The Shanhai Jing records that Gonggong begat Hòutǔ, the earth deity who commands the vast flat lands and governs all that lies beneath the soil.
Xiāngliǔ served as Gonggong's chief minister, the nine-headed serpent whose poisonous touch corrupted every waterway and field while his master waged war for supremacy over the cosmos.
Gonggong, spirit of water, and Zhu Rong, spirit of fire, waged war for cosmic supremacy. Gonggong's defeat drove him to smash Mount Buzhou in rage, tilting heaven and earth.
⚠ The Huainanzi 'Tiandi Xun' names Zhuanxū as Gonggong's opponent in the war for supremacy, while the Liezi 'Tang Wen' and later traditions substitute Zhu Rong as the antagonist.
Gonggong and Zhuānxū warred for cosmic supremacy, and when Gonggong was defeated he smashed his head against Mount Bùzhōu in rage, snapping the pillar of heaven and tilting the sky to the northwest.
⚠ The Huainanzi names Zhu\u0101nx\u016b as Gonggong's opponent, while the Liezi and later traditions substitute Zhu Rong \u2014 two parallel accounts of the same cataclysmic war.
Gonggong smashed his head against Mount Buzhou, the northwestern pillar of heaven, after losing the battle for supremacy, causing the sky to tilt and rivers to flow southeast.
After Gonggong shattered the pillar of heaven in his rage, Nüwa melted five-colored stones to mend the broken sky and restored order to the world.
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