time, the water did not stop flowing and the area became a source of the Jin River /晋河.[4]

Rainbow Bridge Shuimu (虹桥水母)

“Presenting the gift of a pearl at the rainbow bridge” or Hung-ch’iao seng-chu, is a Chinese play in which Shuimu is a demoness that lives under the Rainbow Bridge. The bridge is also close to Sizhou and she calls herself ‘Granny Water Mother’. She rules over other demons and one day meets a young man while she is in town (Sizhou). She falls in love with him and invites him into her underwater residence. The man follows her inside willingly despite knowing that she is a demoness. Once there, he sees the ‘water-repellent pearl’ on her collar and so he gets her drunk, takes the collar and flees. In retaliation, Shuimu drowns Sizhou. Kwan yin hears the plight of its people and gathers an army to fight Shui-mu, however she does not relent. As a result, Kwan yin tricks her into eating noodles that turn into chains while they are in her stomach so she surrenders.[8]

Notes

  1. ^ Fontenrose, Joseph Eddy. Python: A Study of Delphic Myth and Its Origins. University of California Press, 1959. Print.
  2. ^ Doré, Henri. Researches into Chinese Superstitions. Vol 9. Túsewei Printing Press. Internet Archive. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e Werner, Edward Theodore Chalmers. Myths and Legends of China. Courier Corporation, 1994. Print. Page 222
  4. ^ a b c d e Hoevels, Fritz Erik. Mass Neurosis Religion: Colleted Essays about the Psychoanalysis of Religion. Ahriman-Verlag GmbH, 1999. Page 197
  5. ^ Salmonson, Jessica Amanda. The Encyclopedia of Amazons: Women Warriors from Antiquity to the Modern Era. Open Road Media, 2015. Print. Chapter 6, Chapter 13
  6. ^ a b Doré, Henri. Researches into Chinese Superstitions. Vol 9. Túsewei Printing Press. Internet Archive. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.
  7. ^ Salmonson, Jessica Amanda. The Encyclopedia of Amazons: Women Warriors from Antiquity to the Modern Era. Open Road Media, 2015. Print
  8. ^ Yü, Chün-fang. Kuan-Yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokitesvara. Columbia University Press, 2001, www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/yu--12028. Page 121

Bibliography

  • Buckhardt. Chinese Creeds and Customs. Routledge, 2013. Print. Page 166
  • Doré, Henri. Researches into Chinese Superstitions. Túsewei Printing Press. Internet Archive. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.
  • Fontenrose, Joseph Eddy. Python: A Study of Delphic Myth and Its Origins. University of California Press, 1959. Print.
  • Hoevels, Fritz Erik. Mass Neurosis Religion: Colleted Essays about the Psychoanalysis of Religion. Ahriman-Verlag GmbH, 1999. Page 197
  • PhD, Patricia Monaghan. Encyclopedia of Goddesses and Heroines: Revised. New World Library, 2014. Print. Page 70
  • Salmonson, Jessica Amanda. The Encyclopedia of Amazons: Women Warriors from Antiquity to the Modern Era. Open Road Media, 2015. Print. Chapter 6, Chapter 13
  • Werner, Edward Theodore Chalmers. Myths and Legends of China. Courier Corporation, 1994. Print. Page 222

Shuimu

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