For the Slavs, the ancient myths of China are something complex and incomprehensible. Their idea of the world, spirits and deities is very different from ours, which leads to some dissonance when they are read. However, if you look a little into their structure, realize everything that is happening, then a completely new picture of the universe, filled with amazing stories and discoveries, will open before your eyes.
Features of Chinese Myology
To begin with, all Chinese legends originated as songs. In the old days they were played at the emperor’s palace, in taverns, at the hearth and even on the streets. Over the years, the Chinese sages began to transfer myths to paper in order to preserve their beauty for posterity. Moreover, the largest number of ancient tests was recorded in the collections of “Book of Songs” and “Book of Stories”.
In addition, many Chinese legends have real roots. That is, the heroes of these myths really lived in certain time periods. Naturally, their abilities and skills were clearly exaggerated in order to give the story more epic. However, this does not negate the fact that the ancient myths of China are of great importance to historians, as they allow us to see the past of this people.
The Emergence of the Universe: The Chaos Myth
In Chinese mythology, there are several versions of how the world appeared. The most famous says that initially in the formless chaos lived only two great spirits - Yin and Yang. One fine “day” they were tired of the void, and they wanted to create something new. Yang absorbed the masculine principle, becoming heaven and light, and Yin - the feminine, turning into earth.
Thus, two great spirits created the universe. In addition, all living and nonliving in it obeys the original will of Yin and Yang. Any violation of this harmony will certainly lead to troubles and catastrophes. That is why most Chinese philosophical schools are built on the observance of universal order and harmony.
Great ancestor
There is another myth about the appearance of the world. He says that at the beginning there was nothing but a huge egg filled with pristine darkness. Also inside the egg was the giant Pan Gu - the progenitor of all living things. He spent 18 thousand years in a deep sleep, but one day his eyes opened.
The first thing that appeared before the eyes of Pan Gu was pitch darkness. She crushed him exorbitantly, and he wanted to drive her away. But the shell did not allow this, and therefore the angry giant broke it with his huge ax. At that moment, the entire contents of the egg scattered in different directions: the darkness descended, becoming the earth, and the light rose to the top, turning into heaven.
But not long rejoiced freedom Pan Gu. Soon he began to pursue the idea that the sky could fall to the earth, thereby destroying the world. Therefore, the ancestor decided to keep the sky on his shoulders, until it finally consolidates. As a result, Pan Gu held the firmament for another 18 thousand years.
In the end, he realized that he had reached his goal and fell to the ground dead. But his feat was not in vain. The body of the giant turned into great gifts: blood became rivers, veins became roads, muscles became fertile lands, hair became grass and trees, and eyes became celestial bodies.
The basics of the world
The Chinese believed that the whole universe was divided into three parts: heaven, earth and the underworld. At the same time, the land itself is supported on eight pillars that prevent it from drowning in the deep sea. The firmament rests on the same supports, which, in turn, is divided into nine separate zones. Eight of them are needed for the movement of celestial bodies, and the ninth serves as a place of concentration of higher forces.
In addition, all land is divided into four parts of the world or four kingdoms of heaven. They are controlled by four gods, personifying the main elements: water, fire, air and earth. The Chinese themselves live in the middle, and their country is the center of the whole world.
The emergence of the great gods
The ancient myths of China indicate that the gods appeared in heaven. The first supreme god was Shan-di, since it was in him that the great spirit of Yan was reborn. Thanks to his strength and wisdom, he received the throne of the emperor of heaven and began to rule the whole world. Two brothers helped him in this: the water god Xia-yuan and the god of the land, Zhong-yuan. The remaining deities and spirits were also born through the energy of Yin and Yang, but at the same time they had much less power than the Supreme Lord.
The celestial palace itself was on Mount Kun-lun. The Chinese believed that this is an amazingly beautiful place. Spring reigns all year round, thanks to which the gods can always admire the flowering of the Fusan tree. Also in the heavenly abode live all good spirits: fairies, dragons and even the fiery phoenix.
Goddess Nuiva - mother of mankind
The ancient myths of China tell that mankind was born thanks to the efforts of the goddess Nuyva. The young celestial woman had an amazing talent to revive everything that touched her hand. And then one day, walking by the lake, she thought that, in spite of all the beauty, the world is clearly missing something. In her eyes, he was too languid and sad place, but because the goddess decided to diversify it.
To do this, she made a clay figure outlined in clay like a girl. Then Nyuiva breathed life into her, and she immediately turned into a living person. Rejoiced at her creation, the celestial lady made one more figure, but this time already a boy, and breathed life into her again. So the first mythical emperors of China were born, who founded the Shang dynasty.
But Nyuva did not stop at these two. Soon she blinded about a hundred figures, which scattered with lightning speed throughout the district. New life pleased Nuiva, but she understood that she could not blind many people with her snow-white hands. And so, the celestial woman took the vine and plunged it into thick mud. After she pulled out a branch, and shook off pieces of the swamp from her straight to the ground. One by one, people stood up from the drops of mud.
Later, Chinese aristocrats will say that all the rich and successful people went from those ancestors that were manually molded by Nyuva. And the poor and slaves are just the descendants of the drop of dirt that was thrown from the branch of the vine.
The Wisdom of God Fuxi
All this time, the acts of Nuiva were watched with curiosity by her husband, the god Fuxi. He loved people wholeheartedly, and therefore it was painful for him to see that they live like wild animals. Fuxi decided to give wisdom to humanity - to teach them how to get food and build cities.
To begin with, he showed people how to fish properly using nets. Indeed, thanks to this discovery, they were finally able to settle in one place, forgetting about gathering and hunting. He then told people how to build houses, build protective walls and process metal. Thus, it was Fuxi who led people to civilization, finally separating them from animals.
Tamers of water Gun and Yu
Alas, life near the water was too dangerous. Spills and floods constantly destroyed all food supplies, which greatly weighed people. Gun volunteered to solve this problem. To do this, he decided to build the world's first dam, which would block the path of the great river. In order to create such a shelter, he needed to get the magic stone “Sizhan”, the strength of which made it possible to instantly erect stone walls.
The artifact was kept by the heavenly emperor. Gun knew about this, and therefore tearfully asked the lord to give him the treasure. But the celestial did not want to reciprocate, and therefore our hero stole a stone from him. Indeed, the power of Sizhan helped build the dam, but the angry emperor took the treasure back, which is why Gun could not complete his work.
Yu volunteered to help his father and save people from the flood. Instead of building a dam, he decided to change the riverbed, turning the tide from the village to the sea. With the support of a heavenly tortoise, Yu did this. In gratitude for the salvation, the villagers chose Yuya as their new ruler.
Hou-ji - the lord of millet
The young man Hou-ji helped to finally conquer the earth to humanity. The legends say that his father was the thundering giant Lei Shen, and his mother was a simple girl from the Yutai family. Their union gave birth to an incredibly smart boy who from childhood loved to play with the ground.
Subsequently, his amusements led him to learn how to cultivate the land, plant grains and harvest them. He gave his knowledge to people, thanks to which they forever forgot about hunger and gathering.