Duyu

Duyu (, meaning cuckoo) was a legendary ruler of the ancient Kingdom of Shu in China. Accounts of his life are essentially mythological in nature, but some scholars believe that he existed as a person or as representation of a dynasty. He was the fourth ruler of Shu, and was said to have ruled Shu for over a hundred years.

Legend The story of Duyu is found in the Annals of the Kings of Shu (蜀王本纪, which only survives as quotations in other works), Chronicles of Huayang by Chang Qu, and miscellaneous notes. According to legends, Duyu was from Zhuti (朱提, Zhaotong in modern Yunnan) after having fallen from the sky. He married a woman named Liang Li (梁利) who was born in a well. He became the king of Shu after the previous king Yufu died. He ruled from his capital, Pi (郫, west of modern day Chengdu). He taught the people of Shu agriculture, and upon his death he transformed into a cuckoo.

Despite the mythical elements of his biography, he is generally accepted by Chinese as well as some Western scholars as having either existed or as representative of a dynasty.