Mount Buzhou- Chinese LocationLocation · Landmark"Pillar of Heaven"
Also known as: Buzhou Shan, Bùzhōu Shān, and 不周山
Titles & Epithets
Domains
Symbols
Description
One of the pillars holding heaven in place. When the water god Gonggong smashed his head against Mount Buzhou in rage after losing his battle, the cosmic pillar shattered. Heaven tilted to the northwest, earth shifted to the southeast. China's rivers flow east and the stars wheel northwest because of that tilt.
Mythology & Lore
The Broken Pillar
Mount Buzhou stood in the northwest, one of the great pillars supporting the sky in its proper place above the earth. When the water god Gonggong lost his battle for cosmic supremacy against Zhu Rong (in the Huainanzi's account) or against the sage-emperor Zhuanxu (in the Shanhaijing), he refused to accept defeat. In his fury, he smashed his head against the mountain.
The pillar shattered. The northwest corner of heaven, unsupported, sagged downward. The southeast corner of earth tilted in the opposite direction. Water rushed across the land. Fire rained from the broken sky.
The Tilt That Remains
The catastrophe brought the world to the brink. Wild beasts roamed free, and the people Nüwa had created from yellow clay faced extinction. The goddess smelted five-colored stones to seal the holes in the sky and cut the legs of a giant cosmic turtle to serve as new pillars.
But the repair was not complete. Heaven still leans toward the northwest, which is why the stars wheel in that direction. Earth still sags toward the southeast, which is why China's rivers flow eastward to the sea. The tilt remains.