What was the world like before Pangu opened heaven and earth?
China has a long history and culture, as well as many legends and stories. Although there are few first-hand documents, they are all compiled into books through word-of-mouth system to facilitate people's study and research.
In numerous myths and legends, the ancestors talked about "Nu Wa created man" and "Pangu opened heaven", but every time I told these two stories, I couldn't help asking: Since Nu Wa created man, where did Nu Wa come from? Where did Pangu come from?
I think many people will have the same questions as me. In fact, not only modern people will be confused, but also the ancients. Qu Yuan in the Warring States period also asked similar questions.
Today, I want to talk about my own understanding of Pangu. Personal knowledge is shallow and limited. Please point out any mistakes. But we only talk about myths and legends. Scientists who have seen the Origin of Species, please step into the field of science. I tell you legends, and you tell me science, which is inhuman.
0 1 qu yuan asked for heaven
In the poem Tian Wen, Qu Yuan boldly doubts all the stories handed down from people's mouths. He asked about the Warring States period in which he lived. From myths and legends to the rise and fall of history, there was nothing you couldn't think of, and there was nothing Qu Yuan dared not ask.
Asking heaven means asking heaven, asking heaven. However, this day is not what we usually call it, but is similar to what Taoism calls "Tao". It is a general term for things and phenomena, which was called "legal image" in ancient philosophy. In Tian Wen, Qu Yuan asked, "How did heaven and earth come into being?"
Who preached it at the beginning of ancient times? The top and bottom are shapeless, how to test them? Then, he turned from asking heaven and earth to asking myths and legends. He asked: Nu Wa has a body. Who made it? I know that human beings were created by Nu Wa, but tell me, who created Nu Wa?
Is this similar to our previous question about Pangu? In fact, Qu Yuan's Tian Wen is a reflection and exploration of things that people don't understand. Qu Yuan is not the only one who has these questions. Since the Spring and Autumn Period, hundred schools of thought has been exploring and answering these things by himself. For example, Lao Tzu explores the origin of everything.
Pangu created the world.
We are all very familiar with this legend. When I grow up, I heard that the earth is still in chaos, like an egg. A great god named Pangu woke up from his sleep. When he saw the chaos around him, he shouted, "Let there be light!" " , and then picked up an axe and chopped around, talking about chopping, the clear sky rose to the sky, the polluted air sank to the ground, and the world opened.
Afraid that heaven and earth would meet again, Pangu put his head in the sky and stepped on the ground. Since then, the sky has risen by ten feet every day, and Pangu's height has also increased by ten feet. After many, many years, the structure between heaven and earth has stabilized, Pangu no longer needs to be high, and this great god has fallen down exhausted. After that, Pangu's breath turned into clouds, his voice into thunder, his eyes into the sun and the moon, his limbs into four poles, his blood into rivers, and his sweat into rain and dew.
03 literature record
The legend of Pangu's creation has been circulated for a long time, but it was not until the Three Kingdoms period that it was compiled into a book by a man named Xú Zhēng. This is the "35 calendar", which records the historical legends of Pangu since the beginning of the world. This book has been lost now, and some of it is included in Shuowen Jiezi, which has been circulated:
The world is like a chicken. Pangu was born in it. Eight thousand years old. Heaven and earth opened. Yang Qing is the sky. Cloudy is the ground. Pangu is among them. Nine changes a day. God is in heaven. Holy land. The sky is ten feet high. The earth is ten feet thick every day. Pangu grows ten feet a day. So 8,000 years. The sky is extremely high. The land is extremely deep. Pangu is extremely long. So I went to Wan Li that day. Then Huang San.
Three Emperors and Five Emperors, that's long enough, but Huang San was born after Pangu created the world. If ranked by myth, Pangu is the first.
You know, whether it's San Li Wu Ji or Yi Shu Ji later, the author's books are not pieced together by his own imagination, but the collation of existing legends. Therefore, although the earliest documentary record of Pangu story appeared in the Three Kingdoms period, it cannot be said that Pangu was only created by people in the Three Kingdoms period.
Just like Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, Mr. Pu Songling compiled a lot of ghost fox stories circulated among the people, but we can't say that the ghost fox was created by Mr. Pu Songling.
04 Pangu origin
Confucius told stories in an unprofessional way, saying that he could only tell things, without adding his own thoughts, creating or recording. Before Confucius, there were fewer written records, which made textual research difficult. Many western countries do not recognize the existence of the Xia Dynasty in China, because there is no relevant written record.
When talking about the stories of Pangu, the famous scholar Lv Simian said: "Gezi is very old, so it is widely circulated", which means that the legends of Pangu are not fabricated out of thin air, but widely circulated because the sources of these stories are very long.
As for the origin of Pangu, the general mainstream view is that it originated from the land of Baiyue, which refers to the southern coastal area of China, and was later called the land of barbarians. A little more detailed is Guangdong, so some people say that Pangu is the ancestor of Cantonese. This statement is very consistent with the record in Yi Shu Ji: "There is an ancient country in the middle of the South China Sea ... Now there is an ancient tomb in the South China Sea, which is 300 miles long, and the descendants of the common cloud pursue the soul of Pangu; There is Pangu Temple in Guilin, and today people are willing to worship it. "
A long time ago, there was a country deep in the South China Sea called Pangu Kingdom ... Until now (Southern Dynasties), there were tombs and temples of Pangu, and people still had the custom of offering sacrifices to Pangu. According to the research of experts and scholars, it is believed that the location of Pangu Kingdom is now Lushan area in Guangdong Province, where the ancient Yao people lived. However, because China is too big, and Pangu myth is not only spread in Baiyue area, this view is also controversial.
The mainstream thinks this statement is reliable. Because many historical sites related to Pangu culture have been found in Baiyue.
Is pánhù actually a human being?
Han Xuan was originally Gao Xin's dog, Gao Xin was the great-grandson of the Yellow Emperor, and so was Di Ku of the five ancient emperors. According to legend, during the Di Ku period, there was an uprising. Di Ku said that whoever could take his head, I would seal him away, reward him with 200 gold and marry his daughter.
Although Yun Xuan is usually silent, only dogs that don't bark bite. When he heard what Di Ku said, he jumped on the head of the rebel leader and bit it off. What can Di Ku do? Di Ku was desperate, too. He can only marry his daughter to this dog as his wife. There is a swear word, you know (squinting).
From then on, Yun Xuan had his own fief, and the local people respected him as their ancestor, so Yun Xuan became a human form.
The most popular place of this story also happens to be the southern minority areas. According to what we said before, Pangu originated in the land of Baiyue, and it is the homophonic sound of Pangu. Some people conclude that Pangu is Pangu.
Mr. Lv Simian said, "Nonsense!" I also think Pangu and Yun Xuan are not the same thing. Think about it, Pangu is the god who created heaven and earth, and Yun Xuan is just the ancestor of that savage, one is a giant with indomitable spirit, and the other is the image of a dog. The gap is too big. It is too arbitrary to judge the relationship between the two just because of homophonic.
Is Pangu a foreign god?
Some scholars believe that the story of Pangu originated in India, because the period of "35 Li Ji" was the Three Kingdoms period. Before that, there was no legend of Pangu, and Buddhism was introduced to China just in the Han Dynasty. In some places, Pangu's story is similar to that of Buddhism.
This statement seems reasonable, but there is a core question that cannot be explained: "If Pangu's creation began in the Three Kingdoms period, how did China people explain the formation of heaven and earth before the Three Kingdoms period?"
In fact, all religions are related to myths, and it is not impossible to meet them by chance. In terms of relevance, China's ancient philosophy is more relevant to Pangu's creation. For example, before Laozi, heaven was the highest level of god, and since Laozi, people have thought and explored the formation of heaven and earth: "Things are mixed and born naturally." -"Lao Zi"
07 ancient symbols
In ancient times, writing has not been created, so people can only rely on word of mouth. When they encounter simple things, they can record them by tying knots. Then, since there are knots to remember, there must be other ways to remember, such as carving a simple symbol on a stone or drawing a simple picture on a stone.
These symbols and paintings are extremely important materials for future generations to study the primitive ancestors' culture. On an unearthed bronze Fang Ding, there is a special "ten" symbol. After research by experts such as Guo Moruo, they determined that this symbol represents the meaning of Pangu. Similarly, although symbols were found on bronze Fang Ding, we can't conclude that Pangu was born in the Bronze Age.
08 Yunnan Cangyuan Rock Painting
Archaeologists have found many murals in Cangyuan, Yunnan, among which 1063 can be identified, which is a very important and precious historical material with a history of at least 3,000 years. Among them, there are people, animals, houses and trees, and the performances are also very rich, including hunting and gathering, and fighting and dancing.
Most importantly, in one of the paintings, there is a man, one with an axe and the other with wood. His legs are upright and his head is still shining. This is very close to the image of Pangu, and the light on the head should represent the sun.
09 Malipo Dawang Rock Painting
With the discovery of Wang Yan's painting in Malipo, scholars have never stopped to interpret it, and more and more evidence shows that Pangu's creation myth originated in a very long time.
First of all, according to the literature, Pangu is indomitable spirit, and with the increase of days, Pangu's body will grow up day by day, and there are two indomitable giants in Dawang rock paintings.
Secondly, in Yi Shu Ji, it is clearly recorded that Pangu has a wife, and husband and wife represent Yin and Yang. The two giants in Dawang's rock paintings have three fingers and four fingers respectively. According to the Yi-ology theory, three represents Yang and heaven, and four represents Yin and earth: "Heaven and earth are two; Tian San, Di Si; Tian Wu, Liu Di; Bati Tianqi; " "Nine Days and Nine Places"-Easy Cohesion Uploading
In addition, counting with fingers is also a method, which will be used for easy learning. Those fortune tellers, whether charlatans or real experts, will emphasize that they are proficient in the Book of Changes and pinch their fingers when divining. "Pangu couple, the beginning of Yin and Yang" —— Different narration
After archaeology, it can be determined that the mural of Dawang is a site of a new era, which can be described at least to 10000 years ago. Therefore, whether it is Cangyuan rock paintings, Dawang rock paintings or mysterious symbols, it can at least prove that Pangu is a mythical figure in ancient China and a unique god in China, not foreign.
As for whether Pangu really exists, it is not important. Westerners believe that human beings came from Adam and Eve stealing forbidden fruit, and there are various creation legends in ancient Greece. Actually, it's the same reason. Myths and legends are people's thinking and exploration of the unknown. The ancestors woven the unknown world into myths and legends, which is a valuable cultural wealth of mankind.