Chinese Cosmogony

Although there are several versions of early Chinese creation myths, which in all likelihood developed in the pre-Buddhist period, the best known is one text that was written down in the third century CE, the Sanwu Liji. According to this myth, there was once only a kind of chaos, which resembled an egg. In this egg was born Pangu (P'an-Ku) (see Pangu), who remained in it for eighteen thousand years. When the egg finally broke, the heavy elements, called yin, became earth and the lighter ones, yang, became the sky (see Yinyang). As the earth sank and the sky rose, Pangu grew and was as tall as the distance between yin and yang. It is written in the sixth century CE Shuyi Ji that when Pangu died various parts of his body became aspects of the world (see Animism). His eyes became the sun and moon, his body hair became trees and plants, and his head became a sacred mountain (see Chinese Deities).