Tale and Mythology

The Buddhist religion was first introduced to China from India in A.D. 67. Its founder was Siddhartha Gautama, later known as the Buddha. He taught that suffering was caused by greed, which can be overcome by thinking quietly (meditating). When a person dies, he or she will be reborn into another life (reincarnation). This cycle of rebirth can only be broken when a person has lived an exceptionally good life and has given up the natural human bonds and attachments to material existence. The novel Journey to the West was based on the travels of a real person, a monk named San Zang. Sometime during the Tang dynasty (A.D. 618–906), San Zang took a pilgrimage to India which lasted seventeen years. He  risked his life many times for the purpose of bringing back the Buddhist scriptures to China. The fictionalized account of his travels, totaling eighty-one adventures, forms the greater part of the novel.1 Another important Buddhist figure, Kuan Yin, the goddess of mercy, appears in t...

By the first century A.D., a philosophy called Taoism dominated Chinese thought. Taoism was based on the Tao Te Ching [dow deh jing], a collection of eighty-one verses written by the philosopher Lao-tzu. The Tao Te Ching puts forth the idea of following the Tao, usually translated as “the Way,” the natural creative life force of the universe. It also speaks of noninterference, or wu-wei, with living creatures and forces. From a philosophy, Taoism gradually grew into a religion. Temples were built, and monks were given the task of overseeing these places of worship. The Taoist heaven was soon populated with a ruler, the Jade Emperor, who was assisted by eighty gods and goddesses. Likewise, hell was also ruled by an emperor, Yen-lo, with a host of demons to oversee its functions. Taoists became fascinated with immortality, spells, elixirs, alchemy, and magical powers such as flying and transformation (from one shape to another). Fifteen centuries later, a government official  nam...

Confucius was a real man, a famous teacher who lived between 551 and 479 B.C. His birth name was Kung Qiu [Kung Chew]. The word Confucius is a translation of “Master Kung,” the name given to him by his followers. As was true for many other Chinese historical figures, myths such as the Unicorn’s Prophecy sprang up around Confucius’s life. At the time of Confucius’s birth, China was in chaos. Poor people had no way to improve their lives. Confucius introduced a system of beliefs to change the country. This system, which came to  be  called  Confucianism,  was based on a few simple ideas: Rulers could not force others to do their bidding, but instead should lead by persuasion and good example. Many of Confucius’s ideas were revolutionary for his time. For a brief period, Confucius was given a minor government job which he administered brilliantly. However, despite his success as an advisor to royalty, corruption in the royal household soon forced him out of his posit...

The moon goddess is a popular folk tale that dates from  the Tang dynasty (A.D. 618–906).1 Each province in China has its own version of her story. She is connected to the mid-autumn festival, a harvest celebration that occurs in mid-September. When the Archer Yi shot down the nine suns, the sun god Dijun banished him. Dijun had expected Yi merely to discipline, not to kill, his sons. In addition to the Archer Yi, Dijun also banished Yi’s goddess wife, Chang-O, to the earth below. The banishment suited Yi because he was regarded as a hero on earth, but Yi’s wife was lonely for  her sister goddesses and missed the luxuries of heaven. Chang-O was also angry at her husband for jeopardizing her social status. Therefore, although the Archer and his wife loved each other deeply, they often quarreled. In order to keep their bodies in perfect condition, every three thousand years, gods must eat the peach of long life and drink the elixir of immortality from the Garden of the Wester...

In many ancient Chinese myths, as well as the myths of other cultures, the gods help the people. The Archer Yi, however, is one of the few mortals who helps the gods, thanks to his great skill with the bow and arrow. Like many of our previous tales, this story may have been based on an actual person, in this case a skilled bowman who lived sometime between 2436–2255 B.C.1 Myths about him are linked to the people of the southwestern part of China. Plants and herbs often appear in the background of Chinese stories. The mythical Fusang tree is reputed to be over ten thousand feet tall and spreads its leaves out over two thousand feet. Because the tree appears in many ancient tombs, paintings, and sculptures, it once must  have been a very important symbol. Although some versions of the story depict the Fusang as a hibiscus, the mulberry tree is probably its basis. One variety of the mulberry, Morus alba, is native to China. Growing more than fifty feet tall, its leaves are used to ...

The story of Yu the Great is based on a king of the same name who ruled in Chinese legend from 2205 to 2197 B.C. Like all demigods of ancient times, Yu the Great changes into different shapes whenever necessary, including the forms of bears, humans, and dragons. Unlike the demigods of ancient times, Yu is the first to pass on his status as ruler to his descendants and thus create a  dynasty, or ruling family. He named his dynasty the Xia [She ah]. It still remains a mythical dynasty, since archaeological evidence has not yet proven its existence. The dynasty that followed, the Shang (1523–1027 B.C.), has a rich heritage of pottery, bronzes, and artifacts, which places it as the first historical dynasty of China. The Chinese dragon is not an evil creature. On the contrary, he brings rain and guards the lakes and waterways. He is a composite creature with the horns of a deer, the ears of a cow, the eyes of a lobster, the head of a camel, the whiskers of a cat, the body of a snake, ...

Gong the water god is an ancient destroyer god who wrestled for control of the earth shortly after the creation of people. His predecessor, Zurong the fire god, ruled the world peacefully before him. When Gong became the ruler, he wanted to expand his influence by increasing the amount of water in the universe-in the ratio of seven- tenths water to three-tenths dry land. To achieve his goal, Gong sent torrential rains and came close to destroying the world in a fierce power struggle with the fire god.1 Nuwa, the creator of people, appears in this myth to counteract the two gods’ destructive forces. Although historically the two warring gods have most often been presented as giants, some paintings show Gong as having a snake’s body and a human face with red hair. Zurong is traditionally shown with a massive human body featuring broad shoulders, red skin, and a red beard. Both gods have terrible tempers. In ancient stories, the earth was seen as a flat square, and the sky was a dome h...

The earliest myths involve the Ten Legendary Kings gods who guided people through their prehistoric beginnings (roughly 3000–2197 B.C.).1 These early rulers were demigods, or half god and half human, who lived among the people and taught them the rules of civilization. They could change into the shapes of animals or remain in their half-god, half-animal state. Eventually, they retired to the heavens when their time on earth expired. Fushi was the first ruler of this magical period. Many scholars believe that his story is based on an actual monarch who lived sometime between 2953–2736 B.C.2 However, whether he was based on a real person or not, Fushi is a beloved figure in mythology who taught survival skills to early humans. These include using fire, fishing, hunting, writing, and fortune-telling. In some stories, Fushi is described as having the body of a human. In other stories, he has the head of a human and the body of a snake. In many stories he is the husband of Nuwa, and toget...

Whereas Panku, the creator of the universe was male, the creator of people was a female goddess named Nuwa. Nuwa is briefly mentioned in several ancient Chinese texts, A Classic of History (eighth century B.C.), A Classic of Mountains and Seas (third century B.C.), and Questions of Heaven (fourth century B.C.). In addition, many images of Nuwa have been uncovered on ancient Chinese bronze sculptures and paintings. Like many of the early Chinese gods, Nuwa was half animal, half divine. Most often, Nuwa had the face and arms of a human but the body of a snake or dragon. She could change her shape at will. Modern Chinese books prefer to show her as a beautiful woman. It appeared that women in China had no social standing of their own. However, in their roles as mothers and wives, they were extremely powerful. Since women generally outlived their husbands, they often asserted themselves and ran the household after their spouses’ death. Even in politics, several women (empresses) became ...

Once, the world was a mass of swirling darkness. There was no heaven. There was no earth. All the forces of the universe were trapped inside a small egg, tumbling and spinning in utter chaos. Inside the egg was a tiny creature named Panku. He slept soundly, unbothered by the disorder around him. As he slept, Panku grew, and the egg also grew around him.  For eighteen thousand years Panku slumbered peacefully, until he had developed into a well-formed, muscular giant whose body spanned ninety thousand li (about thirty thousand miles). In perfect harmony with Panku’s body,  the eggshell also stretched, straining to hold both the expanding giant and the turbulent gases of the world  inside its boundaries. One day when the universe was especially unstable, Panku woke up. All around, he saw nothing but darkness and confusion. At first, he was intrigued by the irregular rhythms of the world. He watched, fascinated, as whirling particles burst and scattered around him. Q...