CHINESE MYTHOLOGY

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RELIGIONS IN CHINA

The long history of China began around 20th century b.C., and in the 4^th century Chinese people, like the Greeks, were already highly civilized, anyway, at the contrary of the Greeks, Chinese civilization mantained without fractures its traditions until today. This because the invasors and the conquerers who settle down in China had a lower culture if compared to the Chinese one, and so almost always they ended for adapt to Chinese culture.
The only civilization equally advanced with which the Chinese entered in contact was the Indian one: this two civilizations met in peace thanks to cultural and commercial unions, and all this was able to influence China very much, as much as a new religions rised in China: Buddhism.
Before Buddhism, Chinese religion was similar to the ancient Greeks one, with many different Gods who represented the different aspects of nature and with beliefs that tried to explain the misteries of the universe.

Confucianism and Taoism

The most important school of thought that dominated China for thousands years was Confuciamism, called after the name of the founder of the school, Kongfuzi (name that in the latin pronounce became Confucius); Confucianism managed especially the human relationships, and taught a social order that allowed people to live in harmony all together.
This school of thought was balanced by the Taoism; the word “Tao” means “the way” and the Taoism is a mystic research of the laws that rules our lives, taking into consideration also form of life different from the human one.

There are many Symbols and Images that are associated with Taoism. Like in Christianity the "cross", and in Buddhism the "wheel", Taoism has Laozi, actual Chinese characters, and many other symbols that are often represented or associated with it; Taijitu symbol as well as the Bagua ("Eight Trigrams") are famous Taoist symbols. The Taijitu is a symbol that surely you have already seen: is a circle divided in two parts by a backwards "S" shape, with yang part (white or red) on top and the yin part (black) at the bottom. In the yang part we find a little black circle, and in the yin part we find a little white (or red) little circle. One is likely to see this symbol as decorations on Taoist organisation flags and logos, temple floors, or stitched into clerical robes.

 Yin and Yang 

The concepts of yin and yang originate in ancient Chinese philosophy, which describe two primal opposing but complementary principles said to be found in all objects and processes in the universe.

Yin (literally "shady place, north slope (hill), south bank (river); cloudy, overcast") is the darker element; it is passive, dark, feminine, downward-seeking, and corresponds to the night.

Yang ("sunny place, south slope (hill), north bank (river); sunshine") is the brighter element; it is active, light, masculine, upward-seeking and corresponds to the day.

Yin is often symbolized by water or earth, while yang is symbolized by fire, or wind.
Yin (receptive, feminine, dark, passive force) and yang (creative, masculine, bright, active force) are descriptions of complementary opposites rather than absolutes. Most forces in nature can be seen as having yin and yang states, and the two are usually in movement rather than held in absolute stasis.
In Chinese philosophy, the dualism of yin and yang does not generally give preference or moral superiority to one side of the dualism, since it is linked to cyclical processes rather than progress. However, taoism often values Yin above Yang, and confucianism often values Yang above Yin.

CHINESE LEGENDS

China legends are very old; many has been orally transmitted and many versions of them exist today. These legends are almost all very well known also now to Chinese who loved them and still tell them to their children. People stopped to believe in old deities, but many religions rituals are survived under the form of picturesque feasts, for example the Dragon feast that represents a very important pause in the everyday routine.

Dragons

The dragon is the most important animal in Chinese mythology, and appears often in ancient legends. The Chinese dragon, called Long, is very different from the western dragon: from its mouth it breath clouds instead of fire and it is descripted with camel’s head, stag’s horns, demon’s eyes, cow’s ears, snake’s neck, mollusk’s belly, carp’s scales, tiger’s pawns and eagle’s claws. Its natural element is water and it has under its power the rain and the waters of lakes and rivers; every sea, every lake, every river, also the smallest one, had its own guardian dragon, and this dragon lived in a submerged palace full of treasures; even if the dragon defended its treasures from thieves, sometimes happened that he distrubuted part of treasures to mortals he liked.

As guardian spirits, dragon belonged to the race of immortals and usually they managed with Gods and Goddessess who sometimes used them to fly in the sky.
Dragons represented the yang, so everything male; the symbol of China Emperor was the dragon, often coupled to the phoenix (female simbol) that represented the Emperess. Furthermore the imperial dragon had five claws each pawns, instead of four, to distinguish it from inferior animals.

In Chinese beliefs it was thougth that dragons were responsible of invisible lines that crossed the earth; it was supposed that this dragon lines were the veins of the earth, through which natural forces flown, and when they occluded in those points huge disasters happened. Chinese people thougth that nothing had to interfer with the course of these lines, to not cause the anger of some dragons.

Dragon Festivities

Dragon is the main character of two important festivities. First is the Chinese New Year, held on the 15^th day of the 1st lunar month (almost the end of February); in this occasion it’s represented the dance of dragon, performed by a long line of men who carry lanterns: the first is the biggest and dragon head shaped, the following are each smaller then the previous, until the last that represents the tail. The second feast is the Dragon Boat Festival, held on the 5^th day of the 5^th lunar month (usually in half June) during which some dragon shaped boats races for an important prize.

 

The legend we will talk about in this lesson is the legend of

THE NIGHT BIRD

Once upon a time, in the land of Chu (central China), lived a very rich man called Dong. Unfortunately his mother suffered from a terrible illness: in daytime she was fine and happy, but in the night she suffered from terrible pains and had the feeling that someone was pierce her with a knife several times and that someone kicked her on the arms and legs, but in the morning there were no wounds or cuts on her. It was already an year that she was suffering and no medicine, even the acupuncture, was useful and she was everytime more sad weak.

One day passed a diviner who asked to be hosted in Dong’s house for the night; Dong agreed, but the diviner in the night was woke up by the screams of Dong’s mother. So the diviner asked Dong what did his mother had, and Dong said: “we don’t know what kind of illness this is, so we can’t heal her. It’s an year that she is suffering, if it continues this way she will suicide.”

The wise diviner used his powers and said to Dong: “Today you will meet a man armed with a bow. Prepare some clothes to give him and invite him to pass the night in your house, because that man is able to understand the reason of your mother’s illness and then heal her”. Said this, the diviner went away.

Dong prepared the clothes and went on the street and then he saw the man with the bow. He went to him and asked him to pass the night in his house, and in exchange he would have had clothes. The hunter, who was called Li, accepted.

Night came, there was full moon and Li, who was unable to fall asleep, began to walk in the house garden; suddenly he saw a huge bird fly to the door of Dong’s mother’s room and begin to peck strongly; in the same moment Dong’s mother began to scream for pain; Li understood immediately that the bird should be a demon and hit it with many arrows. The bird disappeared and the pains ceased. In the morning Li told Dong what was happened, and Dong to thank him rewarned the hunter with gold and jewels.

Li went away and Dong found in the garden a wooden pestle pierced by arrows, and in the points were the arrows entered, there was blood: “Aah, so you were the spirit that caused so many sufferences to my mother!” took the pestle and threw it in the fire, and when it was completely burned he threw the ashes in the wind. From that day Dong’s mother passed very peacefull nights.

 

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