Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Echoes of Dreams

In some tragic and immortal myths handed down from our ancestors, we humans have preserved the memory of a global catastrophe in ancient times.Although this memory is blurred, it has resonated with all mankind for generations. Where did these myths come from? Why are the stories so similar even though these myths originate from separate cultures?Why are these myths full of common symbols, plots with the same typical characters?If these myths are indeed human "memory", why are there no historical documents mentioning this global catastrophe? Could it be that these myths are themselves a historical record?Is it possible that those moving and immortal stories in mythology were created by some unknown geniuses to record the great events that happened in ancient times and pass them on to future generations?

Ark floating on the water In the Sumerian kingdom in the ancient Middle East, there was a king named Gilgamesh.He dedicated his life to the pursuit of immortality.Today, we know the story of the king's life through Mesopotamian myths and legends inscribed in cuneiform on dried clay tablets.These clay tablets, some dating from 3000 BC, were found in large numbers in the deserts of modern-day Iraq, numbering in the thousands.Preserved there is a culture that has disappeared.Myths recorded in clay tablets remind us that even in such distant antiquity, humans managed to preserve even older memories.In the memory of people at that time, there was an earth-shattering flood on the earth in ancient times:

I will tell the world what Gilgemysch has done.This king knows all things in the world; his presence is in every country on the earth.The wise king explores all kinds of secrets in the world, and sees through all kinds of customs in the world.Now, he will tell us a story that happened on the eve of the great flood.Dusty and exhausted, he returned home after a long journey and engraved the stories he heard on the journey on a stone tablet①. Gilgemesch brought back stories told to him by a king named Ut napishtim.This king ruled a country thousands of years ago, and then experienced a great flood; after the flood receded, God gave him eternal life because he preserved the seeds of human beings and all living things on earth.

According to Unapishttin, long ago, four gods ruled our planet: Anu, the god of heaven, Enlil, the protector, and Ishtar, the goddess of war and sex. Ishtar), the water god Ea.Aya is the friend and patron saint of mankind. At that time, the earth was very densely populated, human beings continued to reproduce, and the whole world was full of noise, like the roar of bison, so loud that the gods could not sleep.When Enlil, the great protector, heard the noise in the world, he said to the gods on the seat: "The noise of human beings is so ear-piercing that we cannot sleep peacefully." So the gods decided to destroy human beings②

Aya, the god of water, took pity on King Unapishtim.It came to the palace, stood outside the reed wall and told Unapishtin in the palace that a catastrophe was about to happen in the world, and he had to build a boat quickly to save the lives of his family: Demolish your house, build a boat, throw away all your belongings, and run for your life!Don't be attached to worldly goods, saving the soul is important... Listen, quickly tear down the house, build a boat according to a certain size, with a balanced length and width ratio, and store the seeds of all creatures in the world in the boat③.Unapishtin did not dare to neglect, and immediately started to build a big ship.He told King Gilgemysh: "I moved all my belongings to the ship and stored the seeds of all living things in the cabin."

After the whole family boarded the boat, I brought cattle, horses, other livestock, and craftsmen from all walks of life on board...that day finally came.At dawn, a pile of dark clouds appeared in the sky; Adad, the god of storm, galloped his horse, and there were bursts of thunder from the cavalry passing by... The god of storm turned day into night, and destroyed the earth like breaking a cup.A cloud of black mist, dimly, surged up to heaven... On the first day, a storm swept across the entire land, causing mountain torrents everywhere... The sky and the earth were pitch black, and you couldn't see your fingers.The gods also retreated hastily in fright, and fled to the heavenly palace where the god Anu lived, and crouched around the palace, huddled together like a group of frightened puppies.Ishtar, the god of love, screamed: "These are my people! Do I just watch them die in the sea like a group of fish?"④

Unapishtin goes on to describe the flood: For six days and six nights in a row, the storm continued to blow, the waves were rough, and the flood flooded the whole world.The storm and the flood roared at the same time, like two armies facing each other.At dawn on the seventh day, the storm from the south finally subsided, the sea gradually returned to calm, and the flood began to recede.Looking around, I saw a dead silence on the ground.The sea stretches as far as the eye can see, smooth as a roof terrace.All life on earth was buried in the water... I opened the hatch and let the sun shine on my face.Feeling sour, I bent down and sat down, weeping.Two lines of tears flowed down my cheeks.Around me, as far as the eye can see, there is a vast expanse of white water... About 40 miles away, there is a high mountain standing in the water.Our boat drifted past and ran aground on the mountainside.I tied the cable tightly to the mountain of NISir... On the seventh morning, I opened the cage and let a pigeon fly out of the cabin; Perched in the trees, had to fly back to the boat.I released another swallow.It couldn't find a place to stay, so it had to fly back.I unleash a crow.Seeing that the flood had receded, it croaked for joy, flew around looking for food, disappeared without a trace in a blink of an eye, and never came back...⑤

Unapishtin knew it was time to disembark: I stood on the top of the mountain and poured a glass of wine on the ground to worship the gods... I piled sugarcane branches, cedar branches and bayberry branches on the top of the mountain...the gods smelled the aroma, and gathered around the sacrifices like a swarm of flies...⑥ These records are not the only written records handed down from the ancient country of Sumer.In other clay tablets unearthed in Iraq - some almost 5,000 years old, others less than 3,000 years old - we can also see the "Noah-like figure" described by Unapishtdin, but the name is changed to Qisoud Zisudra, Xisuthros or Atrahasis.Regardless of the name, these characters all share one characteristic: they are the heads of a clan, favored and enlightened by a benevolent deity, to build an ark and float in the flood that submerged the world to preserve the lifeblood of mankind.

There are many obvious similarities between this flood myth circulated in Mesopotamia in the Middle East and the famous "Noah's Ark" story in the Christian "Bible" (see the "Bible" in the appendix of this chapter) "Chapter) ⑦.The nature of these commonalities is still debated by scholars.What really matters is that, in every cultural circle on earth, similar mythological traditions have been preserved and bequeathed to posterity.In vivid language, this tragic myth tells about a global catastrophe that almost destroyed all human beings in ancient times.

mesoamerican mythology The same information is also preserved on the other side of the world - in the valley of the Mexico River, far away from the mountains of Ararat and Nisir in the Middle East.The region was culturally and geographically cut off from the Jewish/Christian sphere of influence, however, long before the Spaniards invaded, the local residents had passed down many stories about the Great Flood.As mentioned in Part 3 of this book, the aborigines believed that the flood that occurred at the end of the Quaternary Sun period submerged the entire earth: "The heavy rain fell suddenly, the mountain torrents broke out, and the land was covered with oceans. The mountains were submerged in the water, and human beings became Adult fish and shrimp..."⑧

According to the myth of the Aztec Indians in Central America, only two people in the whole world escaped the catastrophe and survived.They are a couple, the man named Coxcoxtli (Coxcoxtli) and the woman named Suzi Quetzal (Xochi quetzal).Under the instructions of the gods, the couple built a big boat and drifted to a high mountain.After the flood receded, they got out of the cabin, settled down in the local area, and had children, but the children were all dumb.A pigeon perched on the top of a tree taught the children to speak, but the languages ​​taught were so different that the children could not communicate with each other. Another traditional Mesoamerican myth related to this story is that of the Mechoacanessecs Indian tribe.Compared with the previous myth, it is more like the flood story recorded in "The Bible Calls Days to Mark the Century" and Mesopotamian clay tablets.According to this legend, the sky god Tez Catilpoca decided to unleash a flood that would destroy all mankind.He only spared the Tezpi family and let them escape the flood in a big boat full of animals, food and plant seeds, so as to preserve the lifeline of human beings.After the god ordered the flood to recede, the big ship ran aground on a high mountain.Tezby sent out a vulture to detect whether the water had really receded.The vultures only cared about the human and animal carcasses scattered on the ground, and did not fly back to the ship.Tezby had to send the other birds; only the hummingbird came back with a stick in its mouth.When Tezby saw that the flood had receded and the earth began to recover, he took his wife and children out of the ark, settled down in the local area, had children and grandchildren, and continued to multiply, making the earth full of people again. The sacred book "Bobo Wu Sutra" of the Mayan Indians also records the great flood in which the gods punished mankind.According to this ancient scripture, the gods decided to create human beings after creating the world.In this experiment, it "carved human figures out of wood and made them speak".These wooden people later lost its favor because "they forgot the existence of the Creator". Then, God launched a great flood, and the waves were rolling, submerging these wooden figures...Thick resin fell from the sky...The earth was dark, black rain poured down day and night...The wooden figures were smashed and destroyed one by one.Disintegration, elimination⑨ However, some people escaped the catastrophe.Like the Aztecs and the Medjokanisecs, the Mayans of Yucatan and Guatemala believed that a Noah-like figure and his wife—the Mayans called them "Father and Mother" "—Escaped from this flood, rebuilt the post-disaster world, and became the ancestors of human beings for generations to come. south american mythology Let's shift our focus to South America and look at the Chipka Indians (Chibcas) who live in central Colombia.According to their mythology, this tribe originally lived a barbaric life, knowing nothing about farming, law or religion.Later, an old man came to their village from other places.His name was Bochica, and he had a thick, long beard.Under the guidance of the old man, the Chipka people learned to build huts, formed a society, and began to live in groups. Pozzica's wife is very pretty, named Chia.She followed her husband to the Chipka tribe, but the woman was vicious and tried every means to prevent her husband from helping the Chipka tribe.She didn't dare to confront her husband head-on, so she cast magic in secret and launched a flood that drowned most of the residents in the village.Pozzica was so furious that he banished his wife Zia to the sky, turning her into the moon and shining light in the dark night to illuminate the earth.Then he managed to recede the flood, rescued the few people who escaped the disaster from the top of the mountain, made a set of laws for them, taught them to farm, established a religion for them, and worshiped the sun in all seasons.He divided the ruling power between the two chiefs, and then retired to the mountains and forests to live a life of asceticism.After death, his soul ascended to heaven and became a god. Further south, we come to Ecuador.The Canarians there have an old flood myth.According to this legend, when the flood occurred, a pair of brothers fled together to a floating mountain to avoid the catastrophe. The Tupinamba Indians of Brazil honor a group of heroes who played the role of creators and brought civilization to mankind.The first hero is Mo Nan (Monan, meaning "old man").It is said that not long after the creation of human beings, he set a fire, launched a flood, and destroyed the entire world. As mentioned in Part 2 of this book, Peruvian flood legends are particularly rich.According to one representative legend, a llama warned an Indian before the flood.The man and the llama fled to a high mountain called Vica Coto: When they reached the top of the mountain, they found that many birds and beasts had gathered there.The sea began to rise, and covered all the plains and hills of the earth, except the Velca-Coto mountain which stood above the water.The waves were rolling and crashing against the top of the mountain, and the animals gathered there were huddled together in fright and cuddled together... Five days later, the flood began to recede and the sea level began to drop.All human beings were drowned, only one escaped the catastrophe.He is the ancestor of all human beings on the earth today. Before Columbus discovered America, the Araucnaians in Chile spread a myth about the flood.According to this legend, only a few Indians escaped the catastrophe.They found refuge on a high mountain called Thegtheg (meaning "thunder" or "lightning").It is said that the mountain has three peaks and is able to float on the water. In the Tierra del Fuego Islands at the extreme southern tip of South America, there is a myth spread by the Yamana people: "The goddess of the moon launched a great flood, which brought a catastrophe to the human beings on the earth... The Moon Lady hates the turmoil and turmoil in the world... All human beings were buried in the flood, and only a few people fled to the five peaks standing on the water."⑾ The legend of the Pehuenche, another Indian tribe in the Fuego Islands, specifically refers to the long night brought by the flood: "The sun and the moon fell from the sky, and the earth was plunged into vast darkness; until two huge vultures came , carry the sun and the moon back to the sky, and the earth will be restored to light."⑿ north american mythology At the northern end of the American continent, the Inuit Eskimos living in Alaska also spread a flood myth.It is said that the flood came with the earthquake and swept across the entire land in a blink of an eye. Only a few people took canoes and fled to the highest mountain in a hurry to escape. According to the legend of the Luiseno Indians in southern California, in ancient times, a flood submerged the whole world, and only a small group of people escaped to several high mountains out of the water to save their lives.Only after the flood subsided did they dare to return to flat ground.The Hurons in the north of the Lusenuo people also spread similar flood myths.The Montagnais are a branch of the Aigonquin tribe.One of their legends tells of Michabo rebuilding the post-disaster world with the help of a crow, an otter, and a muskrat after the flood receded.Michapo's name means "giant rabbit". Lynd's History of the Dakotas, a 19th century authority, preserves a wealth of local legends and myths, including one from an Iroquois myth:" Long ago the sea and the floods invaded the land and drowned all men." The legend of the Chickasaws states that although the land was flooded, "one family and two of each animal were saved."The myth of the Sioux also mentions that the earth once became a vast ocean, and all human beings were buried in the water⒀.The earth is a vast ocean In the mythical memory of mankind, how far and how wide did the ripples of this great flood spread? Very far away, very vast.According to expert estimates, there are more than 500 known flood myths and legends in the world.Dr. Richard Andree analyzed and studied 86 of them (20 in Asia, 3 in Europe, 7 in Africa, 46 in the Americas, and 10 in Australia and the Pacific region), and found that 62 of them were from their respective countries. Formed independently, it has nothing to do with Mesopotamia and Hebrew cultural traditions⒁. The early Jesuits were the first European scholars to visit China.They were said to have been granted access to the palace library to consult a collection of 4,320 volumes containing "all knowledge" from antiquity.Several myths and legends in this set of books mention that in ancient times, human beings rebelled against the gods, causing the universe to fall out of order and fall into total chaos: the stars changed their direction, the sky tilted to the north, the sun, moon and stars were reversed and disordered, the earth cracked, and the flood broke out. , drowning everything on earth. ⒂ (Annotation: The author did not clearly indicate which Chinese classic this quotation came from, and the original text cannot be checked.) The Chewong people who live in the tropical forests of Malaysia believe that the land they live in, the "Earth Seven", will often turn upside down, causing the sky to turn upside down and floods to engulf all living things.Later, the Creator Tohan (T0han) intervened and took the bottom of the "Seventh Continent" as a new surface, built mountains and plains on it, planted new plants, and allowed human beings to multiply and grow again. According to a flood myth circulated in Laos and northern Thailand, in ancient times, a group of gods named "Thens" lived in the "upper realm", while three heroes ruled the "lower realm": Puliansong (Pu LengSeung), Kunkan (Khun Kan) and Kunjie (Khun Ket).One day, Tianshi announced to the world that before each meal, they must offer a part of the food to show respect.Mortals refuse to obey.In a rage, Tianshi launched a flood that submerged the entire earth.The three rulers of the Nether joined forces to build a raft with a hut built on it, and carried a group of women and children.As a result, they escaped the catastrophe. Similarly, among the Karens of Myanmar, there is also a story of two brothers escaping a great flood on a raft.There is a similar description in Vietnamese mythology: when the flood broke out, a brother and sister took animals (two of each kind) and hid in a large wooden box, preserving the lifeblood of the creatures on the ground. Some Aborigines in Australia, especially tribes originally inhabiting the tropical north coast, believe their ancestors were survivors of the Great Flood.The myths of other tribes attribute the flood to the "Serpent of Heaven" (Yurlunggur), which is closely related to the rainbow in the sky. Some Japanese legends mention that the islands in the Pacific Ocean were formed after a great flood receded.In Oceania, the natives of Hawaii spread a myth about how the world was destroyed by a flood, and how the god Tangaloa (Tangaloa) rebuilt the world after the catastrophe.The Samoans in the South Pacific believe that there was a great flood that destroyed all mankind in ancient times, and only two people escaped the catastrophe—they took a boat, drifted on the sea, and finally arrived at the Samoan Islands.Greek, Indian and Egyptian Mythology On the other side of the world, Greek mythology is also filled with memories of the Flood.However, as in Mesoamerican mythology, the Flood in Greek legend was not an isolated event, but a link in a chain of events that destroyed and rebuilt the world.In Mesoamerica, the Aztecs and Mayans believed that human history consisted of a series of "solar periods" (we live today in the fifth - and last - solar period).Similarly, ancient Greek folklore collected by the Greek poet Hesiod in the 8th century BC also mentions that before the appearance of modern humans, there were four different types of humans on the earth, each of which was more advanced than the later generations. advanced, each of which is "swallowed" at the appointed moment by a geological upheaval. The first human beings to appear on Earth were the "Golden Race".It is said that they "lived carefree, carefree, like gods...drinking and dancing all day long...finally passed away in sleep and left the world peacefully...".Later, Zeus (Zeus), the king of the gods, ordered that the golden nation "sink into the depths of the earth".The following human beings are in order: "Silver Clan", "Bronze Clan", "Hero Clan" and the "Iron Clan" to which we belong.The Iron Race is the fifth and last human being to appear on Earth. We are most interested in the fate of the "Bronze Race".According to the description of Greek mythology, they possessed "the strength of giants and their limbs are very thick"; however, these indomitable giants were all wiped out by Zeus, the king of gods, in order to punish the giant Prometheus for stealing fire from heaven and providing human The crime of bringing tinder.Zeus, who was furious, launched a great flood, preparing to wipe out all the creatures on the earth. There are several versions of this story.According to one of the most widely circulated versions, Prometheus impregnated a mortal woman.Her son, named Deucalion, grew up to be the ruler of Phthia in Thessaly, eastern Greece; his wife was Prometheus' brother Ipim The daughter of Seuss (Epimetheus) and Pandora (Pandora), nicknamed the "red-haired beauty" Pyrrha (Pyrrha).When Zeus decided to destroy the "Bronze Race", Ducarion was warned by Prometheus, and hurriedly built a wooden box, stored "all necessities" in it, and then climbed into the box with his wife Pila.The king of the gods ordered heavy rain to fall on the earth and flood most of the earth.All human beings were buried in the flood.Only a few who fled to the mountains survived. "Just at this moment, the mountains of Western Surrey broke apart, and from the ISthmus to the Peloponnese, there was a vast expanse of ocean as far as the eye could see." Ducarion and Pila hid in a wooden box, drifted for nine days and nine nights, and finally arrived at Mount Parnassus in southern Greece.After the heavy rain stopped, the couple got out of the box and offered sacrifices to the gods.Zeus sent the envoy Hermes to see Ducarion and ask him what he wanted.Ducarion pleads to restore humanity to life.So Zeus ordered Ducarion to pick up the stone on the ground and throw it behind his shoulder with his backhand.The stone thrown by Ducarion turned into a man, and the stone thrown by Pila turned into a woman. The Hebrews regard Noah as their ancestor.Similarly, in the eyes of the ancient Greeks, Ducarion was the ancestor of the nation and the founder of many towns and temples. More than 3,000 years ago, in India in the Vedic era, the people also worshiped a similar figure.According to local legend, one day: A wise man named Manu was taking a bath when suddenly he found a small fish crying to him in the palm of his hand, begging him to spare its life.Manu felt sorry for it, so he put it in a jar.Unexpectedly, the body of the little fish grew a lot the next day, so Manu had to take it into the lake.Not long after, the huge lake couldn't hold the fish's body.It said to Manu: "Throw me into the sea! Then I will feel better." (In fact, this fish is the incarnation of the guardian god.) Later, he warned Manu that a great flood was coming , he sent Manu a big ship, and told Manu to load various animals (two of each kind) and seeds of all plants on the ship first, and then board the ship by himself⒅. Manu complied with the instructions, and the sea rose suddenly, submerging the whole world.The earth turned into a vast ocean, and only the patron saint could be seen on the water—at this time, it had transformed into a large fish covered with golden scales and with a horn on its head.Manu tied the boat cable to the fish horn, and let the guardian god drag him through the vast water to the top of the "Northern Mountain": The big fish said, "I saved your life. Hurry up and tie the boat's cable to a tree, so that the big water will not wash the boat away. Hugh stayed on the top of the mountain, and when the water subsided, he walked down the mountain step by step." Manu follows instructions.Later the flood descended.The flood washed away everything and all living things on the ground, and only Manu survived. Therefore, Manu took the group of animals on board and used the plant seeds stored on board to rebuild the post-disaster world and open a new era for mankind.A year later, a woman suddenly appeared in the water, claiming to be "Manu's daughter".Manu took her as his wife and had a number of children by her.This couple became the ancestors of modern humans. Finally, it is worth mentioning that ancient Egyptian myths and legends do not lack stories of the Great Flood.For example, a funerary text found in the tomb of the pharaoh Setil I mentions a flood that wiped out the sinful human race.Chapter 175 of Ancient Egypt's "Book of the Dead" explains why this disaster happened.The moon god Thoth accuses mankind of crimes: They quarrel, they fight, they commit crimes, they create hatred, they kill living beings, they cause trouble everywhere, oppress the good... (so) I am ready to destroy everything I have created.A great flood will come upon the earth, turning the earth into a puddle, and restoring the earth to its original state in the beginning of time.⒇ chasing a mystery The words of the Egyptian moon god Sous brought us back to the ancient Middle Eastern mythology and the flood story in the Christian Bible.According to the records of "Bible. Old Testament. Genesis": The world is corrupt before God, and the earth is full of violence.God looks at the world and sees that it is corrupt. All flesh and blood have corrupt behavior on earth.God said to Noah: "The end of all flesh has come before me, because the earth is full of their violence, and I will destroy them and the earth together." (21) Like the Flood of Ducalion, the Flood of Manu, and the "Fourth Sun" flood that destroyed the Aztecs, the Flood of the Bible heralds the end of an era.Then came a new age of mankind, the one we live in today, established by the descendants of Noah.However, we have known from the beginning that this era could also end in a catastrophe.As an old ballad prophesied: "God showed Noah the sign of the rainbow; next time no water, next time fire." Chapter 3 of "Bible·New Testament·2 Peter" predicted this "world catastrophe": First and foremost, you should know that in the last days there will be scoffers, and then your own lusts will come out and scoff, saying, "Where is the promise of the coming of the Lord? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things have been the same as they were at the beginning of creation." "They deliberately forget that since ancient times, the sky has been created by God's command, and the earth was formed from water by water. Therefore, the world at that time was destroyed when it was submerged.But the present heaven and earth will remain by that commandment until the day when the ungodly are judged and perished, and will be burned with fire... The day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then heaven will pass away with a loud noise, All material things will be consumed by the fire, and the earth and everything on it will be consumed (22). Therefore, according to the Christian Bible, there are two ages in the human world, and our age is the second and last.In other cultures, worlds are destroyed and rebuilt at different times.In China, the era that has passed away is called "Ji" (Ki); it is said that mankind has passed through ten ki from the time of Taichu to the birth of Confucius.At the end of each era, "the landslides and the ground cracked, the sea surged, the rivers turned, flooding everything on the ground, and destroying all living things...". (twenty three) Hindu religious texts speak of "seven solar periods", each ending in a flood, fire or storm.At the end of the current cycle, the "Seventh Sun", "the earth will break apart in fire".The indigenous people of Sarawak and Sabah in Malaysia believe that the sky used to be very "low"; according to their mythology, "six suns have been destroyed...it is the seventh sun that illuminates the present world". (24) Some witchcraft books circulating in Europe also mention "nine suns representing nine ages"; the book predicts that there are still two ages left for mankind—the eighth and ninth sun ages (25). On the other side of the Atlantic, the Hopi Indians (distant relatives of the Aztecs in Mexico) in Arizona, USA believe that there have been three suns in human history, each of which was destroyed in a brilliant moment, and after a period of time , Human beings will be revived again.The cosmology of the Aztecs believed that before our solar period, four suns had appeared in the world.In the myths of different nations, the times of destruction and reconstruction of the world are not the same, but we cannot ignore the commonality of these ancient legends.The myths circulated in all parts of the world obviously cannot forget the series of catastrophes that have occurred in the past.Many myths, with poetic words and complicated metaphors and symbols, cover up the essence of one catastrophe after another.In these mythological descriptions, at least two different disasters often occur simultaneously, usually floods and earthquakes, and sometimes fires and overwhelming darkness. This obscures the nature of the disaster.The myths of the Hopi Indians are simple and to the point, telling us the truth of the matter.According to them: The first world was engulfed in fire that descended from the sky and spewed from the center of the earth as punishment for the evil deeds of mankind.When the second world collapsed, the earth was off its axis and everything on it was covered in ice and snow.The third world was destroyed by a great flood that submerged the whole world.We live in the fourth world today, and its fate depends on whether human beings can obey the will of the Creator (26). We are pursuing a mystery.Although we may not be able to ascertain the will of the Creator, it is necessary for us to investigate the global catastrophe that is commonly told in human mythology in order to unravel the mystery. Through these myths, humans in ancient times spoke directly to us.What are they talking about? Notes: ① "The Epic of Gilgemes", Penguin Classics, 61 pages. The Epic of Gil gamesh, Penguin Classics, London, 1988, p. 61 ② Same as above, page 108. ③Ibid; "Mesopotamian Mythology", p. 110. ④ "Mesopotamian Mythology", pp. 112-113: "The Epic of Gilgemes", pp. 109-1ll; Edmund Solberg's "Babylonian Flood Legend", British Museum Series, pp. 26. Edmund Sollberger, The Babylonian Legend of the Flood, British Museum um Publications, 1984, P. 26． ⑤ "The Epic of Gilgemes", page 111. ⑥ Same as above. ⑦Excerpt from Chapters 6, 7, and 8 of "The Bible. Old Testament Genesis": The LORD saw that man's wickedness was great on earth, and that every thought of his thoughts was only evil all day long.Then the LORD insulted man on earth, and his heart was grieved... Then God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is full of their violence... Behold, I will bring the flood Flood over the earth and destroy the world.Every living thing that has flesh and blood and breath on the ground dies. God decided to save only Noah and his family.It ordered the Hebrew patriarch to build a large ship, 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high, with a pair of male and female animals loaded on board to preserve the lifeblood of species in the world.After the arrangements were made, God ordered the flood to cover the earth: On that very day, Noah and his three sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah's wife and three sons-in-law entered the ark.They and the beasts according to their kinds, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creeping things that crawl on the ground according to their kinds, and all the birds according to their kinds, went into the ark.All living creatures with flesh and blood and breath came to Noah in pairs and entered the ark.All flesh and blood that entered the ark had males and females, just as God commanded Noah.The LORD shut them up in the ark. The flood flooded the earth for 40 days, and the water rose up, lifting the ark from the earth.The water was so powerful that it rose up greatly on the ground, and the ark floated on the water.The waters were so great on the earth that they covered all the high mountains of the world...all the creatures on the dry land that had breath in their nostrils died, except Noah and those who were with him in the ark. Finally, "On July 17, the ark stopped on Mount Ararat. The water gradually disappeared, and on October 1, the top of the mountain appeared." "Bible. Old Testament Genesis" went on to describe the scene after the flood subsided: After 40 days, Noah opened the window of the ark and let out a raven.The crow flew back and forth until all the water on the ground was dry.He sent out another dove to see if the water had receded from the ground.But water was everywhere, and the dove couldn't find a place to stay, so it returned to Noah in the ark. He waited another seven days before releasing the dove from the ark.At night the pigeon came back to him with a freshly wrung olive leaf in its beak.Noah knew that the water on the ground had receded... So Noah, his wife, sons, and daughters-in-law all came out... Noah built an altar to Jehovah, and sacrificed all kinds of clean animals and birds on the altar. burnt offering.The LORD smelled that sweet fragrance... ⑧ "Mayan History and Religion", 332 pages. ⑨ "Bobo Wu Jing", such as pages. ⑩ Sir Fraser, "Old Testament Folklore: A Collection of Essays on Comparative Religion, History, and Law", 107 pages. Sir J． G． Fraier, F0lklOre in the Old Testament: Studies in Chmpar atiue Religion, Legnd and Macmillan, London, 1923, p 107 ⑾John Walhurst, "South American Mythology", 165 pages. Jöhn Bierhorst, The Mythology Of south America, William Morrow & CO, New York, 1988, p. 165． ⑿ Ibid., pp. 165-166. ⒀Linde's "Dakota History", quoted from "Atlantis: The World Before the Flood", p. 117. ⒁诽特烈·费尔比《洪水重探：检视地质学、考古学、古代文学及圣经中的有关证据》，58页。 Frederick A Filby，The Flood Reconsidered：A Reuiew of theEuidnces of Geology,Archaeology,Ancient and the Bible，Pickering and InglisLtd，L0ndon 1970，p． 58．安德礼是杰出的德国地理学家暨人类学家。他研究洪水传说所发表的专论，被佛雷瑟赞誉为："简洁明晰，平实客观，堪称学术研究之典范……"（《旧约的民间传说》，46～47页。） ⒂引述自查尔斯·贝里兹《失落的诺亚方舟》，126页。 Charles Berlltz，TheLOst Ship of Noah，W． H． Alien，L0ndon，1989，p． 126． ⒃克达伊《希腊人的神祗》，226～229页。 C． Kerenyi，The Gods Of the Greeks，Thames ＆Hudson，London，1974，pp． 226-9． ⒄同上，226～229页。 ⒅《拉路斯最新神话百科全书》，362页。 ⒆同上。亦见《旧约的民间传说》，78～79页。 ⒇根据《埃及亡灵书》底比斯校订本（Theban Recension of The Egyptian Bookof the Dead），引述自《古代埃及从神物到神祗》，198页。 (21)《圣经.旧约.划世纪》第6章第11～13节。 (22)《圣经·新约·彼得后书》第3章第3～10节。 (23)见穆雷、克劳福等《中国历史记述》，第1卷，40页。 H Murray J． Crawfordet al，An Historical and Descriptiue Account of China,and edition，1836，volume l，p． 40．亦见施勒格《中国天象学》，740页。 G． Schlegel，Uranographiechinoiserie，1875，p． 740． (24)《大洋洲神话》，178页。 (25)《碰撞的世界》，35页。 (26)《世界神话》，26页。