Fusang- Chinese LocationLocation · Landmark"Tree Where the Sun Rises"
Also known as: Fúsāng, 扶桑, and 榑桑
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Description
A colossal mulberry tree at the edge of the eastern sea, Fusang held the ten suns among its branches. Each morning the goddess Xihe bathed one sun-crow in the glowing waters at its base and drove it across the sky. When all ten rose at once, the archer Houyi shot nine from the heavens.
Mythology & Lore
The Mulberry in the Eastern Sea
At the edge of the eastern ocean, on an island called Tanggu, where hot springs bubbled and the waters glowed with solar heat, a colossal mulberry tree rose from the waves. This was Fusang. The Shanhaijing places it at the world's eastern boundary, the origin point of daylight.
The ten suns appeared as three-legged golden crows perched among Fusang's branches, their light filtering through the cosmic mulberry leaves. Nine rested while one made its journey. Each morning, the goddess Xihe bathed the day's sun-crow in the glowing waters of Tanggu, placed it in her chariot, and drove it across the heavens to the western horizon. The next morning, another took its turn.
The Day All Ten Suns Rose
The catastrophe came when all ten suns abandoned their rotation and rose together. Their combined heat scorched the earth, withered crops, and boiled rivers dry. Fusang's branches, built to hold nine sleeping suns while one worked, stood empty.
The archer Houyi shot down nine of the golden crows. They fell from the heavens trailing fire, and where they struck the earth they left only the bodies of three-legged birds. One sun survived. Fusang still stood in the eastern sea, but now it held no waiting suns. The tree that had once hosted ten became the perch of one.