How was the world created in Chinese mythology?

In the best-known myth, heaven and earth began as a dark mass like an egg, with the giant Pangu asleep inside. When it split, the light part rose to become the sky and the heavy part sank to become the earth; Pangu held them apart for 18,000 years, and when he died his body became the sun, moon, mountains, rivers, plants and rain.

Pangu is the giant who separates heaven and earth at the beginning of the world in Chinese mythology. The earliest surviving accounts of him are by Xu Zheng, a 3rd-century writer, and the phrase kai tian pi di, opening the sky and splitting the earth, is still used in Chinese for any truly groundbreaking achievement.

What did Pangu's body become?

According to the Wuyun linian ji, his breath became wind and clouds, his voice thunder, his left eye the sun and his right eye the moon, his blood the rivers, his hair and beard the stars, his skin and body hair the plants, and his sweat the rain.

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Chinese myth · 声匠改编 · 4:11

Pangu Separates Heaven and Earth

The giant Pangu wakes inside a dark egg of chaos, splits it open, holds heaven and earth apart for 18,000 years, and then becomes the world itself.

Narrator

Pangu

Chaos (Hundun)

Clear Air

Murky Air

0:000:00

Other languages · 2 languages

🇨🇳 中文 🇺🇸 English

About this story

Pangu Separates Heaven and Earth is China's best-known creation myth. Its earliest record is the Sanwu liji (Records of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors) by Xu Zheng, a 3rd-century writer of the Three Kingdoms state of Wu; the book is lost, but a passage survives in the Tang encyclopedia Yiwen leiju: heaven and earth were mixed together like an egg, Pangu was born inside, and for 18,000 years the sky rose one zhang a day, the earth thickened one zhang and Pangu grew one zhang. The story of his body becoming the sun, moon, mountains and rivers comes from the Wuyun linian ji, also attributed to Xu Zheng and quoted in Ma Su's 17th-century Yishi. This version gives Chaos and the clear and murky airs voices of their own; Pangu's axe is a later folk addition not found in the old books.

What it teaches

Pangu spends eighteen thousand years holding up the sky and then gives his whole body to make the world, a picture of courage, perseverance and selfless giving. It also shows children how people in ancient China imagined where everything came from.

Suits

Ages 4–10

Tips for telling it

When the sky rises one zhang a day, have your child stand on tiptoe and stretch up their arms to grow along with Pangu.
Slow right down when Pangu becomes the world and count the changes together; afterwards, ask which eye became the sun.
Follow it with Nüwa Mends the Sky, another Chinese creation myth, or compare it with a creation story from another culture.

Questions people ask

How was the world created in Chinese mythology?: In the best-known myth, heaven and earth began as a dark mass like an egg, with the giant Pangu asleep inside. When it split, the light part rose to become the sky and the heavy part sank to become the earth; Pangu held them apart for 18,000 years, and when he died his body became the sun, moon, mountains, rivers, plants and rain.
Who is Pangu?: Pangu is the giant who separates heaven and earth at the beginning of the world in Chinese mythology. The earliest surviving accounts of him are by Xu Zheng, a 3rd-century writer, and the phrase kai tian pi di, opening the sky and splitting the earth, is still used in Chinese for any truly groundbreaking achievement.
What did Pangu's body become?: According to the Wuyun linian ji, his breath became wind and clouds, his voice thunder, his left eye the sun and his right eye the moon, his blood the rivers, his hair and beard the stars, his skin and body hair the plants, and his sweat the rain.

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