What influence does China myth have on China culture?

First of all, myth is the earliest fantasy oral prose of mankind. The product of human childhood and the precedent of literature. Myth is based on the low level of productivity in ancient times, and people actively demand to know and dominate nature in order to survive and improve productivity.

Myth is full of magical fantasy, which casts a strange color on the wishes of primitive workers and the growth and change of everything in the world. Most of the mythical images of gods have superhuman strength and are the idealization of primitive human knowledge and wishes. It is imagined according to the image of primitive workers, their production conditions and their understanding of natural forces. Most mythical figures created by tribes with relatively developed hunting economy are related to hunting. Most of the mythical figures created by tribes with developed agriculture are related to agriculture. People use knives, axes, bows and arrows as weapons, and mythical characters become heroes armed with such tools. The hero in the myth is imagined as superman, but sometimes he will encounter setbacks and bad luck. It reflects the realistic constraints of myth and fantasy. Through the refraction of myth and fantasy, we can see the actions and struggles of people at that time from the actions and struggles of mythical characters.

The earliest stories of mankind often begin with myths and legends. Because when a nation develops gradually, it begins to be confused about the world and its own sources and makes various answers, which marks the emergence of civilization. These varied answers are absurd myths and legends to modern people. However, for early people, this is a reasonable explanation. They constantly unconsciously explain and develop these "myths", which are handed down from generation to generation. They all firmly believe that this is the origin of the universe, human beings and all things in nature. Myth reflects primitive people's thinking and explanation of the universe and human beings themselves. What is a myth? Marx made a wonderful explanation: "any myth uses imagination and imagination to conquer, dominate and visualize natural forces;" Therefore, when these natural forces are actually dominated, the myth disappears. Myth is "the natural and social form itself processed by people's fantasy in an unconscious artistic way". Therefore, myth can be said to be an early unconscious artistic creation of human beings. It often personifies the natural forces and the objective world with the help of imagination and fantasy.

Generally speaking, there are two myths about a nation.

One is the totem or belief of local culture (such as Pangu and Huangdi in China), and the other is the evolution of foreign culture (such as Japanese serpent and Kyubi no Youko fox). ).

As far as local myths in China are concerned, there are roughly four kinds.

The first is that there is neither one person nor one thing. For example, Pangu's creation is just a belief of a nation in primitive society, which indicates that a nation has developed into a civilized society. Its romantic or serious color represents the cultural color of a nation, and it is the macro embodiment of its humanity and character. Objectivity is generally false.

The second is that people have nothing to do with things, and people deify people. Such as Lao Tzu's legend, Tai Shang Lao Jun, Huangdi Xuanyuan. In wartime, people with low civilization need a hero to lead them. Yan Di's Cultural Contribution He unified the tribes in China after Yan Di. He calculated the calendar; Teach people to sow food; Xing characters; Do a dry branch, make a musical instrument, and make medicine. Ji Shi: The emperor made a scene and spent ten days with the twelve branches to keep up with the lunar calendar. But many historians believe that these are not necessarily his own actions, but the aura given to him by future generations. It represents the maturity and qualitative development of a national culture. You can't just say true and false. It plays a decisive role in the national background culture and national advantages and disadvantages.

The third kind is: servants of some mythical gods, such as Yan Di, Ying Long, Fengbo, Rain God, Goddess of Heaven, Cang Xie, Hou Feng and Ling Lun of the Yellow Emperor. It is not the pillar belief of a nation, but it represents the maturity of a national cultural system and the quantitative development of civilization. Objectively speaking, it is false.

The fourth is: folk customs. For example, there are myths of the river god everywhere in the Yellow River basin. Although these can't be mentioned in parallel with the above, they reflect the evolution of nations (not every nation, such as Yamato), and this myth is generally false. This has a certain influence on the character of the people in this area.