Ancient myths of China. Creation of the world, gods and people

For the Slavs, the ancient myths of China are something complicated and incomprehensible. Their conception of the world, spirits and deities is very different from ours, which leads to a certain dissonance when they are read. However, if you get a little insight into their structure, realize all that is happening, then you will see a perfect new picture of the universe, filled with amazing stories and discoveries.

Features of Chinese myology

To begin with, all Chinese legends originated as songs. In the old days they were played at the palace of the emperor, in taverns, at the hearth and even on the streets. Over the years, Chinese sages began to transfer myths to paper in order to preserve their beauty for descendants. At the same time, the greatest number of ancient tests was recorded in the collections "Book of Songs" and "Book of Histories".

In addition, many Chinese legends have real roots. I mean, the heroes of these myths really lived in certain time periods. Naturally, their abilities and abilities were clearly exaggerated, in order to make history more epic. However, this does not negate the fact that the ancient myths of China are of great importance to historians, since they allow one to see the past of this people.

The appearance of the universe: the myth of chaos

In Chinese mythology, there are several versions of how the world emerged. The most well-known says that initially in the formless chaos lived only two great spirits - Yin and Yan. In one fine "day" they were tired of emptiness, and they wanted to create something new. Yan absorbed the male principle, becoming the sky and light, and Yin - a woman, turning into a land.

Thus, the two great spirits created the universe. In addition, all the living and nonliving in it obey the original will of Yin and Yan. Any violation of this harmony will inevitably lead to disasters and catastrophes. That is why most Chinese philosophical schools are built on the observance of the universal order and harmony.

Great Progenitor

There is another myth about the appearance of the world. It says that in the beginning there was nothing but a huge egg filled with primeval darkness. Also inside the egg was the giant Pan Gu - the progenitor of all living things. He spent 18 thousand years in deep sleep, but one day his eyes opened.

The first thing that appeared before Pan Gu's eyes was pitch darkness. She pressed on him an exorbitant load, and he wanted to drive her away. But the shell did not allow to do this, but because the angry giant broke it with his huge ax. At that moment, the whole contents of the egg scattered in different directions: the darkness fell down, becoming earth, and the light rose up, turning into the sky.

But he did not long rejoice in the freedom of Pan Gu. Soon he began to pursue the idea that the sky can fall to the ground, thereby destroying the surrounding world. Therefore, the progenitor decided to keep the sky on his shoulders, until finally fixed. As a result, another 18 thousand years, Pan Gu kept the sky.

In the end, he realized that he had achieved his goal and fell to the ground dead. But his feat was not wasted. The body of the giant turned into great gifts: blood became rivers, veins roads, muscles - fertile lands, hair - grass and trees, and eyes - heavenly stars.

The Basics of the World

The Chinese believed that the whole universe is divided into three parts: the sky, the earth and the underworld. In this case, the land itself is held on eight pillars, which prevent it from drowning in the sea depths. On the same supports, the sky holds, which in turn is divided into nine separate zones. Eight of them are needed for the motion of heavenly bodies, and the ninth serves as a place for the concentration of higher powers.

In addition, the whole land is divided into four parts of the world or four Heavenly kingdoms. They are ruled by four gods, personifying the main elements: water, fire, air and earth. Themselves the Chinese live in the middle, and their country is the center of the whole world.

The appearance of the great gods

The ancient myths of China say 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 regenerated. Thanks to his strength and wisdom, he received the throne of the emperor of heaven and began to rule the whole world. He was assisted by two brothers: the god of water Xia-yuan and the god of the land of Zhong-yuan. The rest of the deities and spirits were also born through the energies of Yin and Yang, but they had far less strength than the Supreme Lord.

The Palace of the Celestials itself was on Mount Kun-lun. The Chinese believed that this is an amazingly beautiful place. There, spring reigns all year round, so the gods can always admire the flowering of the fusan tree. Also in the heavenly abode there live all kind spirits: fairies, dragons and even a fiery phoenix.

The goddess Nyuva is the mother of mankind

The ancient myths of China tell us that mankind was born thanks to the efforts of the goddess Nyuva. The young celestial woman possessed an amazing talent to revive everything her hand touches. And one day, while walking by the lake, she thought about the fact that, despite all the beauty, the world obviously lacks something. In her eyes, he was too heavy and sad, and so the goddess decided to diversify it.

To do this, she dazzled a clay figure from a clay, shaped like a girl. Then Nyuva breathed life into her, and she immediately turned into a living person. Rejoicing to her creation, the celibate blinded another figure, but this time it was a boy, and again breathed life into it. So the first mythical emperors of China appeared, who founded the Shang dynasty.

But on these two Nyuva did not stop. Soon she blinded about another hundred figures, which flew lightly across the district. New life pleased Nyuva, but she understood that she could not blind her snow-white hands with a lot of people. Therefore, the celestial took a vine and loaded it into thick mud. After she pulled out a branch, and shook the pieces of the swamp from her straight to the ground. From the drops of mud one by one people rallied.

Later, Chinese aristocrats will say that all the rich and successful people went from those ancestors that were nailed by Nuyva manually. And the poor and slaves are but descendants of those drops of dirt that were dropped from the vine branch.

Wisdom of the god Fuxi

All this time, Nuiwa's activities were watched curiously by her husband, the god Fusi. He loved people with all his heart, and so it hurt him to see that they live like wild beasts. Fusi decided to give humanity wisdom - to teach them to get food and build cities.

To begin with, he showed people how to fish properly with networks. After all, thanks to this discovery, they could finally settle in one place, forgetting about gathering and hunting. Then he told people how to build houses, erect protective walls and handle metal. Thus, it was Fusi who led the people to civilization, finally separating them from the beasts.

The tamers of the waters of Gong and Yu

Alas, life near the water was too dangerous. Spills and floods constantly destroyed all the food reserves, which heavily weighed on people. To solve this problem, Gün volunteered. For this, he decided to build the first dam in the world, which would block the way of the great river. In order to create such a shelter, he had to get the magic stone "Sizhan", the power of which allowed instantly erect stone walls.

An 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, so our hero stole a stone from him. Indeed, the power of "Sizhan" helped to build the dam, but the angry emperor took the treasure back, because of which Gun could not complete his work.

To help his father and save people from the flood, Yu volunteered. Instead of building a dam, he decided to change the riverbed, turning the current from the village to the sea. With the support of the heavenly turtle, Yui did it. In gratitude for their salvation, the villagers chose Yuya as their new ruler.

Hou-chi - the lord of millet

Finally, the young man Hou-chi helped to conquer the earth. The legends say that his father was the thunder giant Lei Shen, and the mother is a simple girl from the genus Utay. Their union gave birth to an incredibly smart boy who, from his childhood, liked to play with the earth.

Subsequently, his fun led to the fact that he learned to cultivate the land, plant the seeds and harvest from them. He gave his knowledge to people, so they forgot about hunger and gathering for good.