Chinese Mythology
Chinese mythology is the collection of myths of Chinese history and consists of stories about their culture, folklore, and different religions. These stories have been passed down either orally or written. As is the case with other country’s mythology, a lot of the early records were passed down orally because either no one wrote them down or the written information did not survive, or at least, not much of it did. The Chinese mythology consisted of several different factors. There were myths and legends about the creation of the universe and there is mythology about the culture, the Chinese people, and how they lived. As are the other myths in other countries, some people believe that parts of them are true and actually happened.
It is believed by the Historians that the Chinese mythology began around the 12th century B. C.. The myths and legends were passed down for at least a thousand years. Some of the earliest books that were written on Chinese mythology are Shui Jing Zhu, and Shan Hai Jing. Some of the myths were also passed down orally through songs, theater, and poems. These were later written down in novels such as Fengshen Yanyl.
The Shan Hai Jing (Literally Mountain and Sea Scroll) tells about the myths, religion and witchcraft, as well as the geography, seas, and mountains. It also has information about the medicines used, customs, history, and ethnic customs and differences. This book is called the early Chinese encyclopedia. The Shui Jing Zhu (Commentaries on the Water Scroll) is record of the history, and geography, and the legends connected to it. Hei’an Zhuan (Epic of Darkness Literally Epic of Darkness) is the only recordings of legends in epic form which were preserved by a community of the Han nationality in China. These were people who lived in the Shennongjia mountain area in Hubei. The collection contains the birth of Pangu till the historical era.
The Imperial historical documents contain information such as Shangshu, Shiji, Liji, Lushi Chunqui, and others. Fengshen Yanyi (Anointing of the Gods) is a mythical fiction which consists of the beginning of the Zhou dynasty. The book, Journey to the West, by Wu Cheng’en, is a fictional record of the pilgrimage of Xuanzang to India. The pilgrims meet up with ghosts, monsters, demons, and the Flaming Mountains.
Other literature available on Chinese mythology is Baishe Zhuan (a romantic story involving a snake who attained human form and then fell in love with a man), Shangdi, Yu Huang, and Tian. Some of the information in these books are about myths dated back to earlier than 700 B. C.. Just as the myths in other countries, there are some different opinions as to how a story or myth actually happened or if it even happened.
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