There are several versions of the Panhu story in Chinese mythology, but here only the most popular one will be detailed.
Panhu’s Birth
In early China, there was a king named Gao Xin who ruled over some significant region of land. His wife, the queen, had a terrible earache for three years, and no person in the kingdom could figure out how to relieve the pain. Eventually, she traveled to a healing wizard who took a knob-worm cocoon object out of her ear. It was a mysterious object, and not wanting to get rid of it, she kept it in a gourd basket. When she was traveling, she covered this basket with a plate. One day, while she was outside with this basket, the cocoon hatched a dog that displayed five different colors on its fur. The queen named the dog Panhu, or “Platter Gourd”/”Plate Gourd”.
Panhu’s Feat
After some time had passed, Gao Xin was having problems with a neighboring kingdom tribe, called the Dog Jung. They were ruled by General Fang, who had an extreme rivalry with Gao Xin, and would frequently rob and attack Gao Xin’s people. Eventually, Gao Xin made a declaration that asked for the head of General Fang. As a reward, any person who achieved this feat would get gold, an enormous portion of land, and would get Gao Xin’s youngest daughter’s hand in marriage.
Later, it was realized that Panhu had gone missing. Some time later, he returned with a human head hanging out of his mouth. The king and everyone around him looked in awe and inspected the head. The concluded that it was indeed General Fang’s head. Gao Xin was appreciative, but did not think his dog deserved the reward he had promised. As a result, Panhu refused to eat or drink.
Panhu’s Reward
Gao Xin’s daughter, feeling sympathy for Panhu, requested that the initial offer be given to him. She reasoned that it was a heavenly decree and that by not fulfilling it, her father was divinely wrong. Eventually giving in, Gao Xin agreed to give Panhu the reward. Now, in some versions of this story, Panhu turns into a man with a dog head, while in other versions he remains as a dog. Either way, he took his wife far away into the forest. There, they had six daughters and six sons. After many years, these sons and daughters married each other, and eventually formed into the legendary twelve tribes of Yao. They returned to their ancestral kingdom to claim the rest of their rewards, which included 1000 yi of gold and a very large portion of land – enough for ten thousand households.
Different Versions of the Story
Now, above was the main version of the story. There are many others, and their respective differences are listed below:
- In some versions, Panhu either stays as a dog or transforms into a man with a dog head
- In one version in particular, Panhu refuses to eat or drink for forty nine days, and asks to be placed underneath a bell in order to transform into a human. He also demands complete privacy during this time. This request is accepted, until the forty eighth day, where Panhu is checked on because people reasoned that he must have starved to death. Instead, they found Panhu in almost full transformation, with only his head remaining as a dog.
- In another version, Panhu simply transforms on the spot into a human with a dog head.
- In some versions, the princess has differing opinions toward her fated husband
- In some, like the one above, she wants to marry Panhu. Either through obligation to her father’s divine decree, or because she genuinely wants to marry Panhu.
- In others, she is disgusted or horrified with the half-man half-dog Panhu, and must cover her eyes when Panhu is in her vision.
- In some versions, Panhu’s family is different.
- In one case, Panhu is instead granted five women instead of the princess.
- In other cases, the numbers of Panhu’s children differ.
Areas of Potential Future Research and Interest
- Other Dog Man myths in the Chinese mythological literature
- The full, alternate versions of the Panhu story
References
Birrell, Anne. An Introduction to Chinese Mythology. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993.
White, David Gordon, and David Gordon White. Myths of the Dog-Man. The University of Chicago Press, 1992.
