The Ancient Chinese Mythology

An origin story is an account of how a culture, a people, or a fictional character came to be. Many of these cultures have their own ideas of how the universe was created. For example, it is written in the Jewish bible that God created the heavens and the earth. This is the origin story from the beliefs of the Jewish people. Chinese and Greek Origin stories are very different, but are slightly similar as well.

Classical China was a breeding ground for new ideas, inventions, and most importantly, religions. Although Classical China was littered with different religions and beliefs, Confucianism was the most prominent. Confucianism is based on the teachings of a philosophical

According to the book, no one myth regarding the beginning of all things or the origin of humans ever became universally accepted, however, the separate accounts mentioned all share a great deal in common, yet of course differ in some way, with many other creation myths taught so far. The creation of the world, or cosmic order, out of Chaos, is similar to the creation myths of Chinese, Indian, and Egyptian mythology, however, the details differ. In Egyptian myth, Nun embodies chaotic energies which are later put into order by the first deity. Both Greek and Indian mythology mention creating order out of Chaos but neither divulge many details on how this happened. Chinese creation myth, also making mention of creating order out of Chaos, explains

Ancient China and Ancient Greece were two vastly different civilizations with different cultures; they shared a multitude of similar political, economic, and philosophical achievements while also inholding multiple differences. The centralized government of China differed from the independent city-states of Athens. A similarity that both civilizations held in regards to politics would be the role, or lack thereof one, that women played within their respective governments. China’s economy was focused on the internal trade and technological advancements while agriculture, trade, and slavery made the foundation for Greece’s. However, the two shared a link within whom they traded with as well as both

Humans have made huge accomplishments throughout history. Many of these accomplishments have changed the world. Some of these accomplishments have come from dynasties and empires that wanted to expand their knowledge and ideas. Some of these things have affected other civilizations after them and some didn’t have that much of an impact. A lot of these achievements and accomplishments are basic things in our everyday lives that these civilizations have took time and effort to come up with. Ancient China has been one of the numerous places that have made accomplishments. Many ancient Chinese dynasties have accomplished many things that have affected the world. The Tang dynasty’s accomplishments in art, farming, gunpowder, and literature have

The three most important religious beliefs in China were Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. These people believed in many gods, making them polytheistic. Their gods were natural gods, river god, earth god, rain god…The most powerful was the sky god, T'ien, the king of all gods.

Concerning the three most important creation myths in my opinion. The first would be the idea that the world started as a ball of rock or basically nothing and was turned into what it is today by one or more gods or goddesses being killed or just simply become the earth. The second is the idea that people and plants were made from natural resources such as rock, mud, clay, and more. The third is the idea that there was a bloody struggle or war for power over the earth or the universe. There are many other motifs like heros, monster, and other creatures that are involved in creating what is now earth. Another is bloody warfare which is seen quite often in the creation myths. In my opinion the three creation myths I have chosen are the most important. In the next three paragraphs I will explain what they mean and why they are used so often in so many creation myths.

One cannot deny the fact that the events that took place in The Bible happened almost thousand years before the Greece came up but it should also be taken into consideration that these events were written a thousand years late with the holy Quran predating it. The Greeks had already established their religion well before The Bible was written and their worshipping was more than 1000 years old. The tribes of Abraham who had passed down the stories throughout their generation had added great amount of variation due to the oral transition. Because of this there was no well organization of the stories because of the variations. Later on after the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls, they were found to coincide with the Greek religion.

At the core of any nation’s culture are its religious beliefs. In China there are the “Three Jewels” Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, as described in Lopez (1996). There are small numbers of people practicing other religions such as Christianity and Islam, but these are the three dominant beliefs of the region. While they are separate in content, they have coexisted for several thousand years. Lopez (1996) goes on to say, “Historical precedent and popular parlance attest to the importance of this threefold division for understanding Chinese culture…Buddhism is the sun, Daoism the moon, and Confucianism the five planets…suggesting that although they remain separate, they also coexist as equally indispensable phenomena of the natural world.” Each belief system stands alone, and at the same time needs the other(s).

Although there are a great number of creation myths that are propagated by people of Chinese descent, virtually all of them acknowledge Pan Gu. Those that due generally state that Pan Gu was the first being and that all existence in the universe especially the earth and the heavens is comprised of this being. The general story of Pan Gu begins with his conception inside of an egg. In that egg is the yin and the yang, the notion of duality which brings an eternal harmony and balance to life. The egg is a cosmic egg, one of the very first things in existence. Most tradition regarding Pan Gu contends that he matures within his egg for 18,000 years prior to bursting out of it (some traditions say he utilizes an ax for this purpose).

The Similarities and Differences of Myths between Ancient China and Ancient Greek Introduction The use of myths in giving explanations to things that could not be understood within the societies is not anything new. They have been used especially within the cultural settings to account for phenomena that were found to be ambiguous, metaphysical or supernatural. Myths have also been used in the modern times in form of rumors to speculate about something that is now well known. Unless the experts clarify issue concerning such phenomena and demystify the misconceptions surrounding them, these myths become the truth to most people.

Many years ago you were told many creation stories that had you thinking or wording. Even though the Chinese creation story and the Greek creation story came from two different cultures, they share some archetypal similarities but also some differences. For example how humans were supposed to look like, how earth was created, and also where all existed. Although there was many similar archetypal there is also some differences for example humans were created to worship god made, humans beaning made with particles, and what was earth before land was made.

Chinese culture is truly one of the great civilization our world has come across. It boasts a vast geographic expanse, over 4000 years of written history, as well as a rich and profound traditional society. Many aspects of Chinese civilization can be traced back many centuries. It is so diverse and unique, yet harmoniously blended, and presents itself a priceless benefit to the world.

Ancient Chinese people were greatly interested in the relationships and patterns that occurred in nature. Instead of studying isolated things, they viewed the world as a harmonious and holistic entity. In their eyes, no single being or form could exist unless it was seen in relation to its surrounding environment. By simplifying these relationships, they tried to explain complicated phenomena in the universe.

Classic Chinese and classic Japanese mythology are quite similar, in fact, they have more commonalities than differences. As examples, one can compare and contrast the two mythologies in terms of characters, form and structure, creation myths, and mythology’s relevance to life. Animals and dragons also appear repeatedly in Chinese and Japanese mythology. In this paper it will be shown that Chinese and Japanese mythologies are more similar than different.