Ancient Chinese myths were not
recorded in a systematic way in any work, and , as a result, only
fragments of them are extant today.
Fortunately, many classical works of the pre-Qin period and the Han
Dynasties, such as the Zhuangzi, the Liezi, the Huainanzi, the
Chronicles by Zuo Qiuming, Conversations from the States, and above
all, the Book of Mountains and Seas, contain fragments and excerpts
of ancient mythical stories, which make up a beautiful and
fascinating part of our classical literature.
Pangu Separates the Sky from the
Earth
The sky and the earth were at first one blurred entity like an egg.
Pangu was born into it. The separation of the sky and the earth
took eighteen thousand years-the yang which was light and pure rose
to become the sky, and the yin which was heavy and murky sank to
form the earth. Between them was Pangu, who went through nine
changes every day, his wisdom greater than that of the sky and his
ability greater than that of the earth. Every day the sky rose ten
feet higher, the earth became ten feet thicker, and Pangu grew ten
feet taller. Another eighteen thousand years passed, and there was
an extremely high sky, an extremely thick earth, and an extremely
tall Pangu. Then came the Three Emperors.
So these numbers came into existence and evolve like this. The numb
or begins with one, becomes established at three, is completed at
five, prospers at seven, and ends in nine. So the sky is ninety
thousand li from the earth.
Jingwei Determines to Fill up the
Sea
On Fajiu Hill grew a lot of mulberry trees. Among them lived a bird
which looked like a crow, but had a colourful head, a white bill
and two red claws. Its call sounded like its name: Jingwei. The
bird was said to be Emperor Yandi's youngest daughter, Nü Wá, who,
while playing on the East Sea, had been drowned and never returned.
She had turned into Jingwei, and the bird would often carry bits of
twigs and stones all the way from the west mountains to the East
Sea to fill it up.
Li Bing Fights the River Deity
When King Zhao of Qin conquered Shu, he appointed Li Bing governor
of the area. At that time there in the river was a river deity, who
each year demanded two virgins as his wives. One day, the official
responsible for the matter came to report to Li, "This time a
million copper coins must be collected to buy two women for the
deity." "Don't worry," Li Bing comforted him, "I have got girls for
him already." When the day came, Li had his two daughters properly
dressed, ready to be thrown into the river. He stepped onto the
terrace for the ceremony and poured a libation, saying, "Today, I
am greatly honoured to become a relation of yours. Please, my River
God, come out and honour the occasion with your respected presence,
and allow me to propose a toast to you." After saying these words,
Li emptied his cup, put it down and waited. The wine in the cup for
the deity, however, only stirred a little and remained full to the
brim. Flying into a rage at this, Li said in a stern voice, "Since
you look down upon me so, I have no choice but to fight you." Li
drew out his sword, and the next moment disappeared. Quite a while
later, two grey buffaloes were seen fighting on the other side of
the river. Soon, Li reappeared, ordering his subordinates to help
him, saying, "The buffalo facing south with a white stripe on the
middle part of his body is me. That is the ribbon for my seal."
Then he disappeared again to go back to his fight. Finally, his
chief secretary killed the buffalo facing north. That was the end
of the river deity and all the trouble he had caused.
