What are the names of the eight pillars supporting the sky in ancient mythology?
The so-called "eight pillars" are generally understood in two ways.
One view is that he is an upright person. Wang Fuzhi, a thinker in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, explained in the Interpretation of Songs of the South that there are eight mountains on the earth, and those who are connected with the sky should be entrusted with them. In other words, there are eight mountains on the ground, which support heaven and earth as Tianzhu, among which Wang Yi and Wen Yiduo support this statement.
One thought: Eight pillars are the pillars that support the earth underground. There are records in River Map and Huainanzi that there are eight pillars in the earth and eight pillars in Kyushu.
Both explanations have their basis, so what exactly is "eight pillars"?
The earliest record of "Eight Columns" comes from "Eight Columns in Heaven and Earth, Kyushu" in Huainanzi, in which "Eight Columns" refers to "Eight Columns" by mistake.
Huainanzi recorded "octupole" like this:
Besides eight, there are eight poles. From the northeast, it is called the mountain of the earth and Cangmen; The East is called the mountain of the East Pole, the gate of enlightenment; About Aunt Hill in the southeast is called Yangmen; In the south, it is called the Antarctic Mountain, and it is called the Summer Gate. In the southwest, it is called Xiaomashan and Baimen. The west is called the mountain of the west pole and the gate of harmony; The northwest is called Busi Mountain, the gate of the secluded capital; The north is called the Mountain of the Arctic and the Cold Gate. "
If we regard octupole as octupole, we can translate it in the present words:
There are eight mountains on the ground, starting from the northeast, namely Fangtu Mountain, Dongji Mountain, Bomu Mountain, Antarctic Mountain, Bian Que Mountain, Xiji Mountain, Buzhou Mountain and Arctic Mountain.
It can be seen from here that "not surrounding mountains" is one of the "eight pillars" of heaven and earth.
Why is there a "loss in the southeast" and why does the land in the southeast suddenly sink? This involves the myth that Gonggong is angry and there is no hill. Where is this mountain without hills, and why does it appear in Chu culture many times?
There are two records about the location of Buzhoushan in Shan Hai Jing:
First, it is recorded in Shan Hai Jing and Xishan Jing: Worship My Mountain ... 300 miles northwest, Changsha Mountain ... 370 miles northwest, that thoughtless mountain.
Second, it is recorded in Shan Hai Jing Ye Xi Jing: Beyond the Northwest Sea, there is a mountain in a corner of the wild, named Bad Son, guarded by two yellow beasts. There is a kind of water called hot and cold water. There are wet mountains in the west and curtain mountains in the east.
From the two records, we can know that Buzhoushan was named because of the lack of mountain shape, and the missing part was because Gonggong and Zhuan Xu competed for the world and were angry at this mountain.
Through the description of two places, there are Chongwu Mountain and Changsha Mountain in the south of Buzhou Shandong, and Zhupi Mountain in the north. At the same time, it is adjacent to Yuechong Mountain, and it is expected to be east to Ling Ze, outside the Northwest Sea. There are cold hot springs in the mountains, wet mountains in the west and curtain mountains in the east. Buzhoushan is also rich in a peach-like jujube fruit with yellow flowers and red calyx.
We can generally infer that Buzhou Mountain is located in the northwest of the whole geographical map, but the specific location is difficult to determine.
Until the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was such a record in Lisao: "If the road is not good to turn left, it is called the West Sea." According to Wang Yi's explanation, the "thoughtless" here is "Buzhoushan", which is located in the northwest of Kunlun.
But in ancient times, Buzhou Mountain and Kunlun Mountain belonged to the myth system in the eyes of the ancients. Ancient myths and legends are all centered on the Kunlun myth. In Shan Hai Jing, Chu Ci and Huai Nan Zi, Kunlun refers to a complete and vast region and an imaginary world independent of reality.
It was not until the Han Dynasty that Kunlun had an entity, that is, the Kunlun Mountain in reality.
Therefore, it can be judged that Buzhoushan is in Kunlun Mountain, and it is unknown which mountain it refers to.
There is one more thing to explain to you. Gonggong belongs to Yandi system, and Zhuan Xu belongs to Huangdi system. After Gong Gong Gong and Zhuan Xu failed to fight for the emperor, they were so angry that they dared not move Zhoushan. Its internal meaning refers to the provocation and dissatisfaction with Zhuan Xu's authority. Tracing back to the source, this myth is actually a continuation of the struggle between Emperor Yan and Yellow Emperor.