Xingtian 刑天 (Xíng tiān)

Watercolor and Alcohol Markers, 2020
Wen Ting Dong 董文婷

Xingtian is a nameless warrior giant that used to serve the legendary Yan Emperor. When the Yan Emperor lost his position as ruler of Heaven to the Yellow Emperor, many of his followers found that unfair and wanted help the Yan Emperor to regain his power by fighting the Yellow Emperor. Xingtian wanted to join this rebellion army lead by Chiyou (蚩尤) but was persuaded out of it by the Yan Emperor. Chiyou’s army failed and when the news reached Xingtian,  he was infuriated by this. Out of anger for revenge, Xingtian stormed his way up to heaven defeating everyone in the way with his battle-ax and shield and fought the Yellow Emperor in a fierce duel. Xingtian was an extremely skilled fighter and gave the Yellow Emperor quite a hard time, they fought all the way out of heaven and onto a mountain named Mount Changyang (常羊). The Yellow Emperor finally won by attacking Xingtian from behind and beheading him. Out of fear of his might and power, the Yellow Emperor sliced open the mountain where they were fighting on and dropped the severed head down into it so Xingtian cannot find it. The beheaded Xingtian refused to stop fighting and out of frustration of not being able to see he turned his nipples into eyes, and ripped his belly button into a new mouth. This now headless warrior continues to search and go after the Yellow Emperor, never giving up on his goals. After this, the headless warrior got his name of Xingtian which means “punishment day”. Even though Xingtian failed to complete his quest for revenge, Ancient Chinese still admired him for his determined spirit and perseverance.

Fun Fact - Xingtian loved music, he even wrote a few lyrics himself, and after he was beheaded he still sang battle songs with his new mouth on his hunt for the Yellow Emperor. (No idea how it will sound like or he could hear it himself.)