7 Chinese Myths and Legends

Chinese Myths and Legends

China is an ancient civilized country with a history of over 5,000 years and a profound cultural heritage. The long history has produced a large number of myths, religious beliefs, legends, and folk stories. Professor Birrell remarked that China, unlike ancient Greece and Rome, had no Homer or Ovid to retell its ancient myths in a well-expressed literary record. Chinese mythology was preserved orally and converted into the written tradition only in a very fragmented way. Historians have determined that the Chinese mythology began in 12th century B. C. The myths and the legends were passed down orally for over a thousand years before being written down in some early books such as the Huainanzi and the Book of Mountains and Seas.

This chapter contains seven of the most popular mythical stories that appeared at different times from the Pre-Qin period (before 221 B. C.) to the Ming Dynasty (1368 -1644). These are considered as the most well-known stories. The chapter focuses on the most popular versions of these seven stories. Also, these stories have tight structures, exciting plots, and vivid characters. They give us only a glimpse into the various mythological stories that the Chinese people have created in the past three or four thousand years. Nevertheless, with these stories, readers will be able to briefly experience the long and brilliant legacy of Chinese mythology.

Pangu Creating the World

According to an ancient Chinese myth, the world was created by a person named Pangu. It is said that at the very beginning, the universe was a mass of darkness like a huge egg. Inside the egg was a creature named Pangu who slept soundly for 18 thousand years. As he slept, Pangu grew and developed into a giant.

One day, Pangu woke up after a long sleep. He felt strangled by the darkness, so he took a broad ax and broke open the egg with all his might. Yang, which symbolized bright and light forces of the world, floated upwards to form the blue heavens. Yin, which indicates the dark, heavy forces of the universe, sank down to become the fertile earth. Pangu stood in the middle, as he underwent nine changes every day while holding up the heavens with his strong arms and stomping down the earth with his strong feet. Every day the heavens rose ten feet in height, and the earth became ten feet in thickness while Pangu grew ten feet taller. After another 18 thousand years, the distance between the heavens and the earth was 90 thousand li (45 thousand km). Likewise, Pangu grew to be a huge man like a pillar, 90 thousand li in height. Afterward, Pangu was exhausted and slept forever. After Pangu died, his body turned into the

Five Sacred Mountains, his eyes turned to the moon and the sun, his blood changed into the river and sea, and his skin and hair became grass and trees. In all, Pangu himself made up the universe. Pangu is considered as a great hero by Chinese people. A Chinese idiom is derived from this story： the greatest hero is the one who stood between the heavens and earth.

Nvwa Creating People

In traditional Chinese mythology, the renaissance is owing to a goddess named Nuwa. She had a human body and a snake tail. The goddess found the newly created world to be charming, but it was too empty. She sat by a river and looked at her lovely reflection in the water. She knew what she wanted. She wanted the world to be filled with intelligent, laughing creatures like herself. So she took some clay beside the river and molded a figure in her likeness. Nuwa made a variety of figures. Each was different from the others. Then, she breathed into them, and immediately they sprang to life. These newly-fashioned people kept Nuwa company, and she was no longer lonely.

The world was at peace after the creation of people. However, at this time, the god of fire and the god of water started a fight. The god of water was defeated and got his head knocked over a mountain in the west. Since the mountain was the pillar supporting the sky, the mountain burst apart causing part of the sky to fall. This battle was devastating to the earth. Nuwa felt sympathetic for the sufferings of human-kind, so she decided to bring an end to the whole disaster. She gathered five-colored stones and melted them with which she used to mend the holes in the sky. She supported the four corners of the sky with the legs that she had cut off from a giant turtle; thus, she prevented the earth from its destruction. The people thanked her gratefully. Henceforth, Nuwa was regarded as the mythological mother of the Chinese people.

Yi Shooting Down the Suns

In ancient times, the Sun Goddess, Xihe bore ten sons of the Supreme God, Dijun,” Who existed in heaven much the same as the Greek God Zeus”.Their ten sons acted as ten suns in the sky. They all lived on a very large mulberry tree near the East Sea. Every morning, the Mother Sun would send one of her sons in a carriage to be on duty in the sky. The ten suns worked in turns. They took turns and appeared in the sky during the Chinese ten-day week. People on the earth were grateful to the sun for its brightness and happiness.

Then, one day, the suns thought it would be exciting if all of them traveled up to the sky all at once. And so they did. Nevertheless, they were like ten fireballs baking the earth. The heat made life on earth unbearable. People complained and sent prayers to the Supreme God, Dijun, who was disturbed to learn this. To prevent the destruction of the earth, Dijun sent for Yi, the God of Archery, who was armed with a magic bow and ten arrows. He was told to frighten and chase away the disobedient suns. However, angered by the suffering of the people, Houyi lifted up his bow and shot the suns down one by one. When there was only one sun in the sky, the people stopped Yi and told him they needed the sun to warm them and light the world 80~83. As a result, we only have one sun in the sky today.

Chang’e Flyings to the Moon

When the God of Archery Yi shot down the nine suns, the Lord of Heaven, Dijun was very furious. He had expected Yi merely to threaten, not to kill, his sons. Consequently, he banished Yi and his goddess wife, Chang’e, to live like ordinary mortals on the earth and did not permit them to return to heaven.

The Queen Mother of the West, Xiwangmu, took pity on the banished couple and offered them two pills of eternity. Taking one pill could make a person immortal, and two pills could make a person become a god and ascend into heaven once again. Yi and Chang,e were pleased and prepared to have the pills on a favorable day. One day Yi went hunting. A vicious apprentice tried to steal the pills. Chang’e swallowed the pills before the apprentice could get them. At that moment, Yi returned and found his wife ascending faster and faster. He heard his wife’s cry for help and tried to grab her, but she was already beyond his reach. Chang’e went up to the sky where she had to live in the cold and lifeless Moon Palace. The only living thing that could accompany her was a white rabbit. She and her husband were isolated by the differences between gods and humans forever. To remember Chang’e, Yi laid the table and spread Chang's favorite snacks on it. Since then, this practice has become a tradition of celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. People will eat moon cakes, drink wine, and look up at the full silver moon to celebrate their happy life. This then to the Chinese people became a time of remembering close relatives and friends far from home and extending best wishes to them.

The Cow Herder and the Weaving Girl

The Chinese Valentine’s Day is the 7th day of the 7th lunar month in the Chinese calendar. There is a beautiful legend behind this festival.

Once there was a poor orphaned boy named Cow Herder (or Niulang) who was clever, diligent, and honest. The boy had nothing but an old ox. Every day the boy worked on the farm field with the old ox. The 7th daughter of the Emperor was good at handcrafting, especially weaving clothing, which gave her the name, Weaving Girl (or Zhinu). The ox was an immortal from the heaven that had made mistakes in heaven and was punished to live like an ox on the earth. One day, the ox suddenly said to Cow Herder, “If you want to get married, go to the lake, and your wish will come true.” The Cow Herder went to the lake and saw seven pretty princesses descending from heaven. The girls took off their clothes and bathed in the water. As they were enjoying their bath, a strong wind blew the youngest princess’s clothes away. The other six princesses left after their bath. But, the youngest could not return without her celestial clothes. Luckily, Cow Herder picked them up and returned them to the princess. Fascinated by the beautiful princess, Cow Herder asked her to be his wife. The princess had grown tired of the privileged, but secluded life in her Heavenly Palace. She longed for mortal life. After a little hesitation, she agreed to his proposal. They lived happily and had two children two years later.

It was believed that a day in heaven amounts to a year on the earth. As the family was enjoying a peaceful and happy life, the princess’s heavenly royal family found her missing after two days. They traced her to the village. The princess had to return to heaven. While the 7th the princess was returning to heaven with her grandmother, Cow Herder was very upset. Suddenly, the old ox began to speak again. He said that he was dying and told Cow Herder to use his hide as a flying carpet to catch up with his wife. Cow Herder thanked the ox and took his hide. Then, he asked his children to bring the princess’s celestial clothes and sit in two bamboo baskets. Together, they chased after the princess in the sky. Seeing Cow Herder closing in, the empress took out her golden hairpin and drew a line across the sky in front of him. Instantly, the line became a torrential river known as the Milky Way, which kept them separated. The 7th daughter was forced to move to the star, Vega, and Cow Herder moved to the star, Altair. Out of compassion for the couple, flocks of magpies gathered and formed a bridge for them to meet on the evening of the 7th day of the 7th lunar month. This became the day the Emperor allowed them to meet once a year. It is said that it is hard to find a magpie on Chinese Valentine’s Day in China because all magpies fly to the heaven to create the bridge for the couple Every year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, people look up to the night sky, searching for the Cow Herder Star and the Weaver Girl Star and hoping to see their annual reunion. Meanwhile, Chinese girls traditionally demonstrate their handicrafts and hope to have a quick mind and skillful hands just like the Weaving Girl.

The Butterfly Lovers

The Butterfly Lovers is a Chinese legend about a tragic love story involving a pair of lovers, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. The love story is well-known throughout China as Romeo and Juliet in the west. Having been told and retold far and wide in China for over 1,400 years, it was awarded the fame of  “a faithful-love masterpiece through the ages”. 

Zhu Yingtai was a beautiful and intelligent young woman, the only daughter of a wealthy noble family.

Although traditions of that era discouraged females from going to school, Zhu convinced her father to allow her to attend classes. To pursue her studies in Hangzhou, Zhu Yingtai disguised herself as a man. During her journey to Hangzhou, she met Liang Shanbo, who was a knowledgeable gentleman. From the moment they met, they felt a bond. Hence, they decided to be sworn, brothers.

They studied together, and Zhu gradually formed a stronger relationship with Liang. At the end of three years, it was time to say goodbye to her teacher and return home. Shanbo was reluctant to say goodbye to Yingtai and accompanied Yingtai for 18 li to send her off. On the way, Yingtai repeatedly made use of the scenery they saw drawing metaphors to hint that she was a girl. But Shanbo failed to understand it at that time. Several months later, after learning the truth, Shanbo headed for the Zhu family to propose marriage. Unfortunately, Yingtai had been engaged by her father to a wealthy man. Shanbo was heartbroken, and became seriously ill and died. Zhu Yingtai headed for Liang Shanbo’s tomb to offer a sacrifice to him on the day of her marriage. There was wind and rain with a sudden clap of thunder. The tomb opened, and Yingtai threw herself into the grave to join her beloved Shanbo. The two lovers were magically transformed into a pair of beautiful butterflies. They flew wing to wing among the flowers forever and never had to be apart again.

As the love story of Liang-Zhu spread through the ages, a large system of the Liang-Zhu culture came into being. It dominated all kinds of art forms including ballads, novels, films and different types of regional operas. Among various literary and artistic works, the most popular one may be the violin concerto “Liang-Zhu.” It was composed in 1959 by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang, who was then studying at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. This work has not only achieved wide popularity in China but becomes one of the best-known modern Chinese orchestral pieces abroad. It is also deemed to be one of the most famous works of Chinese music. Meanwhile, this popular Chinese love story has spread to many countries with much acceptance and admiration.

The Pilgrimage to the West

The Pilgrimage to the West, written by Wu Cheng’en, is one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature. The Pilgrimage to the West is a fantastic novel, initially published in the 1590s during the Ming Dynasty. The novel was based on the travels of a real person, a Buddhist monk named Sanzang or Master Xuanzang. Sometime during the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), Sanzang took a pilgrimage to India which lasted seventeen years. He risked his life many times by bringing back over 600 Buddhist scriptures to China. The fictionalized account of his travels, totaling eighty-one adventures, forms the more significant part of the novel, The Pilgrimage to the West. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey: A Folk Tale of China.

Consisting of 100 chapters, this lively story describes a long and dangerous adventure of the Buddhist monk Sanzang as he traveled to India to obtain the Sacred Buddhist scriptures. The Buddhist Goddess of Mercy Guanyin, instructed by the Buddha, gave the task of searching for the scriptures to the monk and his three disciples named Sun Wukong (the irreverent and capable Monkey King), Zhu Bajie (the greedy Pig) and Sha Wujing (Friar Sand). These together with a dragon prince who remained a transformed shape of a white horse to act as Sangzang’s steed searched for scriptures. The opening chapters recounted the magical birth of the Monkey King and his rebellion against Heaven. We then learn how Sanzang became a monk and was sent out to bring back the Buddhist scriptures. The main story, the journey, describes how they encountered demons and monsters including such supernatural beings as cow demon, spider beast and a living skeleton, and how they defeated them along the way. Finally, after they overcame many dangers, they arrived at their destination and found the scriptures.

Before locating the scriptures, the monk must surmount 81 obstacles. These obstacles symbolize the difficulties and challenges that people meet while seeking the ideal life ( Hu Guangzhou, 1980 )63"84. Although San Zang is helpless in defending himself, the courage and powers of his disciples, especially the Monkey King, protected him from danger on the journey. The Monkey King is the real hero of the fantasy, and he has long been loved in China. The Monkey King was born from a stone egg. He was brave and mischievous. He was gifted with not only the intelligence and unruly nature of a monkey but also extraordinary powers that helped him overcome the evil spirits. Zhu Bajie, the greedy Pig, was characterized by his enormous appetites and was continually looking for a way to escape his duties. He was always making a mess out of things thereby generating a lot of humor during the journey. Among the three protectors, Sha Wujing was a kindhearted, obedient and logical person. He was very loyal to his master. Even though his fighting skills were not as great as that of Wukong or Bajie, Wujing was still a great warrior protecting San Zang and could use his intellect as well as his strength to beat the enemy. These characters are one of the main reasons that Pilgrimage to the West charms the readers.

The Pilgrimage to the West is a combination of myth and comedy. The story is full of imagination as the Monkey King is magical and packed with humor. Wu Cheng’en created an imaginary world, giving us a glimpse of the different faces of human nature. As a result, it gives the readers an extraordinary insight into life itself.

Conclusion

Chinese mythology contains stories with strong influences from Chinese folk religion, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. The most noticeable characteristic of Chinese mythical stories are the expression of human feelings. Gods, ghosts, and spirits are commonly described as living things with human qualities and human emotions. They appear in human forms, desiring to live an ordinary life like human beings. They are not superiors as people may think, but are like humans and entirely believable. This may be one of the reasons why these mythical stories are still so fascinating to us today.