共工之臣曰相柳氏，九首，以食于九山。相柳之所抵，厥為澤谿。禹殺相柳，其血腥，不可以樹五穀種。禹厥之，三仞三沮，乃以為眾帝之臺。在昆侖之北，柔利之東。相柳者，九首人面，蛇身而青。不敢北射，畏共工之臺。臺在其東，臺四方，隅有一蛇，虎色，首衝南方。
Xiangliu, an official of Water God Gonggong, has nine heads that can eat from nine mountains at the same time. Wherever it goes, the place turns into swamps and streams. Yu the Great kills Xiangliu. Its foul blood splatters and no grain can grow where its blood lands. Yu tries to fill the swamps and streams three times and three times they collapse. He digs up the soil and creates an alter for the Five Emperors near north of Kunlun and east of Rouli. Xiangliu has nine heads with human faces and a green snake body. No one dares to shoot toward north out of fear for the alter of Gonggong, which is located on Xiangliu’s east side. It’s square in shape. Every corner has a tiger stripe snake facing south.
~ 《山海经·海外北经》
~ Classic of Mountains and Seas: Oversea North
Lost You Forever (长相思) was the only fantasy drama I’ve ever watched that depicted Xiangliu. He was such a captivating morally ambiguous character. And, I wanted to know more about the mythical creature he was based on. I was quite surprised to read that the real thing was truly a monster of mythical proportion. In the drama, his blood was poisonous. In the myth, his blood was environmentally toxic. In the drama, he could walk on water. In the myth, he created swamps. In the drama, people feared his ruthlessness. In the myth, mortals despaired by the floods he brought. In the drama, he was a loyal lieutenant of a rebel army. In the myth, his boss caused the apocalypse.
The movie Night at the Museum had Xiangliu, too. But I thought it was a Hydra.
For the Love of Drama 