#fuxi

From the primordial egg of chaos came the god Pangu, who, after standing up and dying, became all things in the universe from rivers to mountains to trees, as well as giving birth to the creature Huaxu. From her are born two divine beings, Fuxi and Nuwa, said to be humanoids with snake bodies. As his consort creates life from clay he bestows it with the knowledge of the world such as fishing, writing, and a powerful system categorizing the elements known as the bagua. Along with Shennong and Nuwa he is known as one of the Three Sovereigns, beings thought to have actually existed and guided humanity. Fuxi is thought to have originated the family structure, marriage, and divination. Where Nuwa is the celestial goddess of the stars, associated with yin, he is the terrestrial god of the earth, associated with yang. It is believed he lived for around 190 years and died at a place called Chen.

Pantheon: Chinese

Domain or Function: Creator of man who invents the bagua elemental system, teaches fishing, writing, and crafts.

Alternate Names: Fu Hsi, Bao Xi (包牺), Mi Xi (宓羲).

Character Traits: He bestows gifts of knowledge onto man and is thought of as a beneficial ancient king and creator.

Visual Traits: In artwork he is shown as a man with a serpents tail twining around his wife, often dressed in clothing based on the period the art comes from. Most often he is holding a carpenter's square, wears a hat called a shanzixing (山字形), and sometimes the disk of the sun. He is usually shown as an older man covered in animal pelts and/or leaves.

Symbolism: Serpents, the sun, carpenter's square, longma.