Guest Author - Caroline Baker

Each culture has their own version of how the World came to be. One Chinese Creation story starts with an egg.

But before we begin with retelling this story, its important to understand that within the Chinese Society, there are many stories around creation. The idea of how we came about, why are we here, where did we come from, are universe in almost every society and culture encountered through history. China is no different.

In its youth, China was not a single country but a scattering of different groups of people spread across the lands of Asia. Because of this relative isolate, there are several different versions of how the world came to be. In addition, China today has almost every major religion represented within the country. Thus, with each of these religions came their own stories of creation.

The first documentation of story of Pan Ku and the egg seems to have originated around the time of the Three Kingdoms (220-265 AD), long after historians recognize the existance of the Chinese culture. There are variations to the story depending upon which part of the country you came from. This version helps to explain some of the concepts that have become inherent in the Chinese culture, specifically Yin-Yang.

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In the beginning, the world had no heaven or earth. The universe was a black egg, in which Pan Ku slept. After 18,000 years of existing like this, Pan Ku awoke and the egg broke in two. The top part, which was light and clear, became heaven and the bottom, which was dense and dark, the earth. Thus, the concept of yin-yang, the two sides that made a whole.

Pan Ku was born larger than any man and with a hammer and chisel in hand. With these tools, he further separated the sky and the land. He was helped by four mythical creaters: tiger, phoenix, dragon, and tortoise. After another 18,000 years, he had built enough to assure the heaven and earth would never meet again.

When he died, he filled in the rest of the world. His breath created the wind and clouds. His flesh became soil, his bones rock, and his blood filled the rivers and seas. His limbs and body became the five major mountains in China. His hair became the stars in the sky. From his sweat came the rain to nourish the land. His eyes became the sun and the moon. And finally, from the small creatures on his body, which has been equated to parasites in some translations, came man.