Chinese creation myth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008) |
| This article or section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (March 2008) |
| This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling. You can assist by editing it now. A how-to guide is available. (March 2008) |
| This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters. |
The Chinese creation myth explains the beginning of the universe. It begins with a black egg in which the Earth, heavens, and Pangu exist together as one. Pangu cracks open the egg, thus creating the universe. Pangu then creates Earth and Sky. Nüwa made the first members of mankind from yellow clay.
However, this story did not appear prior to the Three Kingdoms period, where Xu Zheng of Eastern Wu compiled the story in the Sanwu Liji (三五歴記). Its late emergence into the Chinese mythological cycle prompted some scholars to suggest that early Chinese mythology is unique in not having any creation epic.
[edit] Taoism
In some sects of Taoism, the myth is believed to be an allegorical tale of the Division-Genesis in Tao Te Ching, partially in I Ching. Out of Tao, the primodial infinite Nothingness or Wuji came Taiji, which then split into the binary yin and yang or Two Aspects (兩儀), yin and yang slitting into the Four Realms (四象) and from which begets Bagua or Eight Symbols (八卦) , and from which every beings were created.
Taiyi Shengshui, a recently dug up Daoist text, offers an alternate creation myth, but it is uncertain to what extent Daoists themselves believed in it.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
|
|||||||||||||||||

