Ancient China
Mythology
The Three Sovereigns and the Five Emperors
Chinese mythology tells us about the first legendary rulers of Ancient China. These wise men and demigods ruled long before the first Chinese dynasty.
The Three Sovereigns were powerful demigods who lived to be very old and brought peace and prosperity to the land during their rule.
- Fu Xi - Fu Xi was said to have invented fishing, trapping, and writing. His sister was Nuwa. It was Fu Xi and Nuwa who crafted the first humans out of clay.
- Nuwa - Nuwa was the sister of Fu Xi. She helped him to create humans and also repaired the wall of heaven.
- Shennong - Shennong's name means "Divine Farmer". He brought the knowledge of agriculture to the Chinese people. He invented the plow, axe, hoe, irrigation, and the Chinese calendar.
The Five Emperors were perfect kings who ruled wisely and with honor. The most famous of the Five Emperors was the Yellow Emperor. He ruled for 100 years and brought about the start of the Chinese civilization. In addition to the Yellow Emperor were Zhuanzu, Emperor Ku, Emperor Yao, and Shun.
The Yellow Emperor
Chinese Dragon
The greatest creature in Chinese mythology is the legendary dragon. The dragon is a long snake-like creature with four legs each with long and dangerous claws. Some dragons are drawn with small wings, but they all have the magical power to fly. Dragons were thought to have power over water and the weather. They can control storms, tornadoes, the ocean, and floods.
The dragon was the symbol of the emperor. His throne was even called the Dragon Throne. It is said that the Yellow Emperor turned into a dragon and flew to heaven when he died.
A Chinese dragon
Legend of the New Year
The legend of the Chinese New Year began in a small village many thousands of years ago. Each winter a monster named Nian would enter the village and attack the people. The villagers were scared and didn't know what to do. Then one year a wise old man figured out a plan. The next time Nian appeared the people used fireworks and drums to make a lot of noise. These noises scared off the monster and it fled into the hills.
The people of the village celebrated the day that they freed themselves from the monster. Each year they would light fireworks and celebrate their victory. This day became the start of the Spring Festival and the Chinese New Year.
Interesting Facts about Chinese Mythology
- Only the emperor could wear clothes that had pictures of the dragon.
- Nian was said to have the body of a bull and the head of a lion.
- Sometimes the Yellow Emperor was considered one of the Three Sovereigns.
- The Three Sovereigns are also known as the Three August Ones.
- Some records show that the Three Sovereigns each ruled for over 10,000 years.
- It was the Yellow Emperor's wife, Leizu, who taught the Chinese how to make silk from silkworms.
- Emperor Yao was said to have been morally perfect and served as the example of how all future Chinese emperors should behave.
For more information on the civilization of Ancient China:
http://www.ducksters.com/history/china/chinese_mythology.php
READ SOME CHINESE MYTHS HERE:
Revenge on the East Sea
Long ago, Emperor Yan had a daughter called Nyuwa. She was beautiful, lovely and had a strong will. She was fond of swimming and often went to the East Sea, playing with the blue waves, enjoying the pleasure of being close to Nature.
But one day while swimming, she was drowned. Her soul would not give
in, though, and broke through the water and became a Jinwei bird, with
white-black spots on her head, a grey beak and red claws. She lost no
time in seeking vengeance. Every day she picked up pebbles and sticks
from the Western Mountains and dropped them into the East Sea. She was
determined to fill up the sea to revenge herself, to make it no longer
capable of drowning others.
Rain or shine, she never rested; summer or winter, she kept on working. Even now, she is still busying herself with her task.
Two mountains
A man was nearly ninety years old. He lived in a place facing two big mountains, the Taihang and the Wangwu. Each mountain was thousands of meters, and covered hundreds of square miles.
To travel around the mountains was troublesome for the old man, so one
day he summoned his whole family and said to them, "How about removing
these two mountains so that we have a straight road to Yuzhou?"
"Good idea!" The family shouted and agreed. Already next day the
project went on its way. The old man's neighbour was a widow who had a
son of about seven. They both came to the old man's aid, of their own
will, speeding up the task.
Near the Huanghe River there lived another old man. When he heard about
this, he felt it very stupid, and decided to go and make the other old
man wiser. He said to him,
"How long do you think you can live on, so that you can remove these
big mountains? Rest your old bones, rather, and be ready to go
peacefully to heaven!"
The other looked at him, shook his head sadly, and sighed, "They say
you are wise, but in my view even a donkey is wiser. It is true that I
am on the edge of the grave. But I have sons; and my sons have their
sons, and grandsons again. And the mountains are eroding. So why cannot
we remove them in the end?"
The mountain deity, hearing this, felt greatly worried and depressed.
Moved by the old man's resolve he will, he then carried away the two big
mountains and made the old man's dreams come true.
Out fishing
The last king of the Shang dynasty was a tyrant. Jiang Shang, one of his ministers, saw that the ruler stopped at no evil, and managed to escape from his office, and settled in a secluded place near the Wei River, in an area that was dominated by Duke Jichang, and the duke was eager to attract talented people in his service.
The escaped Jiang Shang used to sit at the Wei River, fishing with a
straight hook, and with no bait on it. He stretched his pole, let his
"hook" remain a meter away from the surface of the water, and sang,
"Those that are tired of living on those that are seeking their death,
come up".
Talks about his queer way of fishing soon reached the duke's ear, and
he sent some soldiers for him. Jiang, seeing the soldiers approaching,
turned his back on them and said, "What a bad luck, tiny shrimps jumping
instead of a fish!"
The soldiers' report resulted in an official being sent, and again
Jiang overlooked him, saying, "What a pity, only a small fish appears,
and I fail to catch the big one!"
Next the Duke came. He brought with him some precious gifts, and this
time Jiang agreed to assist him. Jiang was made the duke's adviser, and
later promoted to be prime minister. Under his wise leadership, the
state grew stronger and stronger.
Some years later, Jiang assisted the descendents of the duke in sending
an expedition against the king of the Shang dynasty. They defeated him
and thus founded the Zhou dynasty.
Robber Chih (On Right and Wrong)
Right and wrong in the eyes of kings and great robbers hardly differs at times.Chuang said:
Robber Chih seized the wives of others and had strength to fend off any enemy and
curse people in the vilest language. People all lived in dread of him. One day Confucius
(Kung Fu) went up to his camp and wanted to reform him. Robber Chih flew into a great rage
of it. His hair stood on end and bristled. He said,
"Crafly hypocrite, you make up your stories, babbling absurd eulogies of kings.
You pour out fallacious theories. By clacking your tongue you seem to invent "right" or
"wrong", and leading astray rulers - setting up ideal of "filial piety", and hoping to
worm your way into favour with the rich and eminent. You'd better run home. If you don't
I'll take your liver."
His voice sounded like the roar of huge tiger with glaring eyes. However,
Confucius managed to talk to him, due to utter politeness to his face. He wanted the
bandit to stand up as a gentleman of true talent, he said. Robber Chih could then win
further fame in step with the already established set-up affairs of things. The bandit
declined,
"Those who can be swayed with offers of gain are mere idiots. Who are fond of
praising men to their faces are also fond of damning them behind their back.
I have heard that in ancient times the birds and beasts were many. The Yellow
Emperor [legendary ancestor of the Chinese] could not attain the primal virtue of older
days. He fought instead, till blood flowed. Later it came about that the strong oppressed
the weak, the many abused the few. You come cultivating the way of kings, speaking your
deceits, leading astray, hoping thereby to lay your hands on wealth with your honeyed
words. How can this "way" of yours be worth anything? Even the Yellow Emperor could not
preserve his virtue. A close look into emperors and men of worldy gains and esteem shows
that all of them for the sake of gain brought confusion to the Truth - forcibly turned
against their true form. They deserve the greatest shame!" said Robber Chih. [Co 323-31, extracts]
❖ The clever man is well on guard against all sorts of disintegrating forces. He
senses danger before it's too late.
He who knows he is a fool is not the biggest fool
Chuang Tzu once said:
"Call a man a sycophant and he flushes with anger; call him a flatterer and he
turns crimson with rage . . . See him set forth his analogies and polish his fine phrases
to draw a crowd, until the beginning and end, the root and branches of his argument no
longer match! See him spread out his robes, display his bright colours . . . in hopes of
currying favour with the age - he doesn't recognise himself as a sycophant or a flatterer.
See him with his followers laying down the law on right and wrong - and yet he does not
recognise himself as one of the mob. This is the height of foolishness!
He who knows he is a fool is not the biggest fool; he who knows he is confused
is not in the worst confusion.
The man in the worst confusion will end his life without ever getting straightened
out; the biggest fool will end his life without ever seeing the light. If three men are
travelling along and one is confused, they will still get where they are going - because
confusion is in the minority. But if two of them are confused, then they can walk until
they are exhausted and never get anywhere - because confusion is in the majority. And with
all the confusion in the world these days, no matter how often I point the way, it does no
good. Sad, is it not? . . .
Lofty words make no impression on the minds of the mob. Superior words gain no
hearing . . . With all the confusion in the world these days, no matter how often I
point the way, what good does it do?" said Chuang. [Co 139-40, extracts
taken from : http://oaks.nvg.org/chinese4-6.html#jinwei
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