Mythology and Legends of China and the World - Revised Edition

Author: Tian Xinli
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-08-01
Features: The earliest stories of humankind often begin with myths and legends. As a nation gradually develops and starts to question the origins of the world and itself, offering various answers, this marks the emergence of civilization. These diverse answers, seen by modern people as absurd, were reasonable explanations for early humans. They unconsciously interpreted and expanded upon these "myths," passing them down through generations, all firmly believing that these were the origins of the universe, humanity, and all natural phenomena. Myths reflect the early humans' thoughts and interpretations of the universe, humanity, and nature itself. What are myths? Marx once offered a brilliant interpretation: "Every myth is an attempt to conquer and dominate natural forces through imagination, to personify them; thus, as these natural forces are actually subdued, myths disappear." Myths are "natural and social forms themselves, processed unconsciously through the fantasy of the people." Therefore, myths can be considered the unconscious artistic creations of early humankind. They often use imagination and fantasy to personify natural forces and the objective world. Myths can generally be divided into three types: creation myths, nature myths, and hero myths. Creation myths reflect the cosmology of early humans, explaining how the heavens and earth were formed and how humanity and all things came into being. Almost every nation has such myths, and some even share many interesting similarities. For example, the creation myths of different peoples include "Nüwa Creates Humanity" (China), "The Seven Days of Creation" (Hebrew), and Prometheus (Ancient Greece). Interestingly, all of them believe that humans were created from clay by gods. The only difference lies in the gods who created them: Nüwa in China, Yahweh in Hebrew, and Prometheus in Ancient Greek mythology. They are all gods who show great love and care for humanity. Why do all nations unconsciously believe that humans were made of clay? This is a thought-provoking question. The second type is nature myths, which explain various natural phenomena. Stories like "Nüwa Mends the Sky," "The Legend of the Immortal Mountain," "The Precipice-Diving Jingwei," "The Big and Little Bears," "The Spider and the Spiderweb," "Love Song," and "Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky" offer beautiful explanations for the origins of celestial bodies, mountains and rivers, grass and trees, wind and rain, thunder and lightning, insects, fish, birds, and even echoes. The most numerous are the third type—hero myths, which emerged slightly later than the first two and express humanity's desire to resist nature, while also serving as a summary of certain labor experiences. At this point, early humans no longer had an extreme fear of nature and began to gain confidence, exaggerating and imagining figures in their tribes who possessed creative talents or made significant contributions, shaping them into heroes with superhuman powers. Examples include Shennong, Huangdi, Yao, Shun, Yu, and Qi in ancient China. This book includes stories like "Kua Fu Chases the Sun," "The Orphan on the Ice," "Shun Moves His Brother Xiang to Compassion," and "Gun and Yu Control the Floods." Ancient Chinese myths are scattered across various books, with the earliest and most preserved being the "Shan Hai Jing." Stories like "The Precipice-Diving Jingwei" and "Kua Fu Chases the Sun" come from the "Shan Hai Jing." The story of Nüwa mending the sky appears in the "Huai Nan Zi" and "Lie Zi," while Nüwa creating humanity is from the Han Dynasty's "Feng Su Tong Yi," and "Pangu Creates Heaven and Earth" is from the "Shu Yi Ji." Additionally, some mythological stories are preserved in the anecdotal novels of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. Western myths are even more rich and diverse. Greek mythology is systematic, with complex and complete relationships between gods, primarily found in Homer's epics "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey," as well as works like "The Theogony," "Metamorphoses," and Greek tragedies and comedies. Roman mythology largely inherits Greek mythology, with only the names changed. For example, Zeus is called Jupiter in Roman mythology; Hera is Juno; and Athena is Minerva. The famous love goddess Venus was originally named Aphrodite in Greek mythology. This book includes six Greek and Roman myths, all very well-known stories. The gods in these myths are portrayed with personalities similar to ordinary humans, such as Zeus's cruelty, which is very much like that of a human king. Juno (Hera)’s jealousy and Athena’s wisdom are vividly depicted. Ancient Hebrew mythology comes from the "Old Testament" of the Bible. The four stories selected in this book ("The Seven Days of Creation," "Adam and Eve," "Noah's Ark," and "The Tower of Babel") are all adapted from the "Genesis" of the Old Testament. The content is all related to the God Yahweh, whom the Hebrew people believe in. Due to the widespread spread of Christianity, these mythological stories in the West are almost household names and have had a huge impact on Western culture. We must have a certain understanding of these myths to comprehend the cultural background of Western civilization.