Zhu Rong- Chinese GodDeity"God of Fire"

Fire Against Water

The defining myth of Zhu Rong is his battle with Gonggong, the god of water. The conflict arose from Gonggong's rebellion against the celestial order. Zhu Rong was dispatched to stop him, and fire met water in a clash that shook the foundations of the world.

Zhu Rong prevailed. But Gonggong's defeat triggered something worse than the battle itself: in his humiliation and rage, the water god smashed his head against Mount Buzhou, one of the pillars supporting the sky. The pillar collapsed. The northwest corner of heaven tilted downward, the southeast corner of the earth sagged, and water rushed across the land in a catastrophic flood. The sky was torn. It fell to the goddess Nüwa to repair the damage, smelting five-colored stones to patch the heavens and cutting the legs of a cosmic turtle to prop up the fallen corners. But the world was never quite the same. China's rivers still flow southeast, toward the tilt that Gonggong's fury created. At the beginning of that chain of consequence stood Zhu Rong's victory: the fire god who won his battle but could not prevent the ruin that followed.

The Blaze-Kindler

Zhu Rong's name means "Blaze-Kindler" or "Red Brightness," and beyond his cosmic battles he is credited with teaching early humanity the use of fire. Fire meant cooking and warmth, metallurgy and protection. Some traditions identify Zhu Rong as a descendant or aspect of Yan Di, the Flame Emperor, one of the legendary founders of Chinese civilization.

Mount Zhurong, one of the peaks of Heng Shan in Hunan Province, bears his name and has served as a sacred site for millennia. Fire's god honored on a mountaintop, where his element meets the sky.