Kua Fu
Encyclopedia
Kua Fu is a giant
in Chinese mythology
who wished to capture the sun.
One day out of the blue, Kua Fu was perplexed by the Sun
's whereabouts at night and decided to chase and catch the Sun. With each stride he gets closer to the Sun, however, he could never catch up to it.
He followed the Sun from the East to the West, draining all rivers and lakes crossing his path as sources of water to quench his burning thirst as he closed in on the star. However, he wasn't able to finish his quest because he died of the extreme heat and exhaustion.
The wooden club he was carrying grew into a vast forest. In modern day Chinese
usage, the story of Kua Fu chasing the sun (夸父追日) is used to describe a person who fails to obtain his goal because he greatly overestimates himself.
Giant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
in Chinese mythology
Chinese mythology
Chinese mythology is a collection of cultural history, folktales, and religions that have been passed down in oral or written tradition. These include creation myths and legends and myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state...
who wished to capture the sun.
One day out of the blue, Kua Fu was perplexed by the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
's whereabouts at night and decided to chase and catch the Sun. With each stride he gets closer to the Sun, however, he could never catch up to it.
He followed the Sun from the East to the West, draining all rivers and lakes crossing his path as sources of water to quench his burning thirst as he closed in on the star. However, he wasn't able to finish his quest because he died of the extreme heat and exhaustion.
The wooden club he was carrying grew into a vast forest. In modern day Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
usage, the story of Kua Fu chasing the sun (夸父追日) is used to describe a person who fails to obtain his goal because he greatly overestimates himself.