History Myth / ChineseMythology

* SpiritCultivation: One way for a human to be promoted to Godhood was undergoing this, as a way for the CelestialBureaucracy to promote a human to godhood if one Cultivates enough.

* Everything began as formless chaos. The world was created when this chaos coalesced into the form of Pan Gu, the first being, in equal measures of Yin and Yang. Pan Gu then used his great axe to split the Yin and Yang into Earth and Heaven respectively, then kept them seperated by pushing up the sky. This took 18,000 years, after which Pan Gu died. [[GiantCorpseWorld His body was turned into our world:]] His breath became the wind, his voice the thunder. His left eye became the Sun and his right the Moon, his hair the Stars and Milky Way. His body became the mountains, his blood the rivers, his muscles the fertile soil, his fur the plants, his bones the valuable minerals, his bone marrows the sacred diamonds. His sweat fell as rain, and the fleas on his fur became the fish and animals of the land. This is more or less the [[UsefulNotes/{{Taoism}} Taoist]] creation story, although scholars have suggested that the Pan Gu story is not Chinese in origin at all. The Pangu story was likely imported from a Hmong-Mienic people that the ancient Chinese encountered and many other deities and folklore were also incorporated from non-Han that were conquered and assimilated into China.

* MasterOfThreads: The Goddess Weaver, daughter of the Celestial Queen Mother and Jade Emperor, is said to have woven the stars.

Worth knowing is that the original religion before the introduction of Buddhism was UsefulNotes/{{Taoism}}. Please make sure to also read about ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'', which is considered one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature.

** The archer Houyi once shot down the nine suns that were overheating the earth, and was given the elixir of immortality as a reward. Unfortunately, he became a ruthless warlord and his wife Chang'e, unwilling to grant immortality to a cruel despot, drank it herself, and fled to the moon to escape her husband.

Chinese history and culture as a whole should be placed under UsefulNotes/{{China}}. This page deals with the myths and legends.

China being one of the oldest civillizations in the world, has also produced a huge mythology that has changed over thousands of years and is home to just as many characters.

* TheAlmightyDollar: China's mythology has a number of wealth gods: Caishen (also happiness), oldest god Fude Zhengshen was focused on virtues & rewards. Liu Haichan was an alchemy god symbolized by gold coins, possibly a face of Caishen. Tudigong is a wealthy god of the soil, farming, and landlords.

** The archer Houyi once shot down the nine suns that were overheating the earth, and was given the elixir of immortality as a reward. However, he wanted to share it with his wife Chang'e, but (depending on the version) she drank it herself/was forced to drink it, and fled to the moon to escape her husband.

All three systems are intertwined in a complex CelestialBureaucracy reflecting the ancient Chinese government. Worship of the gods and ancestors is heavily influenced by the philosophy of Confucianism...which ''also'' has religious elements to it. This is because the line between philosophy and religion in Chinese culture is extremely blurry. Many Chinese people who claim to not adhere to any religion are still very superstitious. The pre-historic Chinese were also a shamanistic culture which was common across Northeast Asian peoples and some shamanistic practises known as ''Wuism'' have been adopted by ethnic minorities living in China or have found their way into Chinese folk religion which in turn influenced Taoism and Confucianism, particularly ancestor veneration which is believed to have developed within Chinese shamanism.

What is interesting about Chinese mythology is that it does not have one creation myth, rather the Chinese classics record numerous and contradictory origin myths. The reason why the Chinese did not have a specific creation myth unlike other ancient civilizations is hotly debated as to what it means in terms of Chinese culture, philosophy, and history. Some scholars go as far to argue that China has no creation myth whatsoever with all myths being either imports or a simple HandWave rather than elaborate cosmogonist story while others will retort that it indeed does but are [[MindScrew too hard to understand]].

What is interesting about Chinese mythology is that it does not have one creation myth, rather the Chinese classics record numerous and contradictory origin myths. The reason why the Chinese did not have a specific creation myth unlike other ancient civilizations is hotly debated as to what it means in terms of Chinese culture, philosophy, and history. Some scholars go as far to argue that China has no creation myth whatsoever with all myths being either imports or a simple GodDidIt HandWave rather than elaborate cosmogonist story while others will retort that it indeed does but are [[MindScrew too hard to understand]].

What is interesting about Chinese mythology is that it does not have one creation myth, rather the Chinese classics record numerous and contradictory origin myths. The reason why the Chinese did not have a specific creation myth unlike other ancient civilizations is hotly debated as to what it means in terms of Chinese culture, philosophy, and history.

All three systems are intertwined in a complex CelestialBureaucracy reflecting the ancient Chinese government. Worship of the gods and ancestors is heavily influenced by the philosophy of Confucianism...which ''also'' has religious elements to it. This is because the line between philosophy and religion in Chinese culture is extremely blurry. Many Chinese people who claim to not adhere to any religion are still very superstitious. The pre-historic Chinese were also a shamanistic culture which was common across Northeast Asian peoples and some shamanistic practises known as ''Wuism'' have been adopted by ethnic minorities living in China or have found their way into Chinese folk religion.

* Everything began as formless chaos. The world was created when this chaos coalesced into the form of Pan Gu, the first being, in equal measures of Yin and Yang. Pan Gu then used his great axe to split the Yin and Yang into Earth and Heaven respectively, then kept them seperated by pushing up the sky. This took 18,000 years, after which Pan Gu died. [[GiantCorpseWorld His body was turned into our world:]] His breath became the wind, his voice the thunder. His left eye became the Sun and his right the Moon, his hair the Stars and Milky Way. His body became the mountains, his blood the rivers, his muscles the fertile soil, his fur the plants, his bones the valuable minerals, his bone marrows the sacred diamonds. His sweat fell as rain, and the fleas on his fur became the fish and animals of the land. This is more or less the [[UsefulNotes/{{Taoism}} Taoist]] creation story, although scholars have suggested that the Pan Gu story is not Chinese in origin at all.

Chinese mythology is influenced by three sources: UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}}, UsefulNotes/{{Taoism}}, and various popular deities and spirits (commonly known as "Chinese folk religion" or "Shendao" which is actually where Japan's "Shinto" gets its name), all mixed in together. Buddhist gods are Chinese versions of various figures associated with Buddhism, such as Buddha, Avalokiteśvara, or The Four Vajras. Taoist gods are the immortals and holy men of the Taoist religion, such as Creator/{{Laozi}} or the [[KingOfAllCosmos Jade Emperor]]. Traditional gods are the Chinese gods that have been around since before Buddhism or Taoism got a foothold or deities absorbed from foreign sources (especially from assimilated ethnic minorities), as well as legendary figures hailed as gods.

Chinese mythology is influenced by three sources: UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}}, UsefulNotes/{{Taoism}}, and various popular deities and spirits (commonly known as "Chinese folk religion" or "Shendao" which is actually where Japan's "Shinto" gets its name), all mixed in together. Buddhist gods are Chinese versions of various figures associated with Buddhism, such as Buddha, Avalokiteśvara, or The Four Vajras. Taoist gods are the immortals and holy men of the Taoist religion, such as Creator/{{Laozi}} or the [[KingOfAllCosmos Jade Emperor]]. Traditional gods are the Chinese gods that have been around since before Buddhism or Taoism got a foothold or deities absorbed from foreign sources (especially from assimilated ethnic minorities), as well as legendary figures hailed as gods. All three systems are intertwined in a complex CelestialBureaucracy reflecting the ancient Chinese government. Worship of the gods and ancestors is heavily influenced by the philosophy of Confucianism...which ''also'' has religious elements to it. This is because the line between philosophy and religion in Chinese culture is extremely blurry. Many Chinese people who claim to not adhere to any religion are still very superstitious. The pre-historic Chinese were also a shamanistic culture which was common across Northeast Asian peoples and some shamanistic practises known as ''Wuism'' have been adopted by ethnic minorities living in China or have found their way into Chinese folk religion.

Naturally, this results in [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters loads and loads of gods]] and an extremely complicated religious culture. These systems are not seen as practically incompatible (even if theologically they may be), so there is little point splitting them up here.

Chinese mythology is influenced by three sources: UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}}, UsefulNotes/{{Taoism}}, and various popular deities and spirits, all mixed in together. Buddhist gods are Chinese versions of various figures associated with Buddhism, such as Buddha, Avalokiteśvara, or The Four Vajras. Taoist gods are the immortals and holy men of the Taoist religion, such as Creator/{{Laozi}} or the [[KingOfAllCosmos Jade Emperor]]. Traditional gods are the gods that have been around since before Buddhism or Taoism got a foothold, as well as legendary figures hailed as gods. All three systems are interwined in a complex CelestialBureaucracy reflecting the ancient Chinese government. Naturally, this results in [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters loads and loads of gods.]] Also, these systems are not seen as practically incompatible, so there is little point splitting them up here.

Worth knowing is that the original religion before the introduction of Buddhism was UsefulNotes/{{Taoism}}. Please make sure to also read about ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'', which is considered one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.

0China being one of the oldest civillizations in the world, has also produced a huge mythology that has changed over thousands of years and is home to just as many characters.

China being one of the oldest civillizations in the world, has also produced a huge mythology that has changed over thousands of years and is home to just as many characters.