China is an ancient country with a rich and diverse mythology. The history and culture of the country has several millennia. The most developed civilization of antiquity has managed to preserve its heritage. Unique legends have come down to our time, telling about the creation of the world, life and people. There are a huge number of ancient legends, but we will talk about the most significant and interesting myths of ancient China.
The legend of Pan-gu - the creator of the world
The first myths of China tell about the creation of the world. It is believed that he was created by the great deity Pan-gu. Primal chaos reigned in space; there was no sky, no earth, no bright sun. It was impossible to determine where the top and bottom. There were no cardinal points. Cosmos was a large and strong egg, inside of which there was only darkness. Pan-gu lived in this egg. He spent many thousands of years there, suffering from heat and lack of air. Tired of such a life, Pan-gu took a huge ax and hit them in the shell. From the blow, it split, divided into two parts. One of them, pure and transparent, turned into the sky, and the dark and heavy part became the earth.
However, Pan-gu was afraid that heaven and earth would close together again, so he began to hold the firmament, each day lifting it higher and higher.
For 18 thousand years Pan-gu held the vault of heaven until it hardened. After making sure that the earth and sky would never touch again, the giant let go of the vault and decided to rest. But, holding him, Pan-gu lost all his strength, so he immediately fell and died. Before his death, his body was transformed: his eyes became the sun and moon, his last breath became the wind, his blood flowed on the earth in the form of rivers, and the last cry became a thunder. So the myths of ancient China describe the creation of the world.
The myth of Nuiva, the goddess who created humans
After the creation of the world, the myths of China tell of the creation of the first people. Goddess Nuiva living in heaven decided that there wasn’t enough life on earth. Walking near the river, she saw her reflection in the water , took some clay and began to sculpt a little girl. Having finished the product, the goddess doused it with her breath, and the girl came to life. Following her, Nuiva blinded and revived the boy. So the first man and woman appeared.
The goddess continued to sculpt people, wanting to fill the whole world with them. But this process was long and tiring. Then she took the stem of the lotus, dipped it in clay and shook it. Small clay lumps flew to the ground, turning into people. Frightened that she would have to sculpt them again, she ordered the creations to create their own offspring. Such a story is told by the myths of China about the origin of man.
The myth of the god Fuxi, who taught people how to fish
Humanity, created by a goddess named Nuiva, lived, but did not develop. People were not able to do anything, only harvest fruits from trees and hunted. Then the heavenly god Fuxi decided to help people.
Myths of China say that he wandered along the coast for a long time in thought, but suddenly a greasy carp jumped out of the water. Fusi caught him with his bare hands, cooked and ate it. He liked the fish, and he decided to teach people how to catch it. Yes, only the dragon god Lun-van opposed this, fearing that they would eat all the fish on earth.
The dragon king proposed to forbid people to fish with their bare hands, and Fuxi, thinking, agreed. For many days he thought about how to catch fish. Finally, while walking through the forest, Fuxi saw a spider weaving a web. And God decided in her image to create a network of vines. Learning to fish, the wise Fuxi immediately told his discovery to people.
Gun and Yu fight the flood
In Asia, the myths of Ancient China about the heroes Gong and Yuye, which helped people, are still very popular. Disaster happened on earth. For many decades, rivers spilled violently, destroying fields. Many people died, and they decided to somehow escape from adversity.
Gun should have figured out how to protect himself from water. He decided to build dams on the river, but he did not have enough stones. Then Gun turned to the heavenly emperor with a request to give him the magic stone "Sizhan", which could erect dams in an instant. But the emperor refused him. Then Gun stole a stone, built dams and restored order to the earth.
But the ruler found out about the theft and took the stone back. Again the rivers flooded the world, and angry people executed Gunya. Now his son Yu had to fix everything. He again asked for “Sizhan,” and the emperor did not refuse him. Yu began to build dams, but they did not help. Then, with the help of a heavenly tortoise, he decided to fly around the whole earth and fix the river bed, sending them to the sea. His efforts were successful, and he defeated the elements. As a reward, the people of China made him their ruler.
Great Shun - The Chinese Emperor
Myths of China tell not only about deities and ordinary people, but also about the first emperors. One of them was Shun - a wise ruler that other emperors should be equal to. He was born in a simple family. His mother died early, and his father remarried. The stepmother could not love Shun and wanted to kill him. Therefore, he left the house and went to the capital of the country. He was engaged in agriculture, fishing, pottery. Rumors of a pious youth reached Emperor Yao, and he invited him to his service.
Yao immediately wanted to make Shun his heir, but before that he decided to test him. For this, he gave him two daughters at once. By order of Yao, he also pacified the mythical villains who attacked people. Shun ordered them to guard the borders of the state from ghosts and demons. Then Yao ceded his throne to him. According to legend, Shun wisely ruled the country for almost 40 years and was revered by the people.
Interesting myths of China tell us about how the ancient people saw the world. Not knowing the scientific laws, they believed that all natural phenomena are acts of the old gods. These myths also formed the basis of the ancient religions that still exist.