The myths of the ancient China on the origin of the world. Legends and myths of China

The mythical period in the history of any country, in my opinion, is the greatest interest. Many millennia have passed since then, every time it strikes the imagination of the scale of the activities of the ancient goddesses and gods, as well as the similarities of many of their feats among the peoples living at the opposite ends of the Earth.

According to the Chinese version, the world created the divine Pugu. Initially, he slept in a huge egg in the middle of the world chaos, the state of the Great Infinity, in the Taoist tradition of U-Tzu (無極, Wújí). It reminds Indian legends about the night of Brother, when there is no day, nor night, nor sky, no land, the universe is sleeping. Then Pugu woke up, got up and divided the sky and land, Yin and Yang, putting the beginning of Thai Tzu (太极, tÀijí). The world became Dualien, the polarity began to interact. By doing this great act, Pugu was immediately died, and our visible universe appeared from his body, and rivers, lakes, mountains, plants and many creatures arose on the ground, among whom was Giant Hua. Apparently, he was punishable, but gave life to two children, brother and sister, Fusi (伏羲) and Nyuwe (女 媧), creating with a human face and a torso, but a snake tail, like Indian. Here, of course, I want to screw the theories about arrival to the land of reptiloids, but will leave it for another article.

Nyuva (女 媧),undoubtedly, is much more ancient character than her brother. Even chronologically, Chinese historians begin to mention Fusi with her only since the first century of our era. Obviously, in tribute to the progressive patriarchy, when all the merits are already inconvenient to save the Earth and the creation of the human race to attribute to one woman. Before the chronicle testimonies, Nyva plowed for two, and horse at the race, and in the burning hut.

As the goddess of mother is supposed, she climbed human figures from yellow clay, and then lived them. At first I tried very hard, I looked every detail, emperors, high-ranking officials, generals and scientists were made of these figures. But then, as a real woman, traveled, and decided to speed up the process to the detriment of quality. Skid the rope in the clay alive and shook. Craftsmen and peasants appeared from these lumps.

When four pillars supporting the sky were broken, and the arch did not completely cover the land, the World Flood began. But the goddess, melting the stones of five colors (representing five sacred elements, metal, water, wood, fire and earth), shut up with the heavenly holes, and, branches four legs from a gigantic turtle, made new pillars from them. Humanity was saved. True, the design slightly glanced (nevertheless, not feminine this work), so all rivers in China flow southeast.

Being half the snake, Nyva has kept the ability to update, dropping the old skin. Therefore, it remained forever young and beautiful. Her body was so divinely that he incentively produced new living beings. Therefore, she became a patronage of marriage, wealth and fertility. Her semi-milestone entity resembles the powerful strength of Kundalini, the fiery helix of energy, rising along the spine.

Fusi (伏羲), brother and husband of the Almighty Nyuva, became one of the first three rulers of China. With its appearance marks the transition from the matriarchate to the patriarchal society. He is attributed to the introduction of the Institute of Marriage. As the historian Ban GU writes in the second half of the I century AD, before Fusi, people did not know their father, they knew only the mother, greedily devoured crude foods, without reserves, were dirty and did not have laws. Like promoter in Greek mythology, Fusi taught people agriculture, fishing, hunting, crafts, and also invented writing, seeing the first eight trigs on the shell of a huge divine turtle.

He developed the first laws, and ordered everyone to observe them, and also taught people to follow the will of the gods, asking for a blessing. According to the legends, when there were no people on Earth, he wanted to take his sister in his wife (remember Idice and Osiris), but Nyva was opposed at the beginning. Then they decided to get a sign over, separated from different mountains and lit bigs. Their smoke has connected, it was interpreted as a favorable omen. Nyuva and Fusi got married, and began to be depicted together, with woven snake tails, as a symbol of male and female connections. Agree, very much resembles Caduceus Hermes, the rod capable of reconcile. Or urea Egyptian pharaohs.

Fusi, according to legends, rules from 2852 to 2737 BC. He died in the province of Henan, where there is his monument.

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Myths of Ancient China

Each people creates a unique mythology in which, as in the mirror, its image of thinking is reflected. In Chinese myths, the ancient beliefs and legends, the philosophical teachings of Buddhism and Taoism, folk legends and legendary events, because the ancient Chinese assumed that the mythical events actually took place many, many centuries ago.

In this section, we have to meet with the mythical characters of Chinese history. Some of them are already familiar to us: the female snake Nyuva, the emperors Fusi and Huangy. However, if so far mythology has been interested in us as a reflection of possible historical events, now we will try to look at it from another point of view. After all, with the help of myths, you can see than the Chinese look like other nations and what makes them completely unique. Let's start from the very beginning - from the creation of the world.

Myth about the creation of the world has every nation. Such myths are often attempts to an inquisitive mind to imagine what was before everything appeared. But there is another point of view on the myths about the creation of the world. According to the works of Oriental and Writer, Mircea Elyad, the myths about the creation of the world were used in the rituals of the New Year celebration. Man, approves Eliad, is afraid of time, the mistakes of the past remained behind him, in front of him - an unclear and dangerous future. To get rid of fear before time, a person created a New Year's ritual, in which the former world was collapsed, and then with the help of special magical formulas recreated again. Thus, a person was released from sins and mistakes of the past and could not be afraid of dangers awaiting him in the future, because each subsequent year is completely similar to the previous one, and therefore he will live, as the oldest.

According to Chinese beliefs, the world was created from the original water chaos, which in Chinese is called "Huntun". This water chaos was filled with terrible monsters, one appearance of which caused horror: these monsters had a fragile feet, teeth and fingers. Interestingly, it looked like a similar way, on the ideas of the Chinese, some of their mythical first-enders.

The collection of the sayings of philosophers from Huainan (Huainanji) talks about those times when there was no sky, no land and only shapeless images wandered in the pitch darkness. Two deities arose in those distant times from chaos.

Another myth says that the first event of the creation of the world was the heaven separation from the Earth (Chinese-Kaipi). In written in III century. Philosopher Xujen Treatise "Chronological records of three and five ruler" ("San in Lytsi") It is described that the sky and the earth were in chaos, like the contents of chicken egg. From this chicken egg and published the first man Pangu: "Suddenly the sky and the earth separated from each other: Yang, bright and clean, became the sky, Yin, dark and unclean, became the earth. The sky began to rise up one day every day, and the land in the day became thicker for one Zhang, and Pangu grew up on Zhang. Eighteen thousand years passed, and the sky rose highly high, and the Earth became dense and thick. And Pangu himself became high-high. " As he grew up in aqueous chaos, the sky was further removed from the ground. Each act of Panga gave rise to the phenomena of nature: the wind and rain was born with his breath, with exhale - thunder and zipper, he opened his eyes - the day came, closed - the night fell. After the death of Pangu, his elbows, knees and head turned into five sacred mountain peaks, and the hair on his body is in modern people.

This version of the myth became the most popular in China, which was reflected in traditional Chinese medicine, physiognomy and even in the theory of Chinese portrait - artists sought to portray real people and mythical characters in such a way that they were to some extent similar to Pangu mythological first person.

The Taoist legend, contained in the "notes about the first immortal," tells about Pangu, otherwise: "When the earth and the sky have not yet been divided, Pangu, the first who called himself to heavenly king, wandered among chaos. When the sky and the Earth were divided, Pangu began to live in the palace, standing on the mountain of the Yashmovoy Capital (Yujinshan), there he fed to heaven dew and drank key water. A few years later, a girl of unprecedented beauty named Taiyune Sinyuy appeared in the mountain gorge of the blood gorge. She became his wife Pangu, and their firstborn was born - the son of Tianhuan (Heavenly Emperor) and the daughter of Juguancuiannye (pure maiden nine rays) and many other children. "

Comparing these texts, we see how much myths have changed and rethought over time. The fact is that any myth, in contrast to a historical fact or an official document, allows some interpretations and interpretations, so it can be understood by different people in different ways.

The following myth tells us about the familiar half-milestone-half-mounted Nyuwe. She did not figure the universe, but created all the things and was the Ramateria of all the people whom she cut out from wood and clay. Seeing that creatures created by it die, not leaving the offspring, and the Earth will quickly empty, she taught people sex and created special marriage rituals for them. As we mentioned, the Chinese depicted a nude in the form of a figure with heads and hands of a person and a snake body. Her name means "Woman - Ulitko-like creature." The ancient Chinese believed that some mollusks, insects and reptiles, capable of changing the skin or shell (house), possess the power of rejuvenation and even immortality. Therefore, the nude, reborn 70 times, 70 times converted the universe, and the appearance she took in their rebirths gave rise to all creatures living on earth. It was believed that the divine magical power of Nyuva was so great that even from its internships (intestines) 10 deities were born. But the main merit of Nyuva is that it created humanity and divided people on the higher and lower: those whom the goddess climbed out of yellow clay (yellow in China - the color of the heavenly and earthly emperors) and their descendants subsequently formed the ruling top of the empire; And those who appeared from the pieces of clay and dirt scattered by the nude with the help of a rope are peasants, slaves and other subordinates.

According to other myths, Nyuva saved the earth from death during a disaster when heavenly fire and flood could destroy all the living. The goddess gathered multicolored stones, melted them and shoved heavenly holes, through which water and fire was poured into the ground. Then she chose the legs with a giant turtle and these legs, as pillars, strengthened the sky. Nevertheless, the sky somewhat glanced somewhat, the earth went to the right, and the sky left. Therefore, rivers in the Middle Kingdom flow south-east. His brother Fusi is believed to be a spouse of Nyuva (it is he who is identified with one of the first emperors). They are often depicted with intertwined snake tails facing each other or unscrewed. Nyuva's sign, which she holds in his hands, is a compass. In her honor, temples were built, where in the second month of spring, abundant victims were brought and holidays were arranged in her part, as the goddess of love and marriage. In Late China, the image of the nude and fusi also carved on the tombstones to protect the graves.

Historians suggest that in ancient times Pangu and Nyuva were the deities of various tribes, later those who felt in the nation of Han, and therefore their images are so unlike each other. So, it is known that the cult of Nyuva was distributed in Sichuan and on the southeastern outskirts of the Chinese Empire, and the cult of Pangu - in the south. In history, it often happens that two images similar in their functions are merged into the marriage or nearby (mother - son, father - daughter, brother - sister) pairs of deities, but in the case of Pangu and a nude this did not happen, most likely because They were too different from each other.

The created world for the Chinese was not a list of natural objects located at different distances from each other, but was populated with numerous spirits. In each grief, in every crime and in every forest, good or evil spirits were happressed with legendary events. The Chinese believed that such events did occur in distant antiquity, and therefore historians recorded these legends in the Chronicles on a par with real historical events. But in neighboring settlements, the same legend could be told in different ways, and writers, having heard her from different people, entered various legends into their records. In addition, historians often redid the vintage myths, trying to submit them under the desired angle of view. So the legends were woven in historical events, and the incidents that took place in the distant mythical time became modern for the Great Chinese Dynasties.

The spirits who worshiped the Chinese were a great set. Among them were many perfumes of the ancestors, i.e. the spirits of people who have once lived on Earth and helped their relatives and fellow villagers after their death. In principle, anyone after death could become a deity, enter the local Pantheon and receive the honors and sacrifices laid perfect. For this, he had to possess certain magical abilities and mental qualities. The Chinese were convinced that after death, all evil, which was in man, goes when the body is elapsed, and the cleansing bones serve the console forces. So, when meat on the bones elapsed, the dead turned into spirits. People believed that they often meet them wandering along the roads or in places, their loved ones during their lifetime, and they looked the same as before, when were alive. Such spirits could come to fellow villagers and ask, and often even demand that they brought them victims. If the inhabitants of this area refused to bring sacrifices, the spirits could cause a lot of troubles: send a flood or drought, spoil sowing, catch up clouds with strong hail, snow or rain, to deprive the fertility of cattle and local women, cause an earthquake. When people brought the necessary sacrifices, perfumes were to treat living favorably and stop harming people.

Often, people arranged in spirits check, asking them to perform some magical instructions of a different level of "difficulty" - to ensure fertility of livestock and crops, win in the war, a successful marriage of children. If, after the victims of the spirits, the desired events did not come, the spirits were called impostors and the victims did not bring them anymore.

The ancient Chinese worshiped the many gods whose cults were preserved to the present day. Until now, the most revered goddess of China is the goddess of Mercy Guanin, called Guanshini or Guangzizai. The Chinese proverb "Amitofo in every place, Guaniain in every home" testifies to the vast popularity of Guaniain in the people. It is honored by representatives of all the religious flows of the country, and China's Buddhists consider it by the embodiment of Avalokiteshwara. According to Buddhist visual canon, it is depicted as Bodhisatat in the female appearance, which in general, contradicts the religious dogmas of Buddhism, who claims that Bodhisatatatat. Buddhists believe that the Divine Essence of Bodhisatatva can manifest itself in the form of any creature or even the subject. His destination is to help live creatures to comprehend the World Law (Dharma), and therefore there is no reason to portray Bodhisatatv in the female. Buddhists believe that the main destination of Bodhisatatva Guanshin is to carry all people the doctrine of their true nature and how they can be implemented in the surrounding world to go along the path of enlightenment. But the popularity of this goddess was so great that Buddhists went on a direct violation of their own canon.

Buddhist name Guanin - Avalokiteshwara - comes from Indian (Pali) verb "Watch down, explore, inspect" and means "Master of the World, which looks at the world with pity and compassion." Close to this and the Chinese name of the goddess: "Guan" means "to consider", "Shi" - "Peace", "Yin" - "sounds". Thus, her name means "considering the sounds of the world." The Tibetan name of the goddess Spryaneraz-Gzigs - "Ladyman, contemplating with his eyes" - also draws attention to the visual, visual aspect of the goddess.

Traditional Chinese Silk Wedding Dress

According to the Buddhist treatise, "Manicabum", Avalokiteshwara - a man, not a woman. He was born on the created Buddha's pure sacred land of Padmavati, in which the ideal ruler named with the name of the Zzangpokhog reigned. This ruler had everything that could be wished, but he had no son, and he passionately wished to get the heir. For this, he made a lot of offerings to the saint of three jewels, but his desire was not carried out, although for each sentence he ordered to collect lotus flowers. One day, his servant informed his lord that he found a giant lotus on the lake, whose petals were, as the wing of the Korean. The flower is about going to bloom. The ruler considered it a good foreman and suggested that the deities support him in the desire to have a son. The Zzangpokhog gathered his ministers, approximate and servants and went with them to the lake. There they saw the bloom of a wonderful lotus. And it happened unusual: among his petals was sitting a boy of sixteen, dressed in white clothes. The sages examined the boy and found the basic physical signs of the Buddha on his body. When it was dark, it turned out that the glow occurs from it. A little time, the boy said: "I feel pity for all reasonable beings that are immersed in suffering!" The king and his subjects were brought to the boy the gifts, fell in front of him to the ground and invited him to live in the palace. The king gave him the name "Born by Lotus", or the "Essence of Lotus", because of his amazing birth. Amitabha's Buddha informed the king, that this boy is a manifestation of virtues of all Buddhas and the essence of the hearts of all Buddhas, and he also said that the heavenly name of the boy - Avalokiteshwara and his destination is to help all living beings in their troubles and suffering however countless they would not be.

According to ancient legend, the daughter of the king of one of the Chinese states named Mohozhan was so righteous in his earthly life that he got a nickname "yes Tsyu Yes Bay Jiu Qui Tszy Nan on Mo Lin Gan Guan Shi Yin Pusa" (premium, saving from torque and disaster , refuge by resorting, the miraculous Lord of the world of Bodhisatv). It is believed that Mohozhan was one of the first incarnations of Guan-Yin on Earth.

Guanishin's phenomena were numerous in China, but it was especially common to people in the X century, during the reign of five dynasties. During this period, it was in the image of Bodhisatatva, then in the form of a Buddhist or Taoist monk, but never in the form of a woman. But in earlier times, she took its original female appearance. That is how it was depicted in the paintings of early time. So I depicted it, for example, the Conditions, the famous artist of the Tanning Emperor Xuanzuna (713-756).

In China, it is believed that Guanin has a miraculous force that allows you to get rid of the bonds and shackles, as well as from execution. According to beliefs, it is only worth saying the name Guanin, like the shackles and the bonds themselves fall, swords and other execution guns break, and this happens every time independently of whether a convicted criminal or an innocent person is. She also frees from suffering from weapons, fire and fire, demons and water. And, of course, Guaniain pray women who want to give birth to a child, and a child whom they will be able to give birth at the appointed time will be provided with the blessings of good deities, advantages and wisdom. The female qualities of Guanishin manifest themselves in her qualities of the "Great Peeling", the granitor of children, the Savior; And also in the appearance of the warrior, actively struggling with evil. In this case, it is often depicted together with the Deity of Erlanšene.

The functions of the Divine, like his appearance, could change over time. As an example, you can bring the goddess Sivanu - West Lady, the keeper of the source and fruit of immortality. In more ancient myths, she acts as a formidable master of the country of the dead, which was in the West and the hostess of heaven and diseases, primarily the plague, as well as natural disasters that she sends people. Artists depicted her woman with long disheveled hair, a tick tail and a tiger claws sitting on a tripod in a cave. Food brought three blue (or green) three-year sacred birds. At a later time, Sivanmu turns into a heavenly beauty living in the extreme West, in the Kunlun Mountains in the Jade Palace on the shore of the Yaszym Lake, near which a peach tree with fruits giving immortality. She always accompanies a tiger. The goddess here is the patronage of the "immortal" Taoist saints. Her Palace and nearby Garden with Peach Tree and the source of immortality surrounds the Golden Shaft, protected by magical creatures and monsters.

The Chinese are often mythologized and really existed people. One of them is Guaniui - the commander of the kingdom of Shu Epoch of three-chairs. Subsequently, he became one of the main characters of the Troyzaria medieval novel, which is represented as the ideal of nobility. The historians of Chinese literature are even called his Eastern Robin Hood. According to the legend, he and two of his friend (Zhangfi and Lyo) were swore to stand at each other, after the manufacturer of straw sandals Lyube spread the Guanuy's fight with the butcher Zhangfay in the Garden Peach. When fate highly raised Loebe and he founded the kingdom of Shu, he made Guanuya his supreme warlord. However, the relationship between real guangui and love was not so idyll. Around 200, the first fought in the regime of Caoitsa, and Lyo was on the side of his chief enemy (Yuanshao). Nineteen years later, the real Guanius, together with his son and the squire, was captured by Sunzuan and KazNen. Sunzuan after execution sent the head of Guanuyu Emperor Tsaozo, who with honors and buried her. Shortly after the burial of the head, the legends appeared, who said as if Guan'ewly managed after the murder of a unclean judge, to pass unrecognized by the guard, since his face fantastically changed the color. From the XVII century. Guanuali began to read in Korea. According to local legends, Guanius allegedly defended the country from the Japanese invasion. Later he began to read in Japan.

Since the time of the dynasty, Sui Guanway began to read not so much as a real person, how much as God of war, and in 1594 he was officially deified under the name Guandy. Since then, thousands of temples have been devoted to him in the Middle Kingdom. In addition to the military functions, Guandy Guaniui performed both the judicial functions, so, in his temples were kept the sword, who were executed by criminals. And besides it was believed that the spirit of the deceased would not bother to take revenge the executioner if he would make cleansing rites in the Church of Guangi.

Guandy is depicted accompanied by a squire and son. His face is red, and he dressed in green vest. Guandy's hands holds the historical treatise "Tshojuan", allegedly born by heart. Thanks to this, it is believed that Guangdi patronizes not only soldiers and executioners, but also writers. It is possible that the Tibetan God of Gaser (Gasar), which was a deity and a historical person, a commander of the Ling region, had a great influence on the image of the Writer Warrior. Later, the image of Gesera was perceived by the Mongols and Buryats, for which he became the main epic hero.

As in any ancient culture, the Chinese's mythological ideas closely intertwined the real and fantastic. What is the proportion of real in the myths about the creation and existence of the world, it is impossible to say. How can not say what the share of fantastic in the descriptions of real rulers (unless, of course, they are real). Most likely, what is told in many Chinese myths, is an allegorical embodiment of power, courage, wealth, malice and destruction, etc.

Of course, in the book, so small in size, it is impossible for some kind of detail about the mythology of China. But both of what we managed to tell, suggests that the Chinese civilization is unique in its attitude to mythology, to the relationship of myth and real history. Therefore, in China's history, it is often possible to see that the Chinese create some kind of myth from the real story and live in it, firmly believing that this is reality. Probably we can say that the Chinese live in myths and create myths about life. This is the myth-making history of the history and historicity of the myths and is, in our opinion, the main difference between the Chinese from the rest of the peoples of the world.