The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1900-12-13
JHINA'S CREATION MYTH
WORLD MODELLED BY A MYsTERl.
Gus BEING OUT OF CHAOS.

INV manner IN Nhich the SnEcs OF tho
Fiowery Land Have Struggled with
the Problems which Perpiex Human
Brains-some Fascinating specuiations
China as a country, and the Chinese
is a people, have always seemed so en-
| drely separate and distinct from all
| he other nations Of the globe, that
| 20 search out the manner in which the
,ages of the Flowery Land have strug-
| yled with the problems which perplex
! luman beings no matter what their
race, has something of fascination.
The creation of the world, for in
| stance-what hosts of scientists and
| philosophers in the comparatively re-
cent civilization of Europe have direct
| ed their energies toward unraveling
that mystery! And the sages Of the
ancient Chinese Empire. though of
! race the most impassive and incurious
Of all mankind, they, too, have been
1nable to resist speculation upon the
! same topic. European and Asiatic
| alike yearn to know the source of all
| :hings.
! Perhaps II is incorrect to say that
| speculation is indulged in by the lat
! fer. Chinese are nothing if not didac-
tic. With infinite labor and pains they
arrive at a conclusion and then they
| iay down the conclusion as n principle.
! Hence, the historian Yangts2, taking
! refuge in this native stolidity OBJ
! serves:
! WHO knows the affairs of remote
! antiquity, since no authentic records
have come down to us? He who eX-
amlnes these stories will find it diff
cult to believe them, and careful scru-
tiny will convince him that they are
without foundation In the primeval
| ages no records were kept. Why, then,
since the ancient books that described
those times were burnt by Tsin, should
we misrepresent those remote ages,
! and satisfy ourselves with vague fa-
bles? However as everything except
heaven and earth must have had n
cause, it is clear that they have always
existed, and that cause produced all
sorts of men and beings, and endowed
them with their various qualities. But
1t must have been man who, in the be-
ginning, produced all things on earth,
and who may, therefore, be viewed as
lord, and from whom rulers derive
their dignities."
This practical explanation was prob.
ably more pleasing to the writer than
TO anyone else. 1t was felt, perhaps,
to be in some points inadequate. At
all events, numerous other Chinese
scribes have endeavored to account
for the creation in a more elaborate
manner. Possibly holding ceremonial
Of all kinds in characteristically high
regards, they felt that something more
Of state ought to attend the entrance
Of world upon existence. We read,
therefore:
Heaven was formless, an utter
chaos; the whole mass was nothing
but confusion. Order was first pro-
duced in the upper ether, and out of
it the universe came forth; the uni
verse produced air, and air the Milky
Way. When the principal Yang had
been diluted It formed the heavens;
the heavy and thick parts coagulated
and formed the earth. The refined par
ticles united very soon; but the union
Of the thick and heavy went on slow
ly. Therefore, the heavens came into
existence first and the earth after
ward. The warm efIluence of Yang
being condensed produced fire; and
then the finest parts of fire formed the
sun. The cold eXhalations OF the Yin
being likewise condensed produced
water; and the finest parts of the
watery substance formed the moon
By the influence of the sun and moon
came the stars. This heaven was
adorned with sun, loon and stars; the
earth also received rain, rivers and
dust"
Even this theory seemed incomplete
1t may have satisfied the sages, whose
minds had fed on wisdom so long that
they required no more substantial diet
than the abstract; but the common
people, we are told, yearned for the
concrete. They wanted to personify
the principles Of creation. that they
might have an opportunity to lavisl
the worshipful and reverential spirit
with which, as people, they are so i'm
bued. May it not be also that the un
imaginative character of the Chinese
mind requires the tangible in research
as religion. They could not create
the Olympus of the graceful Greel
genius; their sentiments found apt ex
| pressions in kneeling to Il hldeous joss
, So was evolved from the Chimes,
mind the idea Of a first being wh'
arose mysteriously out Of chaos, ant
whose was the wondrous task of mod
elling world. This. being, Pwanllu
; is represented in uncouth sketches II
the very act of WELDING chisel an,
mallet upon huge granite masse
which float in space. Where he ha
succeeded in breaking down rocks cal
be seen the sun, moon and planets; an,
= near by are discernible the grotesqu
: creatures assigned to be the only CON
4 panlOns of his toils-the dragon, phoc
!. nix and tortoise. Sometimes TO thes
a is added the unicorn.
:, All these are "held to be, with him
!, self, the divine types and progenitor
|, of the animal creation"
o The great Pwanku continued his ID
! bors through a trifling $4,000 year,
n and then died in order to complet
@ them. AS he progressed, his statur
n increased six feet every day, and whe
dead "his head became mountains, hi