Chinese History Always Starts at the Creation of the Universe
Chinese creation myth answers the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg, describing the Singularity and Big Bang while it’s at it. Also how according to Chinese mythology, what separate humans from gods is just effort.
Where history begins
Most Western history books start in one of two places: either in ancient Greece and Rome (the “Classical” starting point) or further back with the “first” civilizations in the Near East like Mesopotamia and Egypt (the “cradle of civilization” approach).
Chinese history books on the other hand, start with the creation of the universe.
And this includes historical picture books, comic books, textbooks, encyclopedias, novels, etc. The first poem in Investiture of the Gods (one of the foundational mythology novels next to Journey to the West) begins with the creation of the universe. Even when speaking of history, people start by saying “Since the time when Pangu opened heaven and earth” (从盘古开天地起 Cóng Pángǔ kāi tiān dì qǐ).
Why doesn’t Western history begin at the very beginning? I suspect it’s because the most accepted Western creation myth is no longer folklore, but religion. And religion has always been a divisive factor in the West that led to wars, torture, and political turmoil.
“Religion” in China on the other hand, has traditionally been more like philosophical schools of thought. People are free to believe what they want as long as you don’t force other people to believe it too. Just like if you thought Plato was better than Aristotle, you’re not going to kill people who doesn’t agree with you. Or maybe a better analogy would be if your Swiftie friend switched to K-Pop, you’re not going to excommunicate them. (Or maybe you would. What do I know. ¯_(ツ)_/¯)
So how did ancient Chinese people answer the age-old questions of how the world was created, and where did people come from?
Well it all began with an egg. (Which answers the question of which came first–apparently not the chicken.)
The Cosmic Egg of Chaos and the birth of Pangu
There’s a lot of parallels between the Chinese creation myth and the theories of the Initial Singularity and the Big Bang. (Any cosmologists, theoretical physicists, or astrophysicists out here want to comment on the similarities?)
Before heaven and earth came into being, the universe existed in a state of primordial chaos (混沌 hùndùn), formless and timeless. After 18,000 years (however years were defined), that undifferentiated mass condensed and coalesced into the shape of an egg. Inside that cosmic egg, opposing energies swirled, and at the center of it all lay Pangu (盘古 Pán Gǔ).
For another 18,000 years, Pangu slept and grew inside the egg. When he woke in the darkness, he felt the suffocating heat and pressure, so he split the egg apart and broke free.
The light and clear part of the egg (yang) rose upward and became the sky. The heavy and murky part (yin) sank downward and became the earth. Pangu stood with his feet planted on the earth, and his head pressed against the sky, and prevented the two sides from merging into chao again.
Every day Pangu grew one zhang (丈 zhàng, approximately 3.33 meters or 11 feet), and so with each passing day, the distance between earth and sky widened. As Pangu grew into a giant, the two sides stabilized, but he was alone in the universe.
Pangu’s emotions affected the weather. When he was happy, the sky was clear. When he got mad, the sky turned dark. When he cried, his tears became rain and snow. As he sighed, wind and clouds came into existence. Finally, after (you guessed it) 18,000 years, Pangu passed away. The sky and earth had been pushed 90,000 li (里 lǐ) apart and were now fixed at this distance. From his body came the new world.
Pangu’s left eye became the sun and his right eye the moon. His blood became rivers, watering the fertile soil formed from his flesh. The hair on his head became the stars. The hair of his body became the grass and trees. His teeth and bones turned into metal and rock, his marrow became precious gems, and rain and dew drops formed from his sweat. His head, feet, stomach, left and right arms became the Five Great Mountains of China.
Beyond his physical body, Pangu’s spirit also transformed after death and became the Three Pure Ones (三清 Sān Qīng), which are the highest deities in the Daoist pantheon. Their stories continue to this day, as many authors still write about their lives in the Honghuang genre of web novels (a.k.a. Primordial Chaos Fantasy).
Where did people come from according to Chinese mythology?
In some versions of the tale, humans (or maybe all life), were born from the parasites on Pangu’s body. (Yup, the trope of humans being parasites of the universe came long before sci-fi was even a gleam in some pulp writer’s eye.)
In the more common version, humans were created by the goddess Nüwa (女娲 Nǚ Wā), but that’s a story for another time.
The distance between humans and gods
In Chinese mythology, there was no divine creator that commands creation. Pangu doesn’t rule over the world–he becomes the world. Everything came from one original being, thus everything is connected. Gods, like emperors, are responsible for the management of the world. And in the scheme of Honghuang novels, the only thing that separates humans from gods is effort–through cultivation all things are possible. No one is ever truly stuck in place, as everyone has the potential to forge their fate.
Affect of the Chinese creation myth on the modern world
This holistic world view is perhaps why there’s a sense of social responsibility instilled in Chinese culture to rise up in rebellion if people deem society to be broken. This is why heroes in Chinese legends are those who fight against the system. This is why the Chinese government is focused on making sure the people are happy. It’s why Chinese trains and planes run exactly on time, because people won’t just sit and accept what they deem to be unfair. It’s also why Chinese netizens are impressed by how much Americans can endure these days, and can’t understand why we don’t rebel.
But they are so far removed from the situation, and having been so protected from true violence, they can’t see the possible ramifications. They’ve forgotten what it’s like to live in a society set up to keep the poor in their place as the rich gets richer. China has been through that cycle many times before. 250 years is pretty much how long it takes for each dynasty to reach the point of decay, for something new to come along to restart the cycle of a nations’s growth. Hopefully, that reset button will be pushed in America after I’m dead. Let me live in peace. And hopefully my children too.
Oops, got off track a bit there…
And so… we’ve stepped foot on the starting line of both Chinese history and mythology. What comes next is a whirlwind of innovation, war, intrigue, pain, and beauty. Follow along as we dive in each week into the fascinating stories that still impact our lives today.
