The Origin and Development of Chinese Mythology

Chinese mythology is the essence of traditional culture and the carrier of ancient folklore. From its origins in the ancient times, to its perfection during the Qin and Han Dynasties, and then to the later incorporation of Buddhist and Taoist myths, Chinese mythology has gone through 4,000 years. Below, we take a look at how Chinese mythology originated in 5 stages, and who the supreme god of each stage was.

Chinese Mythology

1. Ancient Mythology

The Ancient Period, which is the era of the Three Emperors and Five Emperors before the Xia Dynasty, belongs to the Age of Legends, which is the stage of the origin of Chinese mythology. According to archaeological research results, the Chinese ancestors were organized in tribal groups and worshipped the gods and goddesses of nature, such as the gods of wind, rain, thunder, fire and water. The objects of worship were tribal ancestors and totems. In the ancient times, the highest status deities were the gods of heaven, earth and agriculture. The ancient gods and immortals originally had no names, but some experts believe that: the god of heaven was Tian Di, the god of earth was Huang Di, and the god of agriculture was Shen Nong.

2. Pre-Qin Myths

The Pre-Qin period is the 1900 years between the Xia Dynasty and the Qin Dynasty, when Chinese myths entered the development stage. According to archaeological excavations at the Erlitou site in Yanshi, Henan Province, the people of the Xia Dynasty sacrificed bonfires to the sky and jade biscuits and white weeds to the earth, and the supreme deities were the gods of the sky and the earth. According to the interpretation of the oracle bone inscriptions in Yinxu, the mythological concepts of the Shang and Xia Dynasties were basically the same, but the Shang Dynasty turned the successive Shang kings into gods and immortals as well. By the Western Zhou Dynasty, thanks to the Zhou Rites, the gods and immortals began to have names and a rich variety.

Shanhaijing Pre-Qin Myths

Taking the ancient pre-Qin myths book "Shanhaijing" as an example, the highest immortal was the Emperor of Heaven, who was entrusted with the name of Di Jun. Di Jun's wife Xi He was the god of the sun and Chang Xi was the god of the moon. The next highest deities were the Eastern King Gong and the Western Queen Mother, who governed the eastern and western lands. According to folklore experts, during the Xia Dynasty, the eastern part of China was the first to enter a patrilineal clan society, so the highest deity was the Eastern King Gong. The West was still at the end of matrilineal clan society and worshiped women, so the highest god was the Queen Mother of the West. In addition, although the Shanhaijing first mentions Nuwa, it does not specifically describe her and she does not become the supreme deity.

3. Qin and Han Myths

The Qin and Han periods were the golden age of Chinese mythology. With the establishment of feudal empires like the Qin and Han Dynasties, myths and legends from all over China, as well as the various gods and goddesses began to be standardized, with Nuwa, Fuxi and Pangu becoming the 3 highest ranking gods and goddesses.

Fu Xi and Nu Wa

Nu Wa had already appeared in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, but the Han Dynasty incorporated the myth of Queen Mother of the West, portraying Nu Wa as the originator of mankind and goddess of fertility. Fuxi already appeared during the Warring States period and was first mentioned in Zhuangzi. By the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he had become the "Tai God", the founder of Chinese humanity. There are many opinions about the origin of Fuxi, and most experts believe that Fuxi was originally Tai Hao, the leader of the Eastern barbarian tribes, or the Eastern Emperor Taiyi, as mentioned by Qu Yuan in his "Nine Songs".

Finally, there is Pangu, the supreme god of Chinese mythology. Although ancient, Pangu did not appear in the Wu mythology system until the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Experts still argue about the origin of Pangu. Part of the experts support the local origin, and there were prototypes in folklore from a long time ago, but they were just not included in the mythological system. The other part of the experts support the Western origin theory, that Pangu is an alternative deity produced by the fusion of Buddhism and Taoist mythology after the introduction of Buddhism into China.

Pangu

4. Religious Myths

After the Eastern Jin Dynasty, religions such as Taoism and Buddhism began to flourish, and deities such as Fuxi, Nuwa, and Pangu were marginalized. The supreme gods of Taoism are the "Three Chings", namely, the Primordial Heavenly Father, Lingbao Heavenly Father, and Taishang Laojun. Among them, Primordial Heavenly Father was the lord of the Chaos Period, Lingbao Heavenly Father was the lord of the Flood Period, and Taishang Laojun was the lord after the origin of mankind. Although many people say that the 2 deities, Hongjun and Luzhi Daoren, are more ancient, this is actually an alternative to the "Seal of the Gods", which is not recognized by Taoism.

Taoist deities

The supreme deity of Buddhism is more complicated, we only take the one that is generally recognized in China, that is, the idea of the "vertical three Buddhas": the Light-burning Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha and Maitreya Buddha.

5. Folk myths

Folk myths, though different from place to place and unorthodox, are the most understood. According to folklore experts, folk myths were formed after the Ming Dynasty and have been influenced by the Feudal Deities and Journey to the West to the present day. The highest deity in folk mythology is the Jade Emperor, a deity that entered the Taoist system only in the Tang Dynasty and is not actually "master of all things" as in Journey to the West.

Folk Myths

Other more important folk deities include the Fire God, Zhenwu Da Di, Zao Wang Wang, the Land God, the City God, and the Dragon King. In short, the folk gods and goddesses are not divided into religion, there is no accurate prototype, are "a side of the people to worship a side of the God", who is the spirit of the common people will worship who.