Hou Yi: The Depressive Hero Who Saved the World but Lost Happiness

Introduction: The Hero Who Shot Down Ten Suns

In Chinese mythology, ‘Hou Yi’ is a legendary archer who faced the impossible head-on. When ten suns rose in the sky and all things were burning to death, he picked up his bow and shot down nine suns to save the world. However, what was waiting behind this brilliant victory was not glory, but eternal separation from his wife and a lonely death.

Borrowing Melanie Klein’s ‘Depressive Position’ theory, let’s look at the psychology of loss and sadness contained in the life of the hero Hou Yi.

1. Collapse of Omnipotence: Losing Divinity and Becoming Human

Hou Yi was originally a celestial god, but shooting down the suns earned him the anger of the Celestial Emperor, and he was driven down to earth to become a mortal human.

• Expulsion from Paradise: This symbolizes the process where an infant escapes the fantasy that they can control everything (omnipotence) and realizes their limits and dependency. The anger and frustration Hou Yi felt are similar to the emotional labor we feel when we lose our omnipotent ego and have to face the pain of reality.

2. Elixir of Immortality and Chang’e: Unfillable Deficiency

Hou Yi obtains the elixir of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West to live forever, but his wife Chang’e takes it all alone and flies away to the moon.

• From Paranoid-Schizoid Position to Depressive Position: According to Klein, a child initially perceives the object (mother) by splitting it into ‘good parts’ and ‘bad parts.’ The conflict between Hou Yi and Chang’e shows a psychological turning point where the wounded ego blames the loved object (persecution) and ultimately fears losing that object (depression).
• Chang’e’s Flight: Chang’e leaving for the moon can symbolize a human defense mechanism trying to escape from unbearable realistic pain and guilt. Hou Yi, as the one left behind, had to fully endure that loss.

3. Lonely End: A Tragedy That Failed to Sublimate Loss

Despite being a hero who saved the world, Hou Yi met a miserable end by the arrow of his disciple Feng Meng.

• The Shackles of Depression: In the ‘depressive position,’ the ego must integrate the lost object into the heart and achieve ‘reparation’ to mature. However, Hou Yi in the myth failed to mourn the lost Chang’e and his own divinity in the end, and as a result, he reached a catastrophe of being betrayed by the object closest to him (his disciple). This warns of the internal collapse that occurs when a wounded hero fails to heal their own sadness.

Conclusion: Are You Sufficiently Mourning Your Sadness?

Hou Yi’s story asks us a question: “Even if you seem to have gained everything in the world, what do you do when you lose something precious in your heart?”

We taste achievements that shot down many ‘suns’ while living, but at the same time, we experience large and small losses. What is important is not the size of the achievement, but the courage to sufficiently mourn the loss I have experienced and fill that empty space with new meaning. Today, quietly look into the empty space of ‘Chang’e’ left in a corner of your heart. When you acknowledge that sadness, true internal peace will finally begin.

In the next post, through the story of ‘Shun’ who endured in a painful family environment, overcame the ‘false self,’ and became a sage king, we will look at the ‘true self.’