Chinese Mythology (from Encarte)

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Chinese Mythology

I  Introduction
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Chinese Mythology, traditional beliefs of the Chinese people on their origins and on the nature of the universe. In a narrow sense, the term is used for those beliefs that pre-date the rational thought of the age of the classical Chinese philosophers (5th to 3rd centuries bc); in a wider sense, it is used to describe the panoply of folk customs and legends that were generated throughout Chinese history, and which still permeate Chinese society.

In spite of a rich and varied mythology, China is not renowned as one of the great myth-creating civilizations. In contrast to the highly developed mythology of ancient Greece (see Greek Mythology), ancient Chinese myths are fragmentary and laconic. This may partly be ascribed to the attitude of the scholars who maintained the written record of Chinese civilization. The dominant Confucian strain of scholarship was largely rationalistic in approach: its texts were philosophical and historical rather than imaginative and literary. Confucianism utilized early records for evidence that supported its view of the universe, historicizing many early myths. Most of the philosophical schools cited myths to support their arguments, and where their writings are the sole extant account, there is often only a distorted or partial view of the original narrative. At the same time, the myths seem to have been toned down to fit in with the prevailing social morality and there is now little evidence in Chinese mythology of the brutality and sexuality typical of mythology from other parts of the world.

II  Origins and Evolution of Chinese Mythology
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Many of early Chinese myths are located in the period before the first dynasty, the Xia dynasty, conventionally dated to the 22nd to 17th centuries bc. One of the earliest relevant texts is the Shi jing (Book of Odes), a collection of poems dating from the 12th to 7th centuries bc. It is not clear when these early myths were first generated, but it seems likely that there was a long period of oral transmission before they appeared in texts.

Two major sources of early myths are the “Tian wen” (Questions of Heaven) from the Chu ci and the Shan hai jing (Classic of Mountains and Seas). The reputed author of the former was Qu Yuan, a native of the southern state of Chu. The culture of this area was noted throughout Chinese history for its intuitive, imaginative approach, as opposed to that of the more rationalistic and staid north. The Shan hai jing, traditionally attributed to the Emperor Yu, is a composite work with parts dating from the 5th century bc. Categorized as a work of geography, it is, in part, a shaman’s book and includes many myths and legends about the places describedMany references to myths are also included in philosophical texts, particularly Daoist texts like the Zhuang zi, the Lie zi, and the Huai nan zi, but also Confucian works like the Meng zi (Mencius), and others such as Wang Chong’s Lun heng (Disquisitions). The early imperial period, from the 2nd century bc to the 5th century ad, saw the reworking and rationalization of mythical material by many writers. For example, Sima Qian in his Shi ji (Historical Records) included historicized biographies of mythical figures, but changed the traditional emphasis to accord with early Han Daoist preferences. Hence, Huang Di (the Yellow Emperor) emerged from a relatively lowly placing to become the founding ancestor of the Chinese people. From the Tang and Song dynasties onward, the practice of compiling large-scale encyclopedias resulted in the preservation of much rich source material on myths.

The development of a religious strain of Daoism in the Han, and the introduction of Buddhism from India during the late Han onward, gave a new impetus to Chinese mythology. The philosophies of the classical period had been rationalistic, as Confucianism and Legalism were, or naturalistic, as pre-Han Daoism was. Gods, ghosts, and spirits, the essence of mythology, were largely absent. By contrast, the new religions were concerned with cosmological speculation, with explaining the workings of the universe and the processes of life and death. They were aimed at popular audiences and incorporated elements from existing folk religion and legends to develop their own mythology. Hence, Guan Yin was originally a Chinese princess of the early 7th century bc, famous for her compassion, before she was taken over and transformed into Avalokitesvara, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy.

Both Buddhism and Daoism offered the possibility of humans transcending normal earthly existence and performing miraculous feats. The Daoists had their xian (immortals) and the Buddhists their arhats and bodhisattvas, figures that provided rich scope for myths and legends. Here can be seen clearly the process of euhemerization (transformation of an historical figure into a mythical one) that is assumed to have been the source of many early Chinese myths. Thus, Zhang Sheng was gradually transformed into Guan Di, the God of War, a major deity. In this later period, with the development of literature and drama, these figures became the inspiration for some of China’s best-known literary works. San guo yan yi (The Romance of the Three Kingdoms) includes stories of Zhang Sheng’s exploits, and Xi you ji (The Journey to the West) is a fabulous account of Xuan Zang’s travels to India to fetch Buddhist sutras. He is aided by the divinity Sun Houzi (Monkey), one of the best-loved characters in all Chinese literature. Mythical figures have also been the inspiration for much painting and sculpture (see Chinese Art and Architecture). A famous example is the series of stone reliefs from the Wu family tomb, known as the Wuliang Shrine, in Jiaxiang, Shandong. These date from 151 bc and include representations of such mythical early rulers as Fu Xi, Shen Nong, the Yellow Emperor, Yao, Shun, and Yu. To this day, Nü Wa repairing heaven, Lao zi riding his ox, the Herdboy and the Weaving Maid, Chang E flying to the Moon, and other mythical characters remain popular subjects for artists.

III  Major Themes
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Early Chinese myths treat themes that are common to mythologies elsewhere in the world. There are creation myths, explaining the origins of the world and human beings; myths about the Sun, Moon, stars, and natural phenomena; myths about dynastic founders and civilizers, culture heroes and villains, mythical creatures, and strange peoples from foreign lands. Many of the myths appear in variant versions, sometimes under different names.

A  Creation Myths

The origin of the universe is presented in naturalistic terms in the “Tian wen” and the Huai nan zi. In the beginning there was a shapeless mass that gradually separated out as the lighter matter rose to form Heaven, giving rise to the yang force, and the heavier matter congealed to form Earth, giving rise to the yin force. The interplay of yin and yang then resulted in the seasons, the Sun and Moon, fire, water, and the elements, and finally the myriad creatures. A more popular later version of this has Heaven and Earth formed like a chicken’s egg with Pan Gu born in the middle. Tired of the darkness, he one day broke the egg with an axe, after which Heaven and Earth separated and Pan Gu grew between them, holding up the sky as it rose ever higher. After 18,000 years, he grew exhausted and died. The rest of the universe was formed from the parts of his dying body. His breath became the wind, his eyes the Sun and Moon, his muscles the soil, his blood the rivers, his skin and fine body hair the plants and trees, and his teeth and bones the rocks and stones.

The goddess Nü Wa (also known as Nü Gua) is credited with the creation of humans and is said to have had the upper torso of a human and the lower body of a snake. Early versions of the myth have her initially kneading individual human figures by hand from loess clay, and later using a builder’s rope and mud to mass-produce them. These different methods of production were said to account for the differences between noble and commoner. An alternative, later version has Nü Wa as the sister of the deity Fu Xi, with the two of them the sole inhabitants of Earth. They discuss becoming man and wife but feel ashamed and climb the sacred mountain, Mount Kunlun, to ask Heaven for a sign as to whether they should do so or not. Heaven indicates that they should, and they make fans from grass to hide their faces. In Han dynasty bas-reliefs they are represented with snake-like lower bodies intertwined.

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B  Celestial Myths

A naturalistic Daoist version from the Huai nan zi has the Sun created from the fiery vapours of yang and the Moon from the watery vapours of yin. The stars and celestial bodies were created from vapours exuded by the Sun and Moon. A more colourful version from the Shan hai jing has ten suns as the children of Xi He (or Chang Xi) and her husband, Emperor Jun. The suns bathe in the hot waters of Tanggu and rest on the Fu sang (a mulberry tree), nine on the lower branches and one on the upper. Their mother arranges for them to be driven, one on each day of the ten-day week, across the sky in a chariot pulled by six dragons. However, one day all ten suns come out together, scorching the Earth. When Emperor Jun sees the disaster that his sons have caused, he is forced to ask Yi the Archer to shoot down nine of them.

Yi the Archer also figures in one of the main myths about the Moon. He is said to have wished to live forever with his beloved wife Cheng E (or Heng E) and asked for the elixir of immortality from Xi Wang Mu (Queen Mother of the West). However, after he returned with it, his wife took it and fled to the Moon (in one version, she drank it and involuntarily floated up to the Moon) where she was transformed into a three-legged toad, to live there forever. On the Moon, there is also a rabbit, associated with fecundity, and a tree that an alchemist, Wu Gang, is sentenced to cut down as a punishment, but that constantly regrows.

One of the principal myths involving stars is that of the Zhi Nü (Weaving Maid) and the Niu Lang (Herdboy), associated with the stars Vega and Altair. It is mentioned as early as the Book of Odes (of the 12th to 7th centuries bc) but does not appear in detail until the Han period. In one version, the Weaving Maid was the daughter of the Emperor of Heaven and wove brocade clouds to clothe the sky. Seeing that she was lonely, the Emperor of Heaven arranged for her to marry the Herdboy from the other side of the Milky Way. However, the Weaving Maid then neglected her work and so the Emperor of Heaven ordered the Herdboy to return to the east of the Milky Way. They were allowed to meet only once a year, on the seventh night of the seventh lunar month, when magpies formed a bridge for them to cross the Milky Way. An alternative version has the Herdboy as a human who sees the Weaving Maid bathing with her sisters in the Milky Way. Advised by his ox, he steals her clothes and refuses to give them back until she agrees to stay and marry him. She agrees, they marry and are very happy, but her grandmother, the Queen Mother of the West, finds out and has the Weaving Maid dragged back to Heaven. The Herdboy, pursuing her, discovers that the Milky Way had been transported to Heaven but with the ox’s help is able to follow her there. The Emperor of Heaven and the Queen Mother of the West take pity on them and allow them to meet once a year.

C  Dynastic Myths

The group of mythical early divine rulers who provided the essentials of Chinese civilization are often collectively referred to as the San huang wu di (Three sovereigns and five emperors). The precise members vary, but Fu Xi is often taken to be the first of the three sovereigns. According to later myth, he was conceived when his mother, a maiden from Huaxu, a region of longevity, stepped in the footprint of the Thunder God. Fu Xi is credited with providing many things, one of the most important of which is the eight trigrams used in divination. Others include nets for fishing, knotted ropes for computation, musical instruments, and, in one version, fire. He was followed by Shen Nong (Farmer God) who invented the plough, taught people farming techniques, and personally tested the seeds of every plant to see which could be eaten and which were poisonous. Nü Wa is included in some versions of the three sovereigns for her role as procreatrix and saviour of the human race. Her saviour status comes from the time when Heaven’s four supports collapsed, the sky broke, and the land was inundated with water. She repaired the sky with smelted stones, propped it up on the legs of a giant sea turtle, and held back the waters with a dam of ashes.

The Yellow Emperor was originally one of the five emperors, but was later promoted to the status of one of the three sovereigns. He was regarded by Daoists as their founding deity and hence, dating from the Daoist ascendancy in the Han dynasty, came to be seen as the founding ancestor of the Chinese people and the supreme deity. He was a warrior god who fought his own brother Yan Di (Flame Emperor) for domination of the world. He controlled the element water, which overcame the Flame Emperor’s fire. He was also forced to fight with the Flame Emperor’s assistant, Chi You (a god of war), who discovered smelting and invented weapons. This became a battle of the elements, with the Yellow Emperor ordering the Ying Long (Responding Dragon), in charge of water, to attack Chi You. The latter ordered his subordinates Feng Bo (Wind God) and Yu Shi (Rain Master) to cause a violent thunderstorm, but the Yellow Emperor had his daughter, Ba (Drought God) stop the storm and bring burning sunshine, after which he was able to kill Chi You. It has been suggested that Chi You was head of the Miao tribe and that this is a description of a crucial battle against them by the “children of the Yellow Emperor”, or Han race. The Yellow Emperor is also credited with slaying the Kui monster, an ox-like creature with a blue body and only one hoof.

A later Yellow Emperor myth, reflecting his elevation in status and showing the influence of the wu xing (five elements) theory, has him located in the centre, associated with the element earth and, of course, the colour yellow, surrounded by four lesser deities. These are: Yan Di in the south, associated with the element fire, the season of summer, and the colour red; Hsi Wang Mu in the west, associated with the element metal, the season of autumn, and the colour white; Fu Xi in the east, associated with the element wood, the season of spring, and the colour green; and Zhuan Xu in the north, associated with the element water, the season of winter, and the colour black. Further inventions were credited to the Yellow Emperor by assigning their traditional inventors to roles as his ministers. Thus he was credited with the invention of clothing, writing, divination, bows and arrows, boats, shoes, mirrors, and so on. Even Nü Wa was assigned to be his minister so that he could claim the credit for repairing the sky.

Perennial flooding in China gave rise to many myths in which floods are controlled. The most important figures in these myths are Gun and his son Yu. Gun, a grandson of the Yellow Emperor, was given, by the emperors Yao and Shun, the task of controlling the floods. In order to do this he stole the Yellow Emperor’s self-generating soil (xi rang). For this crime his grandfather ordered Zhu Rong (the God of Fire) to execute him, but his corpse did not decay and three years later Yu was born from his belly. Yu was allowed to keep the self-generating soil and after nine years accomplished the task of controlling the floodwaters. As Yao chose Shun rather than his unworthy son to succeed him, so Shun passed over his sons to choose Yu, who became the founder of the Xia dynasty.

D  Animal Myths

The four sacred animals, the first three mythical, were the dragon, unicorn, phoenix, and tortoise. Of these, the dragon held the highest position. It was mainly a watery creature, inhabiting the depths of rivers and seas, but could also take to the skies and be used by gods and immortals for aerial transportation. Through its role of bringing water, the Chinese dragon was basically benevolent to humans, in contrast to the often malevolent dragon of Western mythology. However, dragons were very powerful and there were rogue individuals who harmed humans. The dragon had strong imperial associations and was used as a motif on the robes of Chinese emperors.

Many divinities have animal features, but are nevertheless presented as essentially human. Hence, Chi You had horns and hooves, but is treated as a man. Conversely there are animals that have human features, yet are firmly categorized as animals and subject to the relevant social taboos. The dog Pan Hu (Plate Gourd) grew from a worm taken from the ear of an old wife of the ruler Gao Xin. Later, when Gao Xin offered the hand of his daughter as a reward to anyone able to bring him the head of the commander of an invading army, Pan Hu arrived in court with the head. Gao Xin’s advisers argued that he need not stick to his word, but the daughter insisted that he should and went off with the dog into the mountains. In another myth, a daughter offers to marry the family stallion if he will bring her father home. The stallion does this, but the daughter goes back on her word and when the father learns of her promise he kills the horse and skins it. The girl later mocks the skin; it envelops her and carries her off to a tree where she turns into a silkworm cocoon.

E  Births and Deaths
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Miraculous or virgin birth appears in Chinese myth as a way of denoting the special nature of the male infant who is born. Fu Xi (see Dynastic Myths, above) was conceived when his mother stepped in a god’s footprint. According to the early account of the Book of Odes, the same is true of Hou Ji, the founding ancestor of the Zhou people, whose mother trod in the big toe of God’s footprint. As further confirmation of his special status, Hou Ji was abandoned at birth by his mother, but divine protection through the agency of birds and animals ensures his survival. Other virgin births are the result of swallowing birds’ eggs or bathing in divine pools. One type of miraculous birth is male parturition, as in the case of Yu, suggestive of patriarchy. Two examples of abnormal female parturition involve Yu’s wife and Yi Yin’s mother. The former turns into stone, but splits open to produce their son, Qi, when commanded by Yu to return the child. Yi Yin helped Tang, the founder of the Shang dynasty, to overthrow the Xia. His mother was told by a spirit that if her mortar leaked she should go east and, like Lot‘s wife, not look back. She did look back and was turned into the hollow mulberry tree where Yi Yin was found. There are many instances of stone transformation in Chinese myth. Sun Houzi (Monkey) was born of a stone and the Shi ji recounts how an old man who gave Zhang Liang a book on the art of war told Zhang that when they next met he would be a certain yellow stone.

Chinese myths share many features with myths from elsewhere. Gun’s theft of self-generating soil from the Yellow Emperor in order to benefit mankind parallels Prometheus’ theft of fire; Fu Xi and Nü Wa’s sense of shame on deciding to become husband and wife echoes the sentiments of Adam and Eve. Abandoned infants, like Moses, and Romulus and Remus, are given divine protection to allow them to accomplish their sacred missions. The Chinese word for “myth”, shen hua (“stories of the gods”), emphasizes the primary concern with divinities. The myths present as fact fantastic stories from the distant past and fulfilled an important role in defining the self-image of the Chinese people.