The story
In ancient Chinese mythology, there are ten suns. And there are ten gold ravens carrying each sun. Everyday, one of them flies up high across the sky. They take turns to light up the world. By the end of the day, the gold raven will return to the divine tree called Fu Sang (扶桑).
According to the literature, the raven is normal black raven, they just have the name “Gold raven”. And these ravens began with two feet (~1000 BC) until 49 BC -9 BC (Han dynasty). They transformed into three legs. This also influenced Japanese folklore. In Japan, the three-legs raven is called 八咫鸦(YATANOKARASU). It also represents the spirit of sun.
The story doesn’t end here. It has a sad ending, which I will return to at the end of this post.
Digital concept
Well since they are called “Gold ravens”, why not paint them in golden tones? I like to use greenish brown to give the golden feeling. And I let them carry the sun, literally. As to the eyes, black eyes are hard to notice. So, I just reverse it to white color. This makes it easier to find.
Summary
OK, the story continues,
Since only one golden raven can fly into the sky each day, they are unhappy because they cannot fly and play together. One day, however, they decide to all ascend to the sky and have fun simultaneously. Ten ravens appear, each carrying a sun. The scorching heat burns everything on Earth—the rivers dry up, the crops wither, and every living soul suffers.
The Emperor of Heaven commands the ravens to return to the tree, but they refuse to listen, enjoying their time playing together. Consequently, the Emperor must find a way to eliminate the ravens to save the land and its people.
The Emperor of Heaven finds a hero named Hou Yi (后羿), who is an exceptional archer. He offers him a powerful bow and ten arrows. Following the Emperor’s orders, Hou Yi begins shooting the ravens in the sky. One by one, the ravens die and fall, and the suns disappear one by one until only one remains. The Emperor of Heaven stops Hou Yi’s last arrow, saying that the world needs only one sun.
After that, only one golden raven remains. Every day, it must carry the sun as it flies across the sky and then return to the divine tree. There are no siblings left to share this burden, and no more time for play.
Only working by itself without any break. This is a sad story….😂
I hope you enjoy it~
Thank you.