Mythology and Legends of China and the World (Revised Edition)

Author: Tian Xinli (Editor)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-08-01
Features: The earliest stories of humankind often begin with myths and legends. As a nation gradually develops and begins to question the origins of the world and itself, offering various answers, this marks the birth of civilization. These diverse answers, seen by modern people as absurd, were reasonable to early humans. They unconsciously interpreted and expanded upon these "myths," passing them down through generations, firmly believing they were the origins of the universe, humanity, and all natural phenomena. Myths reflect the primitive people's thoughts and explanations about 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 mastered, myths disappear." Myths are "natural and social forms themselves, processed unconsciously by the people's imagination in an artistic way." Therefore, myths can be considered the unconscious artistic creations of early humanity. They often use imagination and fantasy to personify natural forces and the objective world. Myths can generally be divided into three types: creation myths, natural myths, and hero myths. Creation myths reflect the cosmology of primitive people, 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, regarding the creation of humans, this book includes the Chinese myth of Nuwa Creating Humanity, the Hebrew myth of the Seven Days of Creation, and the Greek myth of Prometheus. Interestingly, all these myths believe humans were created from clay by gods. The only difference is the god who created them: Nuwa in China, Yahweh God in Hebrew, and Prometheus in Greek mythology. They are all gods who show great love and care for humanity. Why did all nations independently believe humans were created from clay? This is a thought-provoking question. The second type is natural myths, which explain various natural phenomena. Stories like Nuwa Mending the Sky, Legends of the Immortal Mountain, the Tale of Jingwei Filling the Sea, the Big and Little Bears, the Story of Spiders and Spiderwebs, the Song of Love, and "Why Do 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, animals, 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. They can also be seen as summaries of certain labor experiences of early humans. At this point, primitive humans no longer had an extreme fear of nature and began to gain confidence, exaggerating and imagining the abilities of individuals in their tribes who had innovative talents or made significant contributions, shaping heroic figures with superhuman powers. Examples include Shennong, Huangdi, Yao, Shun, Yu, and Qi in ancient China. This book includes the stories of Kua Fu Chasing the Sun, the Orphan on the Ice, Shun Moving His Brother Xiang, and Gun and Yu Controlling the Floods. Ancient Chinese myths are scattered across various books, with the earliest and most preserved being the Shanhaijing (Classic of Mountains and Seas). Stories like Jingwei Filling the Sea and Kua Fu Chasing the Sun come from the Shanhaijing. The story of Nuwa Mending the Sky appears in the Huainanzi and the Liezi, while Nuwa Creating Humanity is from the Fengsu Tongyi of the Han Dynasty. The story of Pan Gu Creating Heaven and Earth is derived from the Shuyi Ji (Record of Strange Events). Additionally, some mythological stories are preserved in the anecdotal novels of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. Western myths are even more abundant. 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 resembles that of a human king, and Juno (Hera's) jealousy, Athena's wisdom, all vividly depicted. Ancient Hebrew mythology originates from the Old Testament of the Bible. The four selected stories in this book (The Seven Days of Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, and The Tower of Babel) are all drawn from the Genesis in the Old Testament. They all revolve around 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 profound influence on Western culture. We must have a certain understanding of these myths to grasp the cultural background of Western civilization.