In ancient times, the world was peaceful and people lived happily. But this golden age did not last. One day, ten suns suddenly rose in the sky, scorching the heavens red, cracking mountains, boiling rivers, withering plants, and plunging the people into unbearable suffering.
The tribal leader Yao saw this and immediately sent a legendary archer named Yi to shoot down the suns, bringing relief to the people.
The divine archer received Yao's command, immediately prepared his magic bow and arrows, stepped onto a high rock, calmly drew the bow and aimed at one of the ten suns, and with a "swish," shot it. The sun burst into a massive ball of sparks, scattering countless golden fragments, and in an instant, fell down.
Then Yi shot down the second sun, the third sun, and in a flash, nine suns fell. As Yi drew his final divine arrow, ready to bring down the tenth, Yao stopped him and said,
“Now there is only one sun in the sky—neither cold nor hot, just right. It is very useful to the human world, so don't shoot it down anymore.”
After Yi shot down the suns, he spared the last one, leaving it in the sky.
Later, the idiom "Yi Shoots Down Nine Suns" came to be used as a metaphor for ridding the people of harm and rescuing them from disaster.
Source: *Huainanzi*, Chapter "Benjing Xun"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "羿射九日" came to describe ridding the people of harm and rescuing them from disaster.