Jingwei
Encyclopedia
Jingwei is the name of a character in Chinese mythology
. Originally the daughter of the emperor Yandi, she perished at a young age in the East Sea
. After her death she chose to assume the shape of a bird in order to exact revenge upon the sea by bringing stones and small twigs from the mountains nearby over the sea in an effort to fill it up. Jingwei even has a short dialogue with the sea where the sea scoffs her, claiming that she wouldn't be able to fill it up even in a million years, whereupon she claims that she will then proceed to take ten million years, even one hundred million years, whatever it takes to fill up the sea so that others would not have to perish as she did.
The story itself is recorded in the 山海经 Shan Hai Jing
.
From this myth comes the Chinese expression 精卫填海 ("Jingwei filling the sea") meaning a symbol of dogged determination and perseverance in the face of seemingly impossible odds.
Professor Manyuan Long from the University of Chicago named a new Drosophilia gene after Jingwei because it was - like the princess - 'reincarnated' with a new function and a new appearance (structure). Other related genes were named following the legend.
Chinese mythology
Chinese mythology is a collection of cultural history, folktales, and religions that have been passed down in oral or written tradition. These include creation myths and legends and myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state...
. Originally the daughter of the emperor Yandi, she perished at a young age in the East Sea
Donghai (Chinese mythology)
East Sea is identified as the body of water east of the mainland, according to ancient Chinese geography. It contains modern day East China Sea as well as the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea....
. After her death she chose to assume the shape of a bird in order to exact revenge upon the sea by bringing stones and small twigs from the mountains nearby over the sea in an effort to fill it up. Jingwei even has a short dialogue with the sea where the sea scoffs her, claiming that she wouldn't be able to fill it up even in a million years, whereupon she claims that she will then proceed to take ten million years, even one hundred million years, whatever it takes to fill up the sea so that others would not have to perish as she did.
The story itself is recorded in the 山海经 Shan Hai Jing
Shan Hai Jing
Shan Hai Jing is a Chinese classic text, and a compilation of early geography and myth. Versions of the text have existed since the 4th century BC, and by the early Han Dynasty it had reached its final form. It is largely a fabled geographical and cultural account of pre-Qin China as well as a...
.
From this myth comes the Chinese expression 精卫填海 ("Jingwei filling the sea") meaning a symbol of dogged determination and perseverance in the face of seemingly impossible odds.
Professor Manyuan Long from the University of Chicago named a new Drosophilia gene after Jingwei because it was - like the princess - 'reincarnated' with a new function and a new appearance (structure). Other related genes were named following the legend.