Jenna Theisen--Chinese Creation Story

I found several creation stories. The creation story I found most interesting to me was the Chinese creation story. I obviously found this interesting because I am living with a chinese woman right now and have become interested in her culture. The story I found about how the earth and man came to be is the Egg story.

In the very beginning the world didn't have a heaven or an earth. Pan Ku, their creator, was sleeping on this egg. After about 18,000 years he awoke suddenly, breaking the egg. The top part of the egg was light and clear, so it became heaven; and the bottom part was dense and dark, so it became the earth. This is where yin-yang came about--"the two sides that make up a whole" (Baker).

"Pan Ku was born larger than any man and with a hammer and chisel in hand. With these tools, he further separated the sky and the land." Four mythical creatures helped him: "the tiger, phoenix, dragon, and tortoise. After another 18,000 years, he had built enough to assure the heaven and earth would never meet again" (Baker).

Pan Ku stayed very busy trying to build the world. After his death he created wind, clouds, soil, rock, water, mountains, stars, the sun and moon, and finally humans. "His flesh became soil, his bones rock, and his blood filled the rivers and seas. His limbs and body became the five major mountains in China. His hair became the stars in the sky. From his sweat came the rain to nourish the land. His eyes became the sun and the moon. And finally, from the small creature on his body, which has been equated to parasites in some translations, came man."

I love this creation story because the Chinese are very against waste. They do not like to waste anything. When Pan Ku died, all of his remains were recycled into the objects that make up the world.

I found all my information at this website:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art29121.asp