Myths of ancient China about the creation of the world. RealProJoe - the whole truth about the history of human development

IN ancient times humanity has developed civilizations. These were isolated nationalities that were formed under the influence of certain factors and had their own culture, technology and were distinguished by a certain individuality. Due to the fact that they were not as technologically advanced as modern humanity, ancient people were largely dependent on the vagaries of nature. Then lightning, rain, earthquakes and others natural phenomena seemed to be a manifestation of divine powers. These forces, as it seemed then, could determine fate and personal qualities person. This is how the very first mythology was born.

What is a myth?

According to modern cultural definition, this is a narrative that reproduces the beliefs of ancient people about the structure of the world, about higher powers, about man, biographies of great heroes and gods in verbal form. In some way, they reflected the then level of human knowledge. These tales were recorded and passed down from generation to generation, thanks to which we can today find out how our ancestors thought. That is, then mythology was a certain form and also one of the ways of understanding natural and social reality, which reflected the views of man at a certain stage of development.

Among the many questions that worried humanity in those distant times, the problem of the emergence of the world and man in it was especially relevant. Due to their curiosity, people tried to explain and understand how they appeared and who created them. It is then that a separate myth about the origin of people appears.

Due to the fact that humanity, as already mentioned, developed in large isolated groups, the legends of each nationality were in some way unique, since they reflected not only the worldview of the people at that time, but were also an imprint of the cultural, social development, and also carried information about the land where the people lived. In this sense, myths have some historical value, since they allow us to make some logical judgments about a particular people. In addition, they were a bridge between the past and the future, a connection between generations, passing on the knowledge that was accumulated in stories from the old family to the new, thus teaching it.

Anthropogonic myths

Regardless of civilization, all ancient people had their own ideas about how man appeared in this world. They have some general features, however, they also have significant differences, which are determined by the peculiarities of life and development of a particular civilization. All myths about the origin of man are called anthropogonic. This word comes from the Greek anthropos, which means man. Such a concept as a myth about the origin of people exists among absolutely all ancient peoples. The only difference is their perception of the world.

For comparison, we can consider individual myths about the origin of man and the world of two great nations, which significantly influenced the development of mankind in their time. These are civilizations Ancient Greece and Ancient China.

Chinese view of the creation of the world

The Chinese imagined our Universe in the form of a huge egg, which was filled with a certain matter - Chaos. From this Chaos, the first ancestor of all humanity, Pangu, was born. He used his ax to break the egg in which he was born. When he broke the egg, Chaos burst out and began to change. The sky (Yin) was formed - which is associated with the light principle, and the Earth (Yang) - the dark principle. This is how the world was formed in the beliefs of the Chinese. After that, Pangu placed his hands on the sky and his feet on the ground and began to grow. It grew continuously until the sky separated from the earth and became what we see it today. Pangu, when he grew up, fell into many parts, which became the basis of our world. His body became mountains and plains, his flesh became earth, his breath became air and wind, his blood became water, and his skin became vegetation.

Chinese mythology

As he says Chinese myth about the origin of man, a world was formed that was inhabited by animals, fish and birds, but people were still there. The Chinese believed that the creator of humanity was the great female spirit - Nuwa. The ancient Chinese revered her as the organizer of the world; she was depicted as a woman with human body, the legs of a bird and the tail of a snake, which holds in its hand a lunar disk (Yin symbol) and a measuring square.

Nuiva began to sculpt human figures from clay, which came to life and turned into people. She worked a lot of time and realized that her strength was not enough to create people who could populate the entire earth. Then Nuiva took the rope and passed it through the liquid clay, and then shook it. People appeared where lumps of wet clay fell. But still they were not as good as those that were molded by hand. This is how the existence of the nobility, whom Nuiva molded with her own hands, and people of the lower classes, created with the help of rope, was justified. The goddess gave her creations the opportunity to reproduce on their own, and also introduced them to the concept of marriage, which was observed very strictly in Ancient China. Therefore, Nuiva can also be considered the patroness of marriage.

This is the Chinese myth about the origin of man. As you can see, it reflects not only traditional Chinese beliefs, but also some of the features and rules that guided the ancient Chinese in their lives.

Greek mythology about the emergence of man

The Greek myth about the origin of man tells how the titan Prometheus created people from clay. But the first people were very defenseless and did not know how to do anything. For this act Greek gods got angry with Prometheus and planned to destroy human race. However, Prometheus saved his children by stealing fire from Olympus and bringing it to man in an empty reed stalk. For this, Zeus imprisoned Prometheus in chains in the Caucasus, where the eagle was supposed to peck his liver.

In general, any myth about the origin of people does not provide specific information about the emergence of humanity, concentrating more on subsequent events. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the Greeks considered man insignificant against the background of the omnipotent gods, thus emphasizing their importance for the entire people. Indeed, almost all Greek legends are directly or indirectly related to the gods, who guide and help human heroes such as Odysseus or Jason.

Features of mythology

What features does mythological thinking have?

As can be seen above, myths and legends interpret and describe the origin of man absolutely different ways. You need to understand that the need for them arose early. They arose from man’s need to explain the origin of man, nature, and the structure of the world. Of course, the method of explanation that mythology uses is quite primitive; it differs significantly from the interpretation of the world order supported by science. In myths, everything is quite concrete and isolated; there are no abstract concepts in them. Man, society and nature merge into one. The main type of mythological thinking is figurative. Every person, hero or god necessarily has a concept or phenomenon that follows him. This one denies any logical argument, based on faith rather than knowledge. It is unable to generate questions that are not creative.

In addition, mythology also has specific literary devices, which allow us to emphasize the significance of certain events. These are hyperboles that exaggerate, for example, strength or other important characteristics heroes (Pangu, who was able to lift the sky), metaphors that attribute certain characteristics to things or beings that do not actually possess them.

Common features and influence on world culture

In general, one can trace a certain pattern in exactly how myths explain the origin of man different nations. In almost all versions, there is some kind of divine essence that breathes life into lifeless matter, thus creating and shaping a person. This influence of ancient pagan beliefs can be traced in later religions, such as Christianity, where God creates man in his own image. However, if it is not entirely clear how Adam appeared, then God creates Eve from a rib, which only confirms this influence ancient legends. This influence of mythology can be traced in almost any culture that existed later.

Ancient Turkic mythology about how man appeared

The ancient Turkic myth about the origin of man calls the goddess Umai the progenitor of the human race, as well as the creator of the earth. She's in the form white swan flew over the water, which had always existed, and looked for land, but did not find it. She laid the egg straight into the water, but the egg immediately sank. Then the goddess decided to make a nest on the water, but the feathers from which she made it turned out to be fragile, and the waves broke the nest. The goddess held her breath and dived to the very bottom. She carried out a piece of earth in her beak. Then the god Tengri saw her suffering and sent Umai three fish made of iron. She put the earth on the back of one of the fish, and it began to grow until the entire earth's land was formed. After which the goddess laid an egg, from which the entire human race, birds, animals, trees and everything else appeared.

What can be determined by reading this Turkic myth about the origin of man? One can see a general similarity with the legends of Ancient Greece and China already known to us. A certain divine force creates people, namely from an egg, which is very similar to the Chinese legend about Pangu. Thus, it is clear that initially people associated the creation of themselves by analogy with living beings that they could observe. There is also an incredible reverence for the maternal principle, for women as the continuer of life.

What can a child learn from these legends? What new things does he learn by reading the myths of peoples about the origin of man?

First of all, this will allow him to get acquainted with the culture and life of the people who existed in prehistoric times. Since myth is characterized figurative type thinking, the child will perceive it quite easily and will be able to assimilate the necessary information. For children, these are the same fairy tales, and, like fairy tales, they are filled with the same morals and information. When reading them, the child will learn to develop his thinking processes, learn to benefit from reading and draw conclusions.

The myth about the origin of people will give the child an answer to the exciting question - where did I come from? Of course, the answer will be incorrect, but children take everything on faith, and therefore it will satisfy the child’s interest. Reading the above greek myth about the origins of man, the child will also be able to understand why fire is so important for humanity and how it was discovered. This will be useful in the subsequent education of the child in primary school.

Variety and benefits for the child

Indeed, if we take examples of myths about the origin of man (and not only them) from Greek mythology, you can see that the colorfulness of the characters and their number are very large and interesting not only for young readers, but even for adults. However, you need to help the child figure it all out, otherwise he will simply get confused in events and their causes. It is necessary to explain to the child why God loves or does not love this or that hero, why he helps him. In this way the child will learn to build logical chains and compare facts, drawing certain conclusions from them.

Miao legends about the creation of the world

The Heimiao, or Black Miao (so named because of the dark color of their skin), do not have a written language, but have a developed epic tradition. From generation to generation they pass on poetic legends about the creation of the world and the Flood. During holidays, they are performed by storytellers accompanied by a choir consisting of one or two groups of performers. The story is interspersed with poetic inserts consisting of one or more five-line lines. They ask questions and answer them themselves:

Who created the sky and land?

Who created insects?

Who created people?

Created men and women?

I don't know.

The Heavenly Lord created the Sky and the land,

He created insects

He created people and spirits,

Created men and women.

Do you know how?

How did Heaven and Earth come into being?

How did insects appear?

How did people and spirits appear?

How did men and women appear?

I don't know.

Heavenly Lord wise

He spat on his palm,

He clapped his hands loudly -

Heaven and land appeared,

Made insects from tall grass,

Created people and spirits

Men and women.

The legend of the World River is interesting because it mentions the Great Flood:

Sent fire and set the mountains on fire?

Who came to cleanse the world?

Did you release water to wash the earth?

I, who sing to you, do not know.

Ze cleansed the world.

He summoned fire and set the mountains on fire.

The god of thunder has cleansed the world,

He washed the earth with water.

Do you know, why?

The legend goes on to say that after the flood, only Ze and his sister remained on earth. When the water subsided, the brother wanted to marry his sister, but she did not agree. Finally, they decided to take a millstone each and climb two mountains, and then let the millstones roll down. If they collide and fall on each other, then she will become Ze’s wife, but if not, then there will be no marriage. Fearing that the wheels would roll, the brother prepared two similar stones in the valley in advance. When the millstones they had thrown were lost in the tall grass, Ze brought his sister and showed her the stones he had hidden. However, she did not agree and suggested placing double sheaths below and throwing a knife into them. If they fall into the sheath, the marriage will take place. The brother deceived his sister again, and she finally became his wife. They had a child without arms and legs. Seeing him, Ze became angry and chopped him into pieces, and then threw him off the mountain. Having touched the ground, the pieces of meat turned into men and women - this is how people appeared on the earth again.

The period from the 8th to the 10th centuries was a heyday Chinese literature. After the unification of the empire and the establishment of strong centralized power, representatives of all South Asian states appeared in Beijing. It was at this time that Indian Buddhist texts began to be translated, and the achievements Chinese culture become known in Central Asia, Iran and Byzantium. Chinese translators reinterpret borrowed texts and introduce into them the motives of their own beliefs and surrounding realities.

Literary tradition reaches highest point during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). In the history of Chinese literature, the Tang era is rightly considered the “golden age”. Thanks to the examination system, representatives of all classes gained access to knowledge. Art and literature flourished, a galaxy of masters appeared short story– Li Chaowei, Sheng Jiji, Niu Senzhu, and Li Gongzuo. Below we present one of his short stories.

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According to myths, the entire history of China was divided into ten periods, and in each of them people made new improvements and gradually improved their lives. In China, the most important cosmic forces were not the elements, but the masculine and feminine, which are the main active forces in the world. The famous Chinese yin and yang sign is the most common symbol in China. One of the most famous myths the creation of the world was recorded in the 2nd century BC. e. It follows from this that in ancient times there was only dark chaos, in which two principles gradually formed by themselves - Yin (dark) and Yang (light), which established the eight main directions of world space. After these directions were established, the Yang spirit began to rule the heavens, and the Yin spirit began to rule the earth. The earliest written texts in China were fortune-telling inscriptions. The concept of literature - wen (drawing, ornament) was initially designated as an image of a person with a tattoo (hieroglyph). By the 6th century BC e. the concept wen acquired the meaning of a word. The books of the Confucian canon appeared first: the Book of Changes - I Ching, the Book of History - Shu Jing, the Book of Songs - Shi Jing XI-VII centuries. BC e. Ritual books also appeared: Book of Ritual - Li Ji, Records of Music - Yue Ji; chronicles of the kingdom of Lu: Spring and Autumn - Chun Qiu, Conversations and judgments - Lun Yu. A list of these and many other books was compiled by Ban Gu (32-92 AD). In the book History of the Han Dynasty, he recorded all the literature of the past and his time. In the I-II centuries. n. e. One of the brightest collections was Izbornik - Nineteen Ancient Poems. These verses are subordinated to one main idea- the transience of a short moment of life. In ritual books there is the following legend about the creation of the world: Heaven and earth lived in a mixture - chaos, like the contents of a chicken egg: Pan-gu lived in the middle (this can be compared with the Slavic idea of the beginning of the world, when Rod was in the egg). It is one of the most ancient myths. For a long time Chaos reigned in the world, the Chinese said, nothing could be distinguished in it. Then, in this chaos, two forces emerged: Light and Darkness, and from them heaven and earth were formed. And at that time the first person appeared - Pangu. He was huge and lived for a very long time. When he died, nature and man were formed from his body. His breath became wind and clouds, his voice became thunder, his left eye became the sun, his right eye became the moon. The earth was formed from Pangu's body. His arms, legs and torso turned into the four cardinal points and five major mountains, and the sweat on his body became rain. Blood flowed across the ground in rivers, muscles became the earth's soil, hair turned into grass and trees. From his teeth and bones were formed simple stones and metals, from the brain - pearls and gems. And the worms on his body became people. There is another legend about the appearance of man. It tells that a woman named Nuiva fashioned people from yellow earth. Nuiva also participated in the universe. One day, a cruel and ambitious man named Gungun rebelled and began to flood her possessions with water. Nuiva sent an army against him, and the rebel was killed. But before his death, Gungun hit his head on the mountain, and from this impact one of the corners of the earth collapsed, and the pillars holding up the sky collapsed. Everything on earth fell into confusion, and Nuiva set about restoring order. She cut off the legs of a giant turtle and propped them up on the ground to restore its balance. She collected many colorful stones, lit a huge fire and, when the stones melted, filled a gaping hole in the firmament with this alloy. When the fire went out, she collected the ashes and built dams from them that stopped the flood of water. As a result of her enormous labors, peace and prosperity reigned on earth again. However, since then all rivers have flowed in one direction - to the east; This is how the ancient Chinese explained this feature of the rivers in China. In the myths about Pangu and Nuwa we find ancient ideas Chinese about the origin of the world and people. The story of how Nüwa built dams and stopped river floods reflected the struggle of people against floods, which people had to wage already in ancient times.

Who created the sky and land?

Who created insects?

Who created people?

Created men and women?

I don't know.

The Heavenly Lord created the Sky and the land,

He created insects

He created people and spirits,

Created men and women.

Do you know how?

How did Heaven and Earth come into being?

How did insects appear?

How did people and spirits appear?

How did men and women appear?

I don't know.

Heavenly Lord wise

He spat on his palm,

He clapped his hands loudly -

Heaven and land appeared,

Made insects from tall grass,

Created people and spirits

Men and women.

The legend of the World River is interesting because it mentions the Great Flood:

Sent fire and set the mountains on fire?

Who came to cleanse the world?

Did you release water to wash the earth?

I, who sing to you, do not know.

Ze cleansed the world.

He summoned fire and set the mountains on fire.

The god of thunder has cleansed the world,

He washed the earth with water.

Do you know, why?

The period from the 8th to the 10th centuries was the heyday of Chinese literature. After the unification of the empire and the establishment of strong centralized power, representatives of all South Asian states appeared in Beijing. It was at this time that Indian Buddhist texts began to be translated, and the achievements of Chinese culture became known in Central Asia, Iran and Byzantium. Chinese translators reinterpret borrowed texts and introduce into them the motives of their own beliefs and surrounding realities.

The literary tradition reaches its highest point during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). In the history of Chinese literature, the Tang era is rightly considered the “golden age”. Thanks to the examination system, representatives of all classes gained access to knowledge. Art and literature flourished, and a galaxy of short story masters emerged—Li Chaowei, Sheng Jiji, Niu Senzhu, and Li Gongzuo. Below we present one of his short stories.

Chinese myths about human origins have several variants.

The first Chinese myth about the origin of man

The beginning of the beginning was laid in the primeval water chaos of Hun-tun, which was similar to egg. And around in the impenetrable darkness, images wandered around, devoid of any form. It was in this egg-shaped structure that Pan-gu was born. For a long time he slept soundly, and when he woke up, he saw only darkness around, and then Pan-gu became so sad. Wanting to get out, he broke the shell. Some of the fragments rose up and became the sky, called Yang, the other part of the rougher and heavier fragments sank down and turned into the earth - Yin. To create the Universe, Pan-gu used five components: water, wood, earth, fire and metal. When the creator of the universe took a breath, it began to rain and the wind howled; exhaled - a thunderstorm immediately began, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. When Pan-gu's eyes were open, it was day on the planet; when he closed them, everything around became dark, and night fell.

Pan-gu really liked his creation own hands, and he was very afraid of losing it all again. The mighty Pan-gu stood firmly on his feet, raised his hands up and rested his hands on the sky, now the earth and sky could not unite again and create primeval chaos. It stood like that for eighteen thousand years, and every day the distance between earth and sky increased. Now they will no longer be able to unite in any way, and Pan-gu’s duty is fulfilled. He powerlessly dropped his hands, lay down on the ground and fell into an eternal sleep. According to legend, his eyes turned into the moon and the sky, his blood gave rise to large rivers, and his bones turned into huge stones. People on earth appeared from those insects that crawled over the dead body of Pan-gu.

Second Chinese myth of human origin also beautiful and a little sad. According to its plot, the creators of people are considered to be the son and daughter of the majestic Shen-nun - the god of the seas and water. Fu-si and Nui-wu lived at the top sacred mountain Kun-lun and had the appearance of half snake and half man. Moreover top part was similar to a human form, but the body and legs were like a sea serpent. Of these two twins, Noah is considered the ancestor of all people on earth. The first version of the legend tells that Noah was able to give birth to a certain lump that had no shape at all. Then she took this lump in her hands and divided it into many small lumps. She threw these small particles so that they scattered all over the earth. In place of each fallen lump, people appeared. The second option says that one day, sitting on the shore of a pond, Noy-va, in her own image and likeness, molded a small clay figurine, which came to life and turned out to be very welcoming and friendly. And then Noah came up with a wonderful idea: to sculpt many such figures. She really wanted these friendly creatures to populate the whole earth. Sculpting such figures was very slow, and Noy-va found a solution: she took a long vine in her hands, lowered it into wet clay, and shook it above the ground. In an instant, the clay scattered into small lumps, and a person appeared from each small piece. But the land is very large and Noah could not stick together enough people to populate the entire territory. Then she decided to give the little men feminine and masculine principles, separate them in pairs and order them to live in peace and harmony and give birth to children. Fu-xi in turn taught the human race useful things: get your own food, light a fire, cook food. Gave musical instrument, gave the first basics of science, or rather eight trigrams. And people lived happily: no one was at enmity, animals and people lived in peace, nature bestowed them with its riches. But one day the spirits of water and fire quarreled and started a war. Victory was for the spirit of fire Ju-zhun, and the spirit of water Gun-gun was so desperate that with all his strength he hit his head into the mountain, which was a support for the sky. The sky broke in several places, and water poured out of the resulting holes, sweeping away everything in its path. Noah rushed with all her might to save the earth from disaster. She melted the pebbles and filled the hole in the sky with them. The pebbles froze and turned into stars. Noah was able to return order and calm to the earth. Now she deserves a rest. Some say that Noah died, and others say that she flew to heaven and from there keeps order on earth.