What Is the Chinese Flood Myth and Why Was the Earth Flooded According To Chinese Mythology?

One day, a farmer in his field noticed the distant rumble of thunder.

As the first drops of rain fell, the man returned to his house and hoisted a giant iron cage outside his door.

The storm soon blew around the house, and torrents of rain crashed against the roof. Through the tumbling clouds and lightning, the man glimpsed the Thunder God himself.

Before the god could react, the cunning farmer speared him with a fork and slammed him into the cage. Immediately, the storm disappeared.

The next morning, the farmer went to the market. Before he left, he strictly warned his two children not to give the god any water. But after the man was gone, the god begged and cried for a drink.

The kind children heard his pleas and gave him a small sip of water. Suddenly, the god swelled in size and exploded from the cage. To repay the children’s kindness, the god pulled a tooth from his mouth and told them to plant it.

The children obeyed his order and a giant gourd sprang from the ground. Soon after, clouds formed and rain began drenching the earth.

The farmer returned from the market and told his children to climb into the gourd while he built a boat. As the rivers and oceans began to rise around them, the farmer climbed into his ship and floated next to the gourd.

Soon, everything on earth was covered with water. The waters continued to rise until the farmer and his children neared heaven itself.

They cried out to the Lord of Heaven to end the flood. Hearing their pleas, the Lord of Heaven ordered the Water God to push back the waters.

The Water God obeyed, but he did it so quickly that the farmer’s boat crashed to the ground, killing him.

His two children were the only survivors.