Pan2gu3 Creates the Universe
In today’s Chinese class for kids, we will show you a Chinese fairy tale. So first, I want to raise a question. How did the universe come into being? In China,there is a legend that has been traditionally passed down of how Pan2gu3 split the heavens and the earth,forming the cosmos.Legend has it,long ago the earth had rio sky and lacked the ground,as the entire universe existed as a gigantic egg.In this formless mass,was a being that resembles humans named Pan2gu3.Pan2gu3 slept soundly in the egg for 18,000 years.Until one day, he awoke in pitch black, not being able to see anything.Making every effort to get out,he broke open the egg. At this time a substance resembling egg whites began to float upward,forming the sky;while the part resembling the yolk descended,creating the vast earth.
Having separated heaven and earth.Nearly all of Chinese for children know this idiom 开天辟地(Kai1 Tian1 Pi4 Di4). Pan2gu3 was much more comfortable But the recently formed heavens frequently sank down,reconnecting itself to the earth.Not wanting to return to the primal chaos of the large egg,with all his might,Pan2gu3 held up the heavens with his hands and the crown of his head,his feet touching the ground as to avert the heavens and he earth rejoining with each other Pan2gu3 supposed the heavens in this way every day, as his body continuously grew, calling heaven and earth to become increasingly distant,until finally separating forever.With this,Pan2gu3 grew extremely tired,there upon reclining to rest for a while
After lying down,Pan2gu3 would never rise again. His head became the eastern mountain. Tai Mountain;the abdomen formed the central Heng Mountain;his left arm in the south became what is also known as Heng2 Mountain (similar tones yet different characters).His right arm transformed into north Song Mountain,as his foot formed the prominent western mountain Hua4.The breath from his mouth also changed,becoming the spring wind, clouds, and mist, as the thunder became his voice that shook the heavens.His left eve turned into the burning sun,warming the earth every day. The right eye became the brilliant moonlight that illuminates the people His blood filled the rivers and lakes,the flesh becoming fertile land. The teeth,bones,and marrow became the shining gold, silver, copper, and iron, as well as hard stone, smooth and full pearls, precious stones and jade. His skin and hair formed the countless flowers,plants,and trees,as the sweat of his body. His hair and eyebrows transformed into all the stars in the celestial sky, his muscles forming intersecting paths.Every kind of bird, beast, fish, or insect embodied his spirit,as a way of offering his entire body to the cosmos. To learn Chinese online for kids is not difficult thing to understand this Chinese story.
Sacrificing his life to form the radiant universe,Pan2gu3 is revered by China’s early ancestors as a god who brought us the cosmos as we know it Later generations of Chinese. People often worshiped him and offered him sacrifices.Since ancient times,many regions have built temples in honor of Pan2gu3. For example Hunan province’s Xiang1xiang1 boasts the Pan2gu3 ancestral Hall. Every traditional calendar year,on the third day of the third month,masses of people congregate to the Pan2gu3 Ancestral Hall to pay their respects,displaying much gratitude to the unbounded cosmos and nature, thanking the universe for everything it has bestowed,and cherishing its innate qualities. That is the end of today’s cultural and mandarin class for kids and Chinese ancient story. See you!
Source:
http://chinesewelcom.blogspot.com/2015/03/pan2gu3-creates-universe.html |