MythsText

Pangu Separates Heaven and Earth

In the primordial era, the universe was a formless, chaotic entity, resembling a vast, dark egg. Within this chaos, Pangu, a giant, was conceived and nurtured for 18,000 years. Upon awakening, he found himself in the murky, indistinguishable surroundings. Frustrated by the darkness and confinement, he grasped an axe and swung it with all his might. With a tremendous roar, the chaos was split into two. The light and clear elements rose to form the sky, while the heavy and turbid ones sank to become the earth.

After separating the heavens and the earth, Pangu feared they might merge again. Thus, he stood between them, using his head to prop up the sky and his feet to tread on the earth. Each day, the sky rose higher by one zhang (a traditional Chinese unit of length), the earth grew thicker by one zhang, and Pangu’s body expanded accordingly. This continued for an unknown number of years until the sky and the earth were firmly established, but Pangu, exhausted, collapsed.

Following his death, Pangu’s body underwent miraculous transformations. His breath turned into the wind and clouds. His voice became the rumble of thunder. His left eye transformed into the sun, and his right eye became the moon. His four limbs and torso turned into the earth’s four extremities and the five sacred mountains. His blood flowed into rivers, and his muscles and bones became the fertile land. His flesh transformed into soil, and his hair and fur grew into stars, flowers, and trees. Even his sweat turned into rain and dew, bringing life to the newly-formed world.

Pangu, through his immense strength and ultimate sacrifice, created a rich and diverse world. His story has been passed down through generations, symbolizing the Chinese people’s reverence for nature and their understanding of the universe’s origins.