Chi Li Slays The Serpent

The Chinese story “Chi Li Slays the Serpent,” is one of the most inspirational stories towards the female society. The story centers around a girl name Chi Li who offers herself as tribute to the Yung serpent. Living in a family of eight, a father, mother, and five older sisters, Chi declared to her parents that she decided to volunteer to be sacrificed to the Yung serpent. Chi’s parents, loving each and every one of their daughters, rejects her proposition. Determined, Chi snuck out, volunteered before the county magistrates, and requested a serpent-hound and sword. Upon arrival at the serpent’s den, she lured the serpent with rice balls, distracting him, unleashed the serpent-hound, and swiftly plunged her sword into the back of the serpent’s

head and neck. Chi Li’s heroism spread across the king of Yueh, deeming her “a worthy wife for the king of Yueh…” (Rosenberg 333) and became queen of Yueh. Chi Li, one of the most memorable heroine in Chinese mythology, proves that women can be a hero in her acts of humility, selflessness, courage, and intelligence.
To be humiliated is to let go of one’s pride for the sake of others. Chi Li showed this when she announced, “Father and Mother, I want you to know that I have decided to place myself in the hands of the county authorities and to volunteer to be sacrificed to the Yung serpent” (Rosenberg 331). Unfortunately Chi Li failed to persuade her parents and decided to secretly offer herself to the magistrates. She requested a serpent-hound and a sheathed sword as she planned to attempt to kill the serpent. Confucius played a role in this story: “obedience: children obeyed parents, peasants obeyed lord and officials, wives obeyed husbands…” (Kristin). Chi Li contradicted obedience when she disobeyed her parents’ wishes and offered herself to the officials. Female Confucian, Ban Zhao wrote: “Let a woman modestly yield to others; let her respect others; let her put others first, herself last” (Zhao).
To put herself last is an act of selflessness. Chi Li believed her death would mean more food for the rest of the family and that she was “too much of a burden [to her] family” (Rosenberg 332) for being alive. Knowing that she is unable to provide her parents with anything because she is a woman, she would rather die than burden them. Chinese society look down upon daughters and prefer families that contain sons. Sons are considered capable of providing for the family and succeeding their fathers compared to daughters, who were less than important because they were girls. The serpent “represent the male dominance in China … it claims the lives of many women, and controls the village by invoking fear in civilians” (Ramos). Males tend to be at the top of the hierarchy where no one is able to disobey him, as such the civilians were unable to disobey the serpent. Rather than having a random girl get selected, Chi Li offered herself as sacrifice. “Having a volunteer made their job much easier… readily accept[ing] Chi Li’s offer” (Rosenberg 332). Chi Li volunteering as sacrifice was valued because it meant that the kingdom of Yueh was safe from the serpent’s wrath.
Chi Li mustered up all the courage she had when she set foot in front of the serpent’s den. She “took a deep breath and said to herself, ‘At last, the time has come! And who knows? The gods may look with favor upon those who do their best to help themselves. If they do, I pray that I will have their blessings as I try to slay this serpent!’” (Rosenberg 332). Using the rice balls as bait, she successfully lured and distracted the serpent. After unleashing the serpent-hound, she leaped upon the serpent and drove her sword into the head and neck, killing him.
The use of rice balls shows Chi Li’s intelligence and ability to adapt to the situation.

She was able to think ahead and prepared the rice balls, knowing that the serpent would eat her right away when she’s been spotted. “Though women were thought in these times to be naturally less intelligent than men…” (World Mythology Essay) Chi Li was able to prove them wrong. At first she was horrified of the huge serpent but told herself to “push fear from your heart, and force your mind to think only of the task at hand! Watch the serpent closely so that you will know when to proceed with the next step!” (Rosenberg 333). Her use of strategy enabled her to outsmart and kill the serpent. Afterwards, she entered the serpent’s den and found the skulls of “the serpent’s nine sacrificial victims” (Rosenberg 333). Explaining that if her plan had failed, her remains would be among the rest of the nine girls. She gathered the skulls to bring back to the village as proof of her victory and to give them a proper burial. In a way, Chi Li chastised and pitied the girls for being “too timid to put up a fight! How pitiful!” (Rosenberg 333). Most women in this time would not put up a fight, or rather disobey men, in this case the serpent. They accepted their fate whereas Chi Li decided to go against her fate and fight back. Her bravery made her a hero and her heroism traveled to the king of Yueh, thus she became queen of

Yueh.
Chi Li was able to prove that a woman can be equally important as a man. Volunteering herself as sacrifice and successfully killing the serpent attracted the attention of the king of Yueh. Her act of heroism gave the sense that women too can be heroes. Unlike male heroes, Chi Li’s mission was “not to prove her skill, but done for the benefit of her family and community” (World Mythology Essay). In her marriage and becoming queen brought great fortune for her family. Having a female heroine rather than a male hero in this story is to show what a woman can do. It gives a different perspective towards women and ways that they can be a hero, or in this case a heroine. Chi Li’s heroism changed the Chinese’s attitudes towards women, proving that women are as valuable as men. The mythological story became an inspiration and motivation for women to stand up and fight back. It gives women courage to be who they want to be and no one can tell them otherwise. In Chinese mythology, Chi Li’s acts of humility, selflessness, courage, and intelligence proves that women can be heroes. What a man can do, a woman can too; so if there are heroes, then there are also heroines.