Pangu : Chinese God of creation | Chinese Mythology
Summary
TLDRIn Chinese mythology, Pangu is a primordial being who separated heaven and earth from a vast, egg-shaped entity, symbolizing the division of Yin and Yang. He used a giant axe to cleave the shell, with the upper half becoming the sky and the lower half the earth. Pangu grew alongside the expanding universe, until his death, after which his body transformed into natural elements: his breath into wind, eyes into sun and moon, blood into rivers, and so on. The myth's origin is debated, with some attributing its first recording to Zhu Zheng, a 3rd-century AD Chinese author.
Takeaways
- 🌌 In Chinese mythology, Pangu is a primordial being who played a crucial role in the creation of the universe.
- 🥚 The beginning of the universe was described as an enormous egg-shaped entity where heaven and earth were intermingled.
- 🔨 Pangu cracked the egg and separated the yin (earth) and yang (sky) with a swing of his giant axe.
- 🌄 He pushed the sky upwards and the earth downwards, causing them to be distinct from each other.
- 🌱 Pangu's daily efforts to keep the sky and earth apart resulted in the sky growing ten feet higher, the earth ten feet thicker, and Pangu himself ten feet taller each day.
- 🕰️ After 18,000 years, Pangu died, and his body transformed into various geographic and natural features of the earth.
- 🌬️ His breath became the wind, his eyes the sun and the moon, and his blood turned into rivers.
- 🌟 His bones became valuable resources, his muscles fertile land, and his facial hair the stars and Milky Way.
- 🌧️ His sweat became rain, and the fleas on his fur, carried by the wind, became animals.
- 📜 The origin of the Pangu myth is debated, with some attributing its first written record to the 3rd-century AD Chinese author Zhu Zheng.
Q & A
Who is Pangu in Chinese mythology?
-Pangu is a primordial being and creature figure in Chinese mythology who separated heaven and earth and became the creator of geographic features such as mountains and rivers.
How did the universe begin according to the Pangu myth?
-In the beginning of the universe, there was nothing except an enormous egg-shaped entity where heaven and earth were intermingled.
What did Pangu do to separate heaven and earth?
-Pangu cracked the egg and began to push the two halves apart, essentially splitting the yin and yang, with the upper half becoming the sky and the lower half becoming the earth.
How is Pangu typically depicted?
-Pangu is usually depicted as a primitive, hairy giant with horns on his head.
What did Pangu do to keep heaven and earth separated?
-To keep heaven and earth separated, Pangu stood between them and pushed the sky upwards, with the earth and sky growing thicker and higher each day.
How did the physical characteristics of Pangu contribute to the formation of the world after his death?
-After Pangu's death, his breath became the wind, his left eye the sun, his right eye the moon, his blood became rivers, his bones valuable resources, his muscles fertile land, his facial hair the stars and Milky Way, and his sweat rain.
What is another version of how Pangu formed the earth?
-Another version states that Pangu formed the earth with a chisel and hammer.
Is there a version of the myth that involves a goddess creating humans?
-Yes, another version of the myth states that a goddess who later inhabited the earth formed humans.
When and by whom was the Pangu myth first recorded?
-The Pangu myth is believed to have originated with Zhu Zheng, a Chinese author from the 3rd century AD, who was the first writer known to record it.
What is the significance of the number of years mentioned in the myth?
-The number of years, 18,000, mentioned in the myth signifies the vast amount of time it took for Pangu to separate heaven and earth and for the world to take its final form.
How did the fleas on Pangu's fur become part of the world according to the myth?
-In the myth, the fleas on Pangu's fur, carried by the wind, became animals.
Outlines
🌌 Pangu: The Mythical Creator of the Universe
The paragraph delves into the Chinese myth of Pangu, a primordial being who is credited with the creation of the universe. It describes how Pangu emerged from an enormous egg-shaped entity where heaven and earth were once intermingled. He separated the yin and yang by cracking the egg and pushing the two halves apart, with the upper half becoming the sky and the lower half becoming the earth. Pangu is depicted as a hairy giant with horns, wielding a giant axe to continue the separation of the celestial and terrestrial realms. As the sky and earth grew, so did Pangu, until his eventual death after 18,000 years. His body then transformed into various natural elements: his breath into wind, his eyes into the sun and moon, his blood into rivers, his bones into valuable resources, his muscles into fertile land, and his facial hair into the stars and Milky Way. A variant of the myth suggests that Pangu used a chisel and hammer to shape the earth, while another version attributes the creation of humans to a goddess. The origin of the Pangu myth is debated, with some attributing its first recording to the 3rd-century Chinese author Zhu Zheng.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Primordial Being
💡Yin and Yang
💡Egg-shaped Entity
💡Hairy Giant
💡Axe
💡Geographic Features
💡Creation Myth
💡Transformation
💡Chisel and Hammer
💡Goddess
💡Zhu Zheng
Highlights
Hunger was a primordial being in Chinese mythology who separated heaven and earth.
The universe initially existed as an enormous egg-shaped entity where heaven and earth were intermingled.
Pangu cracked the egg and split the yin and yang, creating the sky and earth.
The upper half of the egg became the sky, while the lower half became the earth.
Pangu is depicted as a primitive, hairy giant with horns on his head.
He separated yin from yang with a swing of his giant axe, dividing earth (yin) from sky (yang).
Pangu stood between the sky and earth, pushing them apart each day as the sky grew ten feet higher, the earth ten feet thicker, and Pangu ten feet taller.
After 18,000 years, Pangu died, and his body transformed into various parts of the earth.
Pangu’s breath became the wind, his left eye became the sun, and his right eye became the moon.
His blood became rivers, his bones became valuable resources, and his muscles became fertile land.
Pangu’s facial hair turned into the stars and the Milky Way.
His sweat became rain, and the fleas on his fur, carried by the wind, became animals.
In another version, Pangu formed the earth with a chisel and hammer.
Another variant of the myth suggests a goddess who later inhabited the earth formed humans.
The origin of the Pangu myth has been debated, with many attributing its first recording to Zhu Zheng, a Chinese author from the 3rd century AD.
Transcripts
in chinese mythology hunger was a
primordial being and creature figure who
separated heaven and earth and became
geographic features such as mountains
and rivers
in the beginning of the universe there
was nothing except an enormous
egg-shaped entity where the heavens and
earth were intermingled
he cracked the egg and began to push it
apart essentially splitting the yin and
yang
the upper half of the shell became the
sky above him and the lower half became
the earth
pongu is usually depicted as a primitive
hairy giant who has horns on his head
pongu began creating the world he
separated yin from yang with a swing of
his giant axe earth yin and skye yang
to keep them separated pongu stood
between them and pushed the sky
with each day the sky grew ten feet
higher the earth ten feet thicker and
pungu ten feet taller
after another eighteen thousand years
pengu died his body forming the various
parts of the earth his breath became the
wind his left eye the sun right eye the
moon
his blood became rivers his bones
valuable resources his muscles fertile
land his facial hair the stars and milky
way his sweat rain and the fleas on his
fur carried by the wind became animals
another version states that he formed
the earth with a chisel and hammer while
yet another version states that a
goddess who later inhabited the earth
formed humans
the origin of the pangu myth has been
much debated many believed it originated
with zhu zheng a chinese author from 3rd
century ad as he was the first writer
known to record it
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