Illustration of Heaven, Earth, Humanity, Ghosts, and Gods

Author: Sun Xiaoqin / Wang Hongqi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1997-02-01
Features: Heaven and Earth, meaning time and space, matter; in human eyes, they are also gods of heaven, earth, spirits of mountains and rivers, and mythical creatures of plants and trees. Humans live between Heaven and Earth, and their birth, death, and natural cycles are part of nature. However, in human eyes, these changes and phenomena seem to involve the participation of ghosts and gods. Among all things in the universe, only humans possess a soul. If asked why, the answer is that humans have three command centers.
The first command center is matter. Humans are composed of matter, and their actions must follow the laws of matter. When running, they obey the principles of acceleration and inertia; when jumping, they follow the law of gravity; and when eating, they adhere to the principles of physics and chemistry.
The second command center is genes. The physical structure of humans is formed under the control of genes, and their physiological and psychological emotional responses are also regulated by genes. Genes have a clear survival purpose. Unlike other natural substances, they no longer just exist, move, and change, but instead strive to replicate themselves and propagate their kind.
The third command center is the brain, which determines what it means to be human. Originally, the genes of animals transferred some control power to the nervous system to ensure the survival and reproduction of individuals and the species. This strategy was highly effective. Animals with more developed nervous systems saw significant improvements in their survival ability and quality. At the same time, the structure of the nervous system became increasingly complex and mature, developing its own intentions and joys of survival, thus attempting to seize control from the genes. Therefore, the author believes that the precise definition of a human should be: an animal whose nervous system has more power than its genes is called a human; such a level of nervous system is called a brain.
The reason the brain's power can surpass that of genes is that the brain can use external objects to expand its capabilities. Genes cannot make humans grow wings, but the brain can enable humans to create airplanes. As a result, humans surpass all material forms, plants, and animals, becoming spiritual beings, marking a new stage in the evolution of the universe. However, power and responsibility go hand in hand. The more power the brain has, the greater its responsibility. Many survival tasks that were once handled by genes based on conditioned reflexes must now be decided by the brain. In this situation, the brain needs to re-interpret the world, a process of reconstructing the universe through thought.
For a long time after the birth of humans, the brain perceived the universe from its own perspective, assuming that everything had a "brain" like itself, thus forming the belief that all things possess souls. At the same time, the brain's desire to use external objects led to the behavior of possessing them, giving rise to the concept of private property. The earliest form of private property was tools and decorative items on the human body.
It is commonly believed that primitive humans adorned themselves with decorations (including tattoos, body painting, clothing, masks, and certain handheld items) for aesthetic or practical reasons. In reality, this was the brain's way of using external objects to alter its physical appearance, making itself appear stronger or at least making other animals or humans perceive it as stronger.
Interestingly, the character for "field" () in Chinese originally did not mean a field but a decorative mask worn by primitive humans. After wearing the mask, one's appearance changed, hence the term "" (the traditional form of ""), meaning "different." Some masks could enhance a person's authority, inspiring awe in others. Well-crafted masks required careful thought, a behavior called "" (thinking). Those strong enough to wear large masks were called "" (men), and those who wore the largest masks were called "" (rank), meaning "first in rank."
Thus, the original meaning of the character "" (ghost) referred to a person wearing a mask. The character "" (a private part) in it indicated that the mask belonged to the individual. Ghosts, guile, and nobility all share the same pronunciation, deriving from the same root—their hearts were full of cunning, and their status was noble. At that time, "ghost" was a beautiful term. The Mountain Spirit in Nine Songs was a beautiful and affectionate woman, and precious, mysterious jade was called "" (a rare treasure).
Later, after the death of powerful tribal leaders, the masks they wore were seen as symbols of their continued existence. Over time, the character "" gradually came to refer to powerful individuals or the spirits of ancestors. Eventually, people's fear of death evolved into a cautious respect for the dead and their spirits, leading to reverence for ghosts and gods, and even the belief that misfortunes were caused by ghosts. Ghosts came to include not only the spirits of the dead but also the spirits of mountains, rivers, and plants.
The character "" (god) is composed of "" (attitude) and "" (description of lightning). "" represents a person's attitude toward something, including submission, prayer, or control, while "" depicts the shape of lightning, one of the most shocking and inexplicable natural phenomena. Thus, the original meaning of "" was a person's attitude and feelings toward lightning, a natural phenomenon. Over time, it came to refer to the spirits of all things in nature, and later combined with ghosts to form "" (ghosts and gods).
For animals, their relationship with nature is one of survival of the fittest. However, for the human brain, it is no longer satisfied with adaptive submission but also desires to control nature (one of the key conditions for this is using external objects) or pray for and hope that natural phenomena will meet its needs (hence the brain believes that all things possess souls, allowing them to "negotiate"). The essence of prayer is still an attempt to control, though less certain.
Therefore, the human concept of ghosts and gods and the worship of them are a characteristic of the brain. They reflect both the brain's confusion, weakness, and fear in the face of the mysterious external world, and its desire to control and dominate it. At the same time, the human brain not only tries to control and transform the external world but also attempts to control and transform its own body.
In early times, people tried to imitate the appearance of certain animals to gain their special abilities. Later, they believed that consuming certain substances could grant them those qualities—for example, eating a leopard's liver to become brave, taking elixirs to achieve immortality, or refining internal elixirs to alter their physical structure until they could transform into immortals and ascend to heaven. This gave rise to the concepts of immortals and the worship of them. In fact, immortals are the brain's futuristic imagination of escaping the control of genes and the material command centers. Immortality is the transcendence of time; flying in the daytime is the transcendence of gravity; endless transformation is the transcendence of the laws of material structure; and recreating Nezha with lotus flowers is the transcendence of human genes.
For the brain, nothing is impossible to imagine, and delving into fantastical, unrealistic mystical questions is also one of the brain's survival pleasures, especially when it is not concerned with survival. From the perspective of biological evolution, humans may not be the end of evolution, and it is possible for them to continue evolving into "superhumans" or "gods and Buddhas." However, this will be a long process, and many of the methods people have tried may have been misguided (for example, most elixirs are highly toxic).
Nevertheless, we should still thank those brave or solitary explorers who seek new paths for human development. Of course, throughout history, there have been many who exploited the name of "immortals" to deceive and profit.
Although the brain tries to break free from the control of genes, to this day, the brain still depends on genes for survival. It must reach an agreement with genes and coexist harmoniously.
The purpose of this book is to invite readers to appreciate and contemplate these issues. The illustrations used in this book were collected, organized, revised, traced, and drawn by Sun Xiaoqin (including the cover illustration "Heaven, Earth, Humanity, Ghosts, and Gods"). The accompanying text for each illustration was written by Wang Hongqi (including the preface).