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Chinese History - Mythology: Invention of Culture

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Mythology and the origin of Chinese culture

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Although there is no myth of a god having created the universe like in most other cultures and religions, we find popular tales of persons that helped to build up and to repair the world during a time of chaos. These persons are by no means godlike but are rather a part of the world they helped to fix. The most famous of this persons is Pangu (Pan Gu; P'an Ku) 盤古. But there are even smaller figures like Nüwa (Nügua; Nü Wa) 女媧 and her brother or husband Fuxi (Fu Xi; Fu Hsi) 伏羲 who repaired the world with dividers and ruler, or like a heroical archer who shut down eight of the nine existing suns to prevent the soil burning out. There is also a large group of inventors like Suiren (Sui Ren) 燧人, who first used the fire, Houji (Hou Ji; Hou Chi) "Lord of Millet" 后稷 and Shennong (Shen Nong; Shen Nung) 神農 the "Holy Peasant" - persons that introduced agriculture and the use of medical herbs, or minister Cangjie (Cang Jie; Ts'ang Chieh) 倉頡, who invented writing.
Nüwa is said to have invented matrimony, and she shaped the first men of clay. Trying to fire them in a kiln, the black people were burned too long, the white race to short. Only the "yellow" race, the Asians, have been fired with the right timing.

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