There are an abundant amount of religious and glorified explanations of how our world has become present day. Society refers to these narratives as myths or legends. Mythology spreads all across the world reaching different cultures, which in their own have ideologies to the present common rituals beliefs that have brought their culture to present form. Although there has been much development in the culture of Chinese mythology, this culture can be traced back 4,000 years to the oldest of myths (Willis 88). Mythology tries to answer the question of earth’s origin through beliefs and cultural myths. In Chinese mythology the earth is said to have formed when chaos ruled the universe, from this chaos a cosmic egg formed for 18,000 years. A divine beast formed within the egg creating a perfect balance known as Yin and Yang. The divine beast burst the egg apart and separated Yin from Yang to create earth and sky. The Yin or light parts formed the male skies while the opaque Yang parts formed the female earth. The beast Pan Gu then lies down and dies so that he may rise up to keep the earth and sky apart. His body parts then become sun, earth, moon, wind, water, and clouds. The symbolism of complementary opposition is a representation of their duality and oneness and is represented in Chinese culture through the Yin and Yang symbol and is a staple in Chinese culture.
Mythology has a strong belief in deities and supernatural beings. Pan Gu is a supernatural divine creature whom sacrificially gives his life in order to give life, and represents how mythology follows the belief that sacrificial death brings about creation. Nu Gua and Fu Xi are a god and goddess of ancient Chinese mythology whose bodies are like serpents with human heads. They are supernatural beings believed to have helped create human life and teach the people to hunt and use animals for human gain. Although many Chinese mythologies depict supernatural gods, some represent actual people such as the practice of Buddhism, Taoism, of Confucianism. Buddha or Gautama Sakyamuni is the basis of the religion and follows the teachings and practice of the Buddha or the “enlightened one”. Many people who practice the religion have a symbolic statue of a Buddha, who is worshiped as their God. Confucius was a Chinese teacher and philosopher who’s teachings gained popularity and formed the practice of Confucianism. Taoism now commonly known as Daoism is the practice of two Daoist philosophers Laozi and Zhuangzi. Their teachings and beliefs have less emphasis on gods or spirits but is religious in nature and implemented its own mythology in which its followers practice.
Ancient myths and stories form the basis to many culture’s religion and beliefs and in combination make up the rule in which the populous is governed. Mythical stories such as Maori’s version of Tane, where Dawn Maiden unknowingly married her father, upon finding out her marriage was incestial, she fled out of this world and promised to pull Tane’s human children down to the realm of darkness. That is how death and the prohibition of incest came to humanity. (Willis, 23) Through these teachings many cultural guidelines begin. The bases of these stories form the morality of a cultural group. Much like Christianity where the beliefs of the group are based on the teachings of the bible and the Ten Commandments govern the morality of its followers. The same is true for Chinese culture. The Chinese belief system stem from ancient myth’s and the stories guide the morality of the culture and demonstrate the difference between right and wrong, and consequences of choosing to do wrong. Mythology also can be the basis for a country’s symbol such as the dragon, which has represented China as lasting symbol for their culture. (Willis, 88) Different cultural rituals can stem from mythological stories, such as sacrificial ceremonies, and shamanistic practices to contact spirits that leads to chanting, dancing, and ecstatic trances. (Willis, 88) During the Zhou dynasty Confucius teachings became the political philosophies of China until communism took over.(Willis, 88) Taoism helped shape the Chinese culture by implementing a harmonious balance between humans and nature and to appreciate the value of life and earth. Yin and Yang are the basis of the Taoism belief and it represents the balance between male and female and the puts great importance in this balance. The combination of the three Chinese belief systems, Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism demonstrate the favorable combination of harmonic balance and cooperative rule to make up the opulent Chinese culture.
Culture is constructed on a variety of mythology, legend, and history. Though every culture has its own belief system, Chinese culture is based off of three practices, Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Chinese mythology teachings institute the guidelines for the culture. The mythical stories mold the culture’s view on morality, explain the difference between right and wrong, and guide them through the many teachings of ancient stories of supernatural beings, gods and people. Mythology is the center culture and manifests the ideals of a group. Mythology is a very important part of every culture and is passed on from generation to generation.

Works Cited

Morford, Mark P.O, Robert J. Lenardon, and Michael Sham. Classical Mythology. New York Oxford University Press Inc, 2011. Print.