A Primer on Chinese Mythology

1. By:
Binah,
Brennyan,
and
David

2. ¡ Chinese
mythology
was
influenced
by
a
fear
of
outsiders
and
religious
faiths
and
philosophies
¡ Gods
created
through
mix
of
ideals
§ Common
sense
of
Confucius
§ Ritual
of
Daoism
§ Spirituality
of
Buddhism
¡ Known
for
its
sense
of
humor
¡ Used
as
factual
recording
of
history
¡ Jade
Emperor
–
ruler
of
Heaven
and
all
realms
of
existence
below
Earth
and
Hell

3. ¡ Universe
was
a
black
egg
where
Heaven
and
Earth
mixed
together
¡ Inside
the
egg
was
Pandu
¡ Felt
suffocated
inside
and
broke
egg
in
half
with
axe
¡ Light
clear
part
of
egg
ascended
to
become
Heaven
¡ Dark
cold
part
of
egg
descended
to
become
Hell

4. ¡ Breath
became
wind
and
clouds
¡ Voice
became
thunder
¡ Eyes
became
sun
and
moon
¡ Hair
and
beard
became
stars
in
sky
¡ Flowers
and
tree
came
from
his
skin
¡ Bones
became
jade
and
pearl
¡ Sweat
became
rain
that
nourished
earth

5. • Ch'eng-­‐Huang:
God
of
moats
and
walls
• Chu
Jung:
God
of
fire
• Kuan
Ti:
God
of
war
• Kwan
Yin:
Goddess
of
mercy
and
compassion
• Lei
Kun:
God
of
thunder
• P'an-­‐Chin-­‐Lien:
Goddess
of
prostitutes
• Ti-­‐Tsang
Wang:
God
of
mercy
• T'Shai-­‐Shen:
God
of
Wealth
• Tsao-­‐Wang:
God
of
Hearth

6. • The
Unicorn
– Symbolizes
longevity,
grandeur,
contentment,
illustrious
offspring
and
wise
administration
– Noblest
of
animals
and
the
King
of
Beasts
• The
Red
Bird
(Phoenix)
– Symbolizes
sun
and
warmth,
summer
and
harvest
– Born
of
fire
and
the
Emperor
of
Birds
• The
Tortoise
(Black
Warrior)
– Symbolizes
longevity,
strength,
endurance,
winter
and
the
universe
– Ruler
of
the
northern
quadrant
of
Heaven
– Back
represents
the
sky,
belly
symbolizes
Earth
– Chief
of
Shell
Animals
• The
Dragon
– Represents
spring,
the
color
green/blue,
propriety,
conflict,
and
bliss
– Symbolizes
rain
and
the
Emperor's
power
• The
White
Tiger
– Represents
the
season
fall,
the
color
white,
wind,
and
righteousness

7. ¡ Creation
of
the
world
and
the
four
flood
myth
stories
¡ Control
of
catastrophe
through
moral
qualities
of
the
warrior
hero
¡ Divine
warfare
and
cosmic
destruction
¡ Second
beginnings
of
the
world
by
warriors
¡ Warrior
heroes
and
moral
heroes

8. ¡ About
an
intelligent
and
strong
mythological
character,
Sun
Wukong,
(aka
The
Monkey
King)
who
was
born
out
of
stone
¡ Wukong
rebels
against
Heaven
and
embarks
on
a
journey
with
a
monk,
named
Xuan
Zang,
to
bring
back
religious
texts
from
India
¡ Journey
incorporates
Chinese
fables,
fairy
tales,
legends,
superstitions
and
popular
beliefs
¡ Monkey
King
demonstrates
prowess
and
wisdom
¡ Story
presents
a
rebellious
spirit
fighting
authoritative
rulers
¡ Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pbxPWChoYo

9. ¡ Chinese
mythology…
§ Explains
the
creation
of
the
world
from
the
Chinese
point
of
view
§ Tells
stories
of
heroes
embarking
on
enlightening
journeys
to
become
better
people
§ Is
the
foundation
for
modern
stories
and
ideas
§ Influences
readers
to
emulates
these
heroes
and
adopt
a
wide
variety
of
beneficial
ideals
and
philosophies

10. ¡ Super
Mario
Bros
¡ “Dragon
Ball
Z”
¡ “League
Of
Legends”
¡ “Fruits
Basket”
¡ The
Forbidden
Kingdom

11. ¡ Video
Game
Franchise
§ Bowser,
the
arch-­‐nemesis
of
Mario,
is
a
well
known
dragon
turtle,
turtle
with
a
dragon
head

12. • Television
show
§ Goku,
protagonist,
shares
similarities
with
Wukng
from
“Journey
to
the
West”
§ Similarities:
Both…
▪ have
a
defining
moment
that
shows
good
vs.
evil
▪ have
a
staff
that
extends
and
is
magic
▪ have
a
magic
floating
cloud
▪ are
related
to
monkeys,
as
Goku
has
a
monkey
tail
and
has
the
ability
to
transform
into
a
giant
rampaging
monkey
▪ Find
companions
throughout
their
journeys
that
are
similar
to
their
counterparts
▪ Defend
the
earth
from
evil
▪ Comparison:
http://www.myfavoritegames.com/dragonball-­‐z/info/JourneyToTheWest.htm
§ Visually
similar:
▪ Dragon
Ball
Z
intro:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZzz6bEGZeA
▪ Journey
to
the
West
Animation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOiqcEB_7_w

13. • Popular
PC
game
– Features
a
champion
named
“Wukong”
– Similarities:
Both…
▪ have
clouds
and
extendo-­‐staffs
▪ were
inspired
by
Wu
Kong

14. ¡ “Fruits
Basket”:
Japanese
Anime
§ Features
characters
that
transform
into
creatures
of
Chinese
Zodiac
¡ The
Forbidden
Kingdom:
(2008)
film
§ Based
loosely
on
The
Journey
to
the
West
§ Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t8_jG56mEo

15. ¡ http://www.livingmyths.com/Chinese.htm
¡ http://www.crystalinks.com/chinamythology.html
¡ http://www.augustphoenix.com/studypages/
fourcreatures.htm
¡ http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/ssu-­‐
ling.shtml
¡ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecwkIvinb2k

16. ¡ http://www.myfavoritegames.com/dragonball-­‐z/
info/JourneyToTheWest.htm
¡ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZzz6bEGZeA
¡ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOiqcEB_7_w
¡ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t8_jG56mEo
¡ http://mythome.org/chinesemythhistory.html
¡ http://blog.chinesehour.com/?p=560
¡ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pbxPWChoYo