Chapter 2 Section 1 Primitive Romantic Passion—Ancient Mythology

The production level in ancient times was extremely low, and the human culture at that time was even blank.However, the innate desire for knowledge and curiosity of human beings drives people to explore the mysteries of nature and the world without stopping.Who created the human world?Who created the sun, moon and stars?Why does the sun rise and set every day?Why is the moon missing and round?Why does the sea rise and recede?Why do flowers bloom again after they wither?What the hell is going on in the dream?Does a person have a soul after death? ... These "one hundred thousand whys" troubled the nerves of the early people and tormented their wisdom.Our ancestors had no scientific knowledge to use at that time, and no previous experience to draw on.It is not even possible for them to realize the essential difference between humans and animals.But what they have is a bold, unfettered imagination.All of them are born image thinkers.Their thinking is accompanied by vivid images and fiery enthusiasm.In their hearts, everything has life, will, love and hate, and all natural phenomena obey the will of God.God is present at all times and everywhere, and He arranges everything in the dark.The problems that future generations seem to be extremely large and infinitely complex have been easily "solved" with the golden key of "animism".Everything is personified, visualized, and artisticized unconsciously.Ancient humans not only tried to explain the ever-changing natural phenomena, but also created a deified heroic image based on their arduous struggle with nature.The awe and worship of natural forces created the gods of nature; the admiration and worship of heroes created the hero gods.The former is like Thunder God and Lightning Mother, Rain Master Feng Bo; the latter is like Houyi who shoots the sun and Nuwa who mends the sky.The legends of nature gods and hero gods constitute the main body of mythology.This is the origin of the myth.

Mythology in ancient my country is mainly preserved in ancient books such as "Huainanzi", "Liezi", "Chuci Tianwen".These ancient books also preserve the most mythological data, and can best reflect the original appearance of mythology.The book has 18 chapters and more than 30,000 words.In the past, some people said that it was made by Yu and Yi, but this kind of statement is not reliable.Most modern scholars believe that it was not done by one person at a time.It was probably written in the Warring States Period, and it was added in the Qin and Han Dynasties.It not only records ancient myths, but also involves ancient geography, property, religion, and folk customs, and has various academic values.

In ancient times, there was a terrible disaster-the sky collapsed, the floods flooded, the fire burned, and the vicious birds and beasts escaped from the mountains and forests to endanger human beings.So, Nu Wa smelted stones of five colors to make up for the broken sky, cut off the tortoise's feet as pillars to prop up the collapsed sky; The ashes from the burnt reeds were used to stop the flood waters.Nuwa quelled this huge disaster, and the earth regained its vitality. This story can be found in "Huainanzi" in the Western Han Dynasty. "Huainanzi" is a miscellaneous work compiled by Huainan King Liu An and his disciples, in which many ancient myths are preserved.Nuwa mending the sky is the most magnificent and peculiar chapter in ancient mythology.It twists and turns shows the great boldness and optimism of ancient humans conquering nature.Nu Wa is not only the hero who overcomes catastrophe and saves mankind, but also the goddess who created man and the ancestor of mankind.According to the records of "Customs and Customs" in the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the world was created, there were no human beings, but Nuwa made clay figurines out of loess.As soon as these clay figurines hit the ground, they came to life, alive and kicking.Nuwa looked at her own works and admired their childish movements, her heart was filled with the joy of creation.She kneaded one after another.Suddenly, she felt a little tired, so she inserted something like a rope into the muddy water, pulled it out and waved it lightly.Unexpectedly, the inadvertently swayed mud became "people" drop by drop.This is the myth of Nu Wa creating man.

According to "Huainanzi·Ben Jing Xun" records, in the time of Yao, 10 suns appeared in the sky.The sun is the source of life, but 10 suns rise in the sky at the same time, but the rivers are dried up, the fields are cracked, and the crops are dried up. Too much sunlight scorched everything, and all life on the earth is facing extinction.So, the Emperor of Heaven sent a god named Yi to teach the sun a lesson.Hou Yi bent his bow and set an arrow, held his breath and concentrated, and shot down nine suns in one breath.The climate on Earth returned to normal.Hou Yi shot and killed poisonous snakes and beasts, and the people lived a stable life.Hou Yi is a hero who eliminates harm for the people. "Ten suns rise together" should be the projection of a severe drought in ancient times; the spectacular picture of Hou Yi shooting the sun is an artistic symbol of the struggle against drought.It is so grand and magnificent, full of rough and primitive, fierce and unrestrained imagination and romantic passion.

The myth of Gun and Yu's water control is recorded in "Shan Hai Jing Hai Nei Jing".It is said that during the time of Yao, there was a flood, which lasted for 12 years.The flood swallowed the village and swept away all the fruits of human hard work.Seeing this scene, God Gun was very anxious.In order to control the water, Gun quietly stole something called "Xi Rang" from the sky. The "breathing soil" has the function of endless life, and it is ideal to use it to block the flood.Just when Gun was about to complete his great success, the Emperor of Heaven knew about it.Gun dared to steal "Xi Rang" into the human world. This is an act of contempt for the heaven and treason.The Emperor of Heaven was furious, and ordered Gun to be executed on Mount Yu, and all the remaining "Xi Soil" was confiscated.Soon, the floods were raging again.After Gun died, his son Yu succeeded him.Yu did not use his father's method of blocking the flood, but dug the Dragon Gate and dredged the Nine Rivers, allowing the flood to flow eastward into the sea.Yu devoted himself to water control, and at the age of 30 he had not yet married.Later, he married Tu Shanshi.Not long after his wedding, he left home to control the water.During the 10 years of flood control, he never entered the house three times.It is said that Yu transformed into a bear to open mountains, and he could order dragons to help him control the water.Under the leadership of Yu, the people finally subdued the catastrophic flood that was rare in history.Gun is the Chinese "Fire Stealer", and his story is similar to that of Prometheus.Gun was also a hero who dedicated his life to the people.Gun's son Yu has a more distinct civilian color.The image of Yu embodies the experience and wisdom of the early people fighting against nature, as well as the virtues and ideals of human beings.

According to legend, Emperor Yan had a young daughter named Nvwa.Once, Nvwa went swimming in the East China Sea, but unfortunately, she was swept into the sea by wind and waves and drowned.After the girl died, her soul turned into a bird called "Jingwei".She vowed not to drink the water of the East China Sea, determined to fill the sea.Every day she brings stones or branches from the west mountain and throws them into the rough sea, so people call her "Zhi Bird", "Oath Bird" and "Wrong Bird".She was originally the daughter of Emperor Yan, so there are also people called "Emperor Nv Que".The tragic fate of the girl is sympathetic.Her indomitable will to revenge to the death is admirable and moving.This myth can be found in "Shan Hai Jing Bei Shan Jing".

Kuafu is a descendant of Houtu, the God of the Netherworld, and a giant.He lives on Zaitian Mountain in Chengdu in the northern wilderness.There are two yellow snakes hanging on the ears, and there are two yellow snakes in the hand.Kuafu took great strides to catch up with the fiery sun.He finally caught up with the sun in Yugu, where the sun was setting.At this time, he felt unbearably thirsty, so he ran to drink water from the Yellow River and the Weihe River.After the river drank up, he was still thirsty, so he ran to Daze in the north again.But he died of thirst before he could get there.When Kuafu was dying, he threw away his cane, and the cane suddenly turned into a peach forest full of green leaves and fruit.The myth of Kuafu chasing the sun can be seen in "Overseas Beijing" and "Dahuang Beijing" in Chinese.It twists and turns reflects the courage and spirit of ancient human beings who wanted to compete with nature.

The earliest records can be found in "Gui Zang", which was written at the beginning of the Warring States period.But "Gui Zang" has been lost.In "Huainanzi·Lan Mingxun" in the early Han Dynasty, "Wen Xin Diao Long· Zhu Zi" and "Wen Xuan· Yue Fu" (notes by Li Shan) by Liu Xie of the Liang Dynasty, there began to be plots in which Yi asked the Queen Mother of the West for the elixir. "Huainanzi" quoted in Volume 1 of "Beginners" also records that Chang'e turned into a toad after flying to the moon.In the article "Lingxian" by Zhang Heng of the Eastern Han Dynasty, a relatively complete introduction to the myth of Chang'e flying to the moon is made: Yi asked the Queen Mother of the West for the medicine of immortality, and Yi's wife Chang'e (that is, Chang'e) secretly ate it and flew to the Moon Palace.Before Heng'e took the medicine, she asked a wizard named Youhuang to make a divination for her.After having Huang's fortune-telling, tell Heng'e that the result of the fortune-telling is very auspicious, you will go westward alone, don't be afraid, you will have a bright future in the future!After hearing what the wizard said, Heng'e swallowed the elixir of immortality without hesitation, and flew to the Moon Palace.Unexpectedly, as soon as she arrived at the Moon Palace, she suddenly turned into a toad.In the long-term transmission process of later generations, the plot of stealing medicine was diluted, the plot of turning into a toad was gradually abandoned, and Chang'e became a pure and beautiful goddess image.

After the myth was absorbed by the novels of later generations, it did not maintain its original appearance.Next, we might as well use the evolution process of the myth of the Queen Mother of the West to explain some laws of the evolution of the myth and the assimilation and absorption of the novel.The Queen Mother of the West in the story "looks like a human, with leopard tail and tiger teeth, howling, fluffy hair and wearing a hoop", three parts are like a human, and seven parts are like a demon, which is extremely terrifying.The description in the book cannot make us determine the gender of Queen Mother Xi.In the "Mu Tianzi Biography" written by people in the Warring States Period, the Queen Mother of the West has already become a master.In the "Internal Biography of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty" written by the pseudo-Tuo Bangu, the Queen Mother of the West became a beauty who was "about 30 years old, well-trimmed, with a celestial appearance and a peerless appearance".Her attire and ceremonial guards are already the ostentation of an empress in the world.

Almost all myths have gone through a long process of being transformed.Myths originated in the ignorant ancient times, and there must be many absurd elements in them.Later generations could not understand this kind of absurdity, and found it unreasonable, unethical, and unbelievable, so they deleted and added embellishments.The deletions and additions from generation to generation have made the original childish, absurd, primitive and simple myths gradually become tortuous, beautiful, and reasonable, but at the same time they have lost their rough and original features.Moral lessons, philosophies of life, and sophistication of the world are infiltrated bit by bit, and myths have evolved into "history."The well-known myths of the Yellow Emperor, Chang'e, and the Cowherd and Weaver Girl have all undergone a long process of historicization and ethicalization.This is the reason why ancient Chinese mythological materials often lose their original appearance.

The peculiar imagination and exaggerated style contained in the ancient myths had a profound influence on the poetry, prose, novels and operas of later generations.From the strange novels of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the legends of the Tang Dynasty, to the novels of gods and demons in the Ming and Qing Dynasties;