鲧 (Gǔn) · Gun, a mythical figure, father of Yu the Great

Meanings

1 Gun, a mythical figure, father of Yu the Great
2 (archaic) a kind of large fish

About Gun

Father of 大禹 in Chinese legend. Sent to stop the great flood, he built dams for nine years and failed, and was put to death; his son later succeeded by digging channels to drain the water.

Also called 崇伯

Characters

鲧

Gǔn

Gun (flood-myth figure); a large fish

Examples

HSK 5

传说鲧治水失败，他的儿子大禹后来成功了。

Chuánshuō Gǔn zhìshuǐ shībài, tā de érzi Dà Yǔ hòulái chénggōng le.

Legend says Gun failed to control the floods, and his son Yu the Great later succeeded.

Tips

culture

鲧 is not an ordinary word in modern Chinese: it survives almost only as this name, and older texts also write it 鮌. In the 《山海经》 he steals the Supreme God's 息壤, a soil that grows by itself, to block the flood, and is killed for it.

Components

radical

鱼 yú

fish

鱼 the fish radical reflects the original sense, 'a large fish', which became the legendary figure's name.

phonetic

系 xì

to tie; connection

系 gives the sound, drifted to gǔn. In the traditional form 鯀 the phonetic is the fuller 系-derived element; the simplified form keeps 系.

In Pop Culture

鲧 Gǔn

Mythical flood-fighter who dammed the waters and failed; his son 大禹 later tamed the floods by dredging. A classic Chinese parable of rigid versus adaptive method.