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China: Ink drawing of the lunar goddess Changxi, from the Chinese text 'Shan Hai Jing', c. 19301930

China: Ink drawing of the lunar goddess Changxi, from the Chinese text 'Shan Hai Jing', c. 19301930

Changxi is a Chinese lunar deity worshipped in traditional Chinese folk religion. An ancient goddess form ancient times, the earliest historical information on Changxi came from the first copies of 'Shan Hai Jing', which have existed since the 4th century BCE.

Alongside the sun goddess Xihe, Changxi was one of the two wives of Di Jun, God of the Eastern Heaven. She gave birth to twelve moon daughters, who would each complete a full journey across the heavens every night. Her significance in the Chinese pantheon would wane over time, until she was 'demoted to a minor position'.

Changxi and Xihe are a representation of Yin and Yang, with Xihe's ten suns and Changxi's twelve moons reflecting the Chinese solar and lunar calenders.

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