(1)  How the Universe Began

Ever since the creation of language, human beings had pondered how the universe began. Every culture has its own picture. For the Chinese, a giant man called Pangu (盤古) did a good job, giving up his own life to create our universe.

In the beginning the universe was a mass of random matters like a bad egg. Pangu was in it. He remained unconscious for thousands of eons, slowly growing and taking form.

Finally, the chaotic mass exploded into millions of fragments. The airy pure elements rose upwards to form the sky. The heavy and impure elements sank to form the earth.

Pangu was awakened by the loud bang. He looked around and became concerned that the chaotic matters might close in space. He stood up, stretching his hands to support the sky, and bracing his feet to steady the ground. Staying in that position, his intelligence grew within a body that kept enlarging. He caught fire from thunders and cooked food to eat, thus beginning the tradition of eating cooked food that is unique among the Chinese. He became a powerful being in a universe which gradually took form.

Eons passed. The sky rose to an immeasurable height above the earth which had grown thick. Pangu became a god-man who aspired to sacrifice himself to make a rich and orderly universe. He died. His breath formed winds and clouds. His left eye became the sun and his right eye the moon. The working of the sun and the moon created days and nights, as well as two contrasting and complimentary forces of nature, the yin and the yang.

In time, the blood of Pangu turned into flowing rivers and his flesh became soils. His body and hairs grew into trees and other vegetations. His bones and teeth became rocks and gems; his sweat turned into rain. There were other transformations. They formed the world as we know it today.

He remained a hero for the Chinese people, some of whom built temples to worship him.

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Note: This is a narration of a passage in the book《山海經》. Other books have told a similar story through history. The Chinese universe affirms an equal status for heaven, earth and man, different compared to the Western tradition.