China has a history longer than that of any other present-day nation, containing
a plethora of myths and legends. Regarded as the "Chinese Adam" by
Westerners, the first figure in China's
history was named Pangu.
According to legend, In the beginning there was nothing in the universe except a
formless chaos. However this chaos coalesced into a cosmic egg for about 18,000 years. Within it, the perfectly opposed principles of Yin and Yang became balanced and Pangu emerged (or woke up) from the egg. Pangu is
usually depicted as a primitive, hairy giant with horns on his head and clad in furs. Pangu set about the task of
creating the world: he separated Yin from Yang with a swing of his giant axe,
creating the Earth (murky Yin) and the Sky (clear Yang). To keep
them separated, Pangu
stood between them and pushed up the Sky. This task
took 18,000 years; with each day the sky grew ten feet (3 meters) higher, the
Earth ten feet wider, and Pangu ten feet taller.
After
the 18,000 years had elapsed, Pangu was laid to rest. His
breath became the wind; his voice the thunder; left eye the sun and right eye the moon; his body became the mountains and extremes of the
world; his blood formed rivers; his muscles the fertile lands; his facial hair
the stars and milky way; his fur the bushes and forests; his bones the valuable
minerals; his bone marrows sacred diamonds; his sweat fell as rain; and the
fleas on his fur carried by the wind became the fish and animals throughout the
land. All in all, Pangu
and the universe became one.
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