There are many fairy tales in China. What are the contents of the four most famous stories?
The most famous hero in ancient myths and legends in China is the Yellow Emperor. Up to now, we still call ourselves descendants of the Yellow Emperor, only because both the Yellow Emperor and Yan Emperor have promoted the progress of history.
Huangdi was not the proper name of a specific historical figure at first, but the concentration and abbreviation naming of Huangdi clan. Because the clan name, tribal alliance name and chief name can be unified during the primitive commune period, the Huangdi clan gradually became the Huangdi, and Huangdi gradually became a fictional ancestor hero and was portrayed as a deified figure.
After the Yellow Emperor clan grew, it entered the Central Plains along the Yellow River and became the most powerful tribal alliance group. Its sphere of influence roughly spans today's Shandong, Gansu, Henan, Hunan and Hebei provinces. While conquering other tribal groups, great integration took place among all ethnic groups, which laid a solid foundation for the formation of the Chinese clan. Therefore, the Yellow Emperor became the central figure in the myth, the god of the gods.
He was born in an extraordinary family, the daughter of Fu Bao, the god of the earth. He was able to talk when he was a baby, and he was smart since he was a child. Legend has it that he is a yellow dragon with four faces. Hundreds of gods often come to appear before him, and he sends them to do things for him.
He is in charge of the thunderstorm in the sky. He can make 14 kinds of changes in the sky, so that yin and yang are born together, the shock is thunder, the agitation is electricity, harmony is rain, anger is wind, chaos is fog, condensation is frost, dispersion is dew, gathering into clouds, rising to rainbow and neon [Ni Ni] ... (See "Taiping Yu Lan" Volume VI.
Therefore, the Yellow Emperor, as a mythical image, is strange and absurd. He has supernatural and superhuman abilities, which are exaggerated by the creator of myth. The so-called Yellow Emperor travels in all directions, simply speaking, it pays great attention to the dynamics in all directions, so as to win every battle. Among the five emperors in ancient legends, the reason why Huangdi can live alone as the central god is mainly because of his brilliant military exploits, which is often praised by people.
2. Datun
The most famous archer in ancient myths and legends of China is Yi, and the relationship between Yi and Chang 'e in the moon is husband and wife, so this myth and legend has spread widely. According to this legend, Lu Xun once wrote a novel "Running to the Moon". Today, people create the heroic deeds of the Yi people as stage art, which shows that the myth of the Yi people is deeply rooted in people's hearts.
It is said that Yi comes from a poor family and is a good archer. No matter he is tall, far, moving or small, he can always hit the target. Someone said, "You are the best shooter in the world." ("Xunzi? After he adjusted his bow and arrow, he persisted. When he operates the bow, he has a good eye for the height of the bow.
He has a definite shooting style, so he is more likely to hit. (see pipeline? You are very strict with your shooting skills. If you accidentally make a mistake, you will be more diligent and persistent. There is a story: Yi often travels north with his friend Wu He and sees a small sparrow flying by. Wu He told Yi to shoot sparrows.
According to some legends, Di Jun's subordinates who lived in the East gave him a red bow and a white arrow with a rope and ordered him to help the people below. As an archer, Yi really saved the people below. (See Shan Hai Jing? However, myths and legends often have many differences, so future generations don't have to scrutinize them like historical facts.
When everyone tasted it, Yao thought he was the son of heaven. So the world is wide and narrow, dangerous and easy, far and near, and there is a way. Under Yao's command, Yi shot down 10 suns and six terrible beasts harmful to human beings.
From then on, whether it is wide or narrow, whether it is steep or easy, whether it is far or near, it is unimpeded. There are two things that must be noted here. First, the hero is easy to change, but why does everyone make Yao the son of heaven? This is obviously the concept of monarch and minister added after the slave society.
On the other hand, 10 suns in the sky are shot down, and the world is not dark. This is probably due to the negligence of the recorder. It only takes 9 days to photograph 10 day, but there is actually one sun left. The folklore 1 hiding under purslane is circumstantial evidence.
3. Gun and Yu
Legend has it that guns are descendants of the Yellow Emperor. Shan Hai Jing? Hainei Jing said: "Huang Di gave birth to Luo Ming, Luo Ming gave birth to a white horse, and the white horse was for guns." It means that he is the eldest son of the Emperor of Heaven. "In the past, Bokun was the son of the emperor." (See Mozi? He created farm tools, tamed cows and mastered them, and taught people to pull weeds when sowing grain.
He is honest and lives in the west. The world book says that he also built a city wall. It can be seen that he made great contributions before water control. Emperor Yao ordered guns to control water. When Yao was in power, the world was not peaceful and floods were everywhere.
Vegetation grows very high, animals breed quickly, the grain harvest is not good, animals are worse than animals, and animals and hooves are everywhere. (See Mencius? Emperor Yao called a meeting of the gods to discuss.
The emperor said, "Hey, immortals from all directions, there is a mighty flood now, and there is water everywhere. There is water everywhere, and people below are very sad. Who can control this flood? " Everyone said in unison, "Oh, send guns!" Emperor Yao accepted everyone's suggestion and said to Gun, "Go, but be modest and prudent." (See Shangshu? Yaodian ")
What kind of god is your wife? There is no record, but you were born in and turned out to be a fertile male god. I am a father and can't give birth normally, but being disembowelled after my death is just one of them. According to this myth, the father-son relationship between Gun and Yu has been confirmed.
Besides, he is the successor of Gun's unfinished business. Without the failure of Gun, there would be no success in Yu. Yu accepted the appointment of the Emperor of Heaven, dispersed the remaining land and put down the flood in Kyushu. (See Shan Hai Jing? The heroic sacrifice of the gun can be compared with Prometheus, the god of stealing fire in Greek mythology. People miss this pioneer hero of water control with respect and gratitude.
Legend has it that "Hairen built a temple in Yushan, and offered sacrifices at four o'clock and eight o'clock. It is common for Xuanxian and Xiaolong to jump out, and the audience was dumbfounded and frightened." It is said that Gun is the god of Yu Garden, and abstruse fish is his incarnation. From then on, he became a river god or a river god. The technology of the gun era only reached that level.
It's getting dawn. Pigs and dogs become people, dressed in black. There is also a god, the snake face, that is, Fuxi, who gave him a bagua diagram and a piece of jade, which can be used to measure the earth. (see "gleaning")
In this paper, the experience and lessons of water control by cannon are summarized and changed into sparseness. In the process of water control, he fought one earth-shattering battle after another, and he must have experienced countless thrills. But the ancients were good at deifying nature, so there were corresponding myths around water control.
Among them, Yu's helpless treatment of the monster can be said to be an episode in the legend of Yu's water control: Yu went to Tongbai Mountain for water control three times, where the wind and thunder thundered, the stones howled, the trees chirped, the evil gods on the ground flooded the rivers, and the evil gods in the sky waved weapons, so the water conservancy project could not be carried out. In great anger, he summoned hundreds of gods and ordered Wei Xiao to clean up evil spirits.
Although this was recreated by later generations according to myths and legends, it still reflects how difficult it was for Yu to control water at that time. First of all, he must overcome all kinds of resistance from nature. Yu Shuizhi traveled all over the country. Under his leadership, he dredged nine rivers, opened up Jishui River and Luoshui River, and led them into the sea. Rushui River and Hanshui River were opened, while Huaihe River and Sishui River were dredged, allowing these rivers to reach the Yangtze River directly.
Yu's myths and legends originated from the disintegration of primitive society and were not recorded until the early feudal society. When people think that Yu has been working hard outside for a long time, his face is tanned and his legs are polished, and even his wife has left him, reverence arises spontaneously.
After his death, he is said to be buried in Huiji Mountain. Where his grave is located, birds often come to weed in spring and peck in autumn. Local officials forbid people to hurt this bird at will, and if they don't follow the rules, the punishment will not be forgiven. (See Water Mirror Zhu Xiang Jiang Shui)
4. Shennong and Hou Ji
From primitive agricultural society to feudal society, China is based on agriculture, and there are many myths about the god of agriculture. Legend has it that Shennong is a cow head. He lives in (now Qishan County, Shaanxi Province), so his surname is Jiang. The geographical climate around Jiang Shui is suitable for planting. Legend has it that Shennong was born in an extraordinary family. His mother and daughter went to Huayang one day and mated with God before giving birth to him.
Shennong saw that it was difficult for everyone to live by eating animal meat, drinking raw water and wearing fur for a long time, so he looked everywhere for plants that could fill his stomach. Sometimes, he will be poisoned a lot in one day. His spirit touched heaven, and he got help from God. "When Shennong was in Shennong, he sowed millet and cultivated." (The book of the week is quoted from Volume 11 of the Collection of Literature and Art.) Seeds fell from the sky for him to sow.
He also said: "Danyang has a grain of nine ears, and the emperor picked it up and planted it in the field." Sunbird holds a nine-eared grain in its hand, and the fallen grain is picked up by Shennong as a seed. Shennong can also process wood, make [lěI Lu] tools, teach people to sow seeds on time, and soak seeds with horse urine. People are very grateful to Shennong because they have food to eat.
Of course, the invention of agriculture will never be the credit of one person, but the accumulation of experience of many people. Shennong's achievement is the creation of outstanding people in primitive agriculture.
In order to highlight his relationship with agriculture, people gave him a cow head. In agricultural society, cattle are sacred animals. They were forbidden to be slaughtered and buried with a generous gift after their death. "Cattle, so grain growers, people's lives." ("Huai Nan Zi Shuo Shan Xun") Shennong retains the form of the unity of man and beast, which can better express the ownership of God.
It is also recorded that Hou Ji didn't even bother to go home to farm. He went into the house three times but didn't go in, and finally he died in hard labor in Shan Ye. Because there are many historical legends about Hou Ji, many ancient books record his specific methods and contributions in agricultural production, and he is known as the Lord of heaven and earth.
His grandchildren, who were also agricultural gods, went further than him and began to plow fields with cattle. "Uncle Sun Yue, the son of Ji, was the initiator." (Shan Hai Jing Hai Nei Jing) Uncle's name is Tian Shen.
5. Pangu opened the world.
Most of the great gods who created the world are unique and supreme male gods. This alone proves that, on the whole, the myth of creation came into being late, the legend of matriarchal clan is less, and the legend of paternal clan is dominant. The most famous god of creation preserved in ancient times is Pangu. According to ancient records, at first, the world was in chaos, like a big egg, in which Pangu was born.
After 18,000 years, heaven and earth have been divided, sunny things have risen to the sky (there is a saying that egg whites have risen to the sky), and cloudy things have sunk to the ground (there is a saying that egg yolk is the earth). In the middle of heaven and earth, Pangu changed nine times a day ("nine" is an imaginary number, which means more), and his magic surpassed the sky and his ability surpassed the earth.
The sky is one foot high, the earth is ten feet thick, and Pangu is one foot. Eighteen thousand years later, the sky is already high, the land is already thick, and Pangu is also very long. When Pangu died, his head became four mountains and his eyes became the sun and the moon. The blood paste on my body turned into rivers and seas, and the hair and hair on my body turned into vegetation.
During the Qin and Han Dynasties, it was said that the head of Pangu was Dongyue, the belly was Zhongyue, the left arm was Nanyue, the right arm was Beiyue and the foot was Xiyue. Ancestors said that Pangu cried into a river, and his breath was wind, his voice was thunder and his eyes were electricity.
He added that it is sunny when you are happy and cloudy when you are angry. Others say that his teeth and bones have become metals and stones, his essence has become pearls and jade, and his sweat is the rain that moistens the earth.
This kind of imagination of primitive people is absurd to people today. On second thought, it still makes sense. First of all, primitive people have a strong overall concept and regard the universe as a huge whole. Subjectively, they think that this big whole should be like a human being, with complete limbs, flexible facial features, joys and sorrows.
After humanization of nature, they further imagined the whole space as a huge god-a giant. Secondly, primitive people compared this thing with another thing, not just casually, but generally had some similarities.
Therefore, bright eyes can turn into the sun and the moon, happiness is sunny and anger is cloudy. Thirdly, such a profound problem must be based on the corresponding developed ideology, so the creation of the universe can't be early anyway. Pangu is usually regarded as a male god, which shows that it is at least the work of a patriarchal society.