The Beginning(Genesis) and Pangu, The Flood and Nüwa
ChinaLegends of Pangu and Nuwa had great similarities with Bible Stories of theBeginning and the Big Flood
Abstract: OldTestament Bible Stories told us The Creation Story and The Big Flood Story.
In Ancient China legend, it was Pangu who started the universe from its formless. Nuwawho appeared only after Pangu opening up the universe, carried out God’s tasks tostop the Big Flood; repair the heavens and establish the Four Ends of the Earth.
Thisarticle briefly introduced the ancient China legends of Pangu and Nuwa. Thelegends of Pangu and Nuwa were similar with the Bible stories of the Creationand the Big Flood. These stories which came from different ancient civilizationshad uncanny similarities. Even Pangu and Nuwa stories were regarded as legendsin China, it should bring more confidence that these stories came from the samehistorical events as the Bible stories of the Creation and the Big Flood. TheCreation Story and The Big Flood Story were not fictions, but real history ofthe earth.
1. Introduction
OldTestament Bible Stories told us The Creation Story and The Big Flood Story. Inthe beginning God created the heavens and the earth from a formless, emptyearth where darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of Godwas hovering over the waters. God created all creatures and mankind, and putAdam and Eve to the Garden of Eden. But because of the serpent, Adam and Eveate the apple and they were banished by the Load God from the Garden of Eden towork the ground from which he had been taken.
WhenMen began to increase in number on the earth, the earth was corrupt in God’ssight and was full of violence. But only Noah found favor in the eyes of theLord. God let Noah let Noah make an ark and wiped all people and animals andthe creatures from the earth by a big flood, except Noah, his family andcreatures with him in the ark.
Mankindwere scattered by Lord over the face of the whole earth after Babel (Genesis11:9). The phrase ‘Whole Earth’ clearly told us that The Ends of the Earth weredefinitely not near the land of Middle East where Jerusalem, the Holy city,God's Capital city on the earth located; They should include: Easternmost placein China; Westernmost place in USA; Northernmost place near Arctic Circle;Southernmost place in Australia and New Zealand .
http://peacepink.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-ends-of-the-earth
Accordingto Pangu Legend in China, in the beginning there was nothing in the universeexcept a formless chaos. However this chaos coalesced into a cosmic egg. AndPangu was inside it. After many years, Pangu opened up the universe and separatedthe sky from the earth.
Nuwawho appeared only after Pangu opening up the universe, Nuwa was an angle of Godwho carried out God’s tasks to stop the Big Flood; repair the heavens andestablish the Four Ends of the Earth.
Thelegends of Pangu and Nuwa were similar with the Bible stories of the Creationand the Big Flood. These stories which came from different ancientcivilizations, but had uncanny similarities, it should bring more confidencethat the legends of Pangu and Nuwa and the Bible stories of the Creation andthe Big Flood came from the same historical events. The Creation Story and TheBig Flood Story were not fictions, but real history of the earth.
2. TheCreation Story and The Big Flood Story in the Bible
2.1 TheCreation Story in the Bible
OldTestament Bible Stories told us The Creation Story and The Big Flood Story. Inthe beginning God created the heavens and the earth from a formless, emptyearth where darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of Godwas hovering over the waters. God let there be ‘day’ and ‘night’; ‘sky’, ‘land’and ‘seas’; ‘sun’ and ‘moon’; ‘evening’ and ‘morning’; God created creatures ofthe ground and the sea; and birds. God created mankind in his own image.(Genesis). Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vastarray (Genesis 2:2). And the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, inEden; and there he put the man he had formed (Genesis 2:
.
Becauseof the serpent, Adam and Eve ate the apple and they were banished by the LoadGod from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken(Genesis 3:23).
2.2 The BigFlood Story in the Bible
WhenMen began to increase in number on the earth, the earth was corrupt in God’ssight and was full of violence. (Genesis 6:11) But only Noah found favor in theeyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:. God let Noah make himself an ark (Genesis 6:14)and go into the ark with his whole family, and take with him seven pairs ofevery kind of clean animal, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, andalso seven pairs of every kind of bird (Genesis 7:7).
Allthe springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavenswere opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. The watersrose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits.Everyliving thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and thecreatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth.Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. The waters flooded the earthfor a hundred and fifty days. (Genesis 7)
ButGod remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were withhim in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. 2Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed,and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. (Genesis By the first day ofthe first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried upfrom the earth. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth wascompletely dry. Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and hissons’ wives. 19 All the animals and all the creatures that move along theground and all the birds—everything that moves on land—came out of the ark, onekind after another.
3. The Pangu Legend inChina
3.1 Historicalrecords of Pangu Legend
The first writer torecord the myth of Pangu was Xu Zheng (徐整) during the Three Kingdoms (184－280AC) (三国) period.
Inthe beginning there was nothing in the universe except a formless chaos.However this chaos coalesced into a cosmic egg. And Pangu was inside it. After many years, Pangu separated the Skyfrom the earth. The yang which was light and pure rose to become the sky, andthe yin which was heavy and murky sank to form the earth. Pangu was inside itfor many years, and changed many times every day; with each day the sky grewten feet (3 meters) higher, the Earth ten feet wider, and Pangu ten feettaller. Another many years passed, and there was an extremely high sky, anextremely thick earth, and an extremely tall Pangu.
Afterthe universe became extremely large, there were Human Beings.
Afterthe many years had elapsed, Pangu was laid to rest. His breath became the wind;his voice the thunder; left eye the sun and right eye the moon; his body becamethe mountains and extremes of the world; his blood formed rivers; his musclesthe fertile lands; his facial hair the stars and milky way; his fur the bushesand forests; his bones the valuable minerals; his bone marrows sacred diamonds;his sweat fell as rain; and the fleas on his fur carried by the wind became thefish and animals throughout the land.
(Note: In ancientChina, number 9 and 18 did not exactly mean nine and eighteen, it meant many, evencould not be count).
In Pangu’s story,18000 years did not mean exactly eighteen thousands years, it meant many years,even could not be count. And ‘change 9 times a day” did not mean exactly ninetimes, it meant many times.
(In Chinese《三五历记》：”(1) 天地浑沌如鸡子。盘古生在其中。万八千岁。天地开辟。阳清为天。阴浊为地。盘古在其中。一日九变。神于天。 圣于地。天日高一丈。地日厚一丈。盘古日长一丈。如此万八千岁。天数极高。地数极深。盘古极长。故天去地九 万里。后乃有三皇。 (2) 天气蒙鸿，萌芽兹始，遂分天地，肇立乾坤，启阴感阳，分布元气，乃孕中和，是为人也。首生盘古。垂死化身。 气成风云。声为雷霆。左眼为日。右眼为月。四肢五体为四极五岳。血液为江河。筋脉为地里。肌肉为田土。发为 星辰。皮肤为草木。齿骨为金石。精髓为珠玉。汗流为雨泽。身之诸虫。因风所感。化为黎甿.”)
3.1 The I-Ching (Yi-Jing) and The Pangu Legend
3.1.1 The basictheory of I-Ching (Yi-Jing)
I-Ching,or the Book of Change said, "Changes has the Great Ultimate, which giverise to the Two Elements. The Two Elements give rise to the Four Phenomena, andthe Four Phenomena give rise to the Eight Hexagrams, and the Eight Hexagramsgive rise to all events and things." ( In Chinese: 易经：太极生两仪，两仪生四象，四象生八卦，八卦演万物)。
TaiChi (Tai Ji), The Great Ultimate, It actually means the earliest, thebeginning... of all events and things.
Everythingcame from 1 ( Tai Chi) to 2 (elements) to 4 (phenomena) to 8 (hexagrams) to…..64 (hexagrams)……to all events and things.
3.1.2 The Pangu Legend had great similarities with thebasic theory of I-Ching
(1) In the beginning there was nothing in theuniverse except a formless chaos. However this chaos coalesced into a cosmicegg. And Pangu was inside it. (In Chinese “天地浑沌如鸡子。盘古生在其中”)
I-Chingbelieved that there was nothing in the universe except Tai Chi (Tai Ji), TheGreat Ultimate. It actually means the earliest, the beginning... of all eventsand things.
Pangucan be considered Tai- Chi (Tai-Ji), The Great Ultimate.
(2) After many years, Pangu separated the Sky fromthe earth. The Yang (阳清) whichwas light and pure rose to become the sky, and the Yin (阴浊)which was heavy and murky sank to form the earth. (In Chinese “万八千岁。天地开辟。阳清为天。阴浊为地.”)
I-Chingsaid Tai Chi (Tai Ji), the Great Ultimate, gave rise to the Two Elements.
TheYin and the Yang can be considered Two Elements which came from Tai Chi (TaiJi), the Great Ultimate.
(3) According to Pangu legend, his breath becamethe wind; his voice the thunder; left eye the sun and right eye the moon; hisbody became the mountains and extremes of the world; his blood formed rivers;his muscles the fertile lands; his facial hair the stars and milky way; his furthe bushes and forests; his bones the valuable minerals; his bone marrowssacred diamonds; his sweat fell as rain; and the fleas on his fur carried bythe wind became the fish and animals throughout the land.
I-Chingbelieved that all things came from Tai Chi (Tai-Ji), The Great Ultimate.
Panguwas Tai Chi (Tai-Ji), The Great Ultimate; it gave rise to all things.
3.2 The BigBang and The Pangu Legend
3.2.1 The BigBang
Currentlysome people believe The Big Bang theory.
TheBig Bang was the event which led to the formation of the universe, according tothe prevailing cosmological theory of the universe's early development (knownas the Big Bang theory or Big Bang model). According to the Big Bang model, theuniverse, originally in an extremely hot and dense state that expanded rapidly,has since cooled by expanding to the present diluted state, and continues toexpand today. Based on the best available measurements as of 2010, the originalstate of the universe existed around 13.7 billion years ago, which is oftenreferred to as the time when the Big Bang occurred.
3.2.2 The Pangu Legend had some similarities withthe Big Bang
IfBig Bang theory is correct, there will be some inspiration from Pangu’s story.
(1) In the beginning there was nothing in theuniverse except a formless chaos. However this chaos coalesced into a cosmicegg. And Pangu was inside it. (InChinese“天地浑沌如鸡子。盘古生在其中。”)
Pangucan be considered a kind of energy.
(2) After many years, Pangu separated the Skyfrom the earth. The yang which was light and pure rose to become the sky, andthe yin which was heavy and murky sank to form the earth. (In Chinese “万八千岁。天地开辟。阳清为天。阴浊为地。”)
“万八千岁”it did not mean 18000 years. In ancient China, it meant “extremelylarge/extremely long/extremely much”, even could not be count.
“阴浊”Theyin which was heavy and murky can be considered those matters which formplanets
“阳清”Theyang which was light and pure can be considered those matters which are outsideplanets.
(3) Pangu was inside it for many years, andchanged many times every day; with each day the sky grew ten feet (3 meters)higher, the Earth ten feet wider, and Pangu ten feet taller.(InChinese“盘古在其中。一日九变。神于天。圣于地。天日高一丈。地日厚一丈。盘古日长一丈。”)
“一日九变” it didnot mean “change 9times every day”. Inancient China, it meant “changemany times a day”.
Inthe beginning of The Big Bang, The universe was very unsteady and rapidlyexpanding.
(4) Another many years passed, and there was anextremely high sky, an extremely thick earth, and an extremely tall Pangu.After the universe became extremely large, Human Beings started. (In Chinese“如此万八千岁。天数极高。地数极深。盘古极长。故天去地九万里。后乃有三皇。”)
4. The Nüwa Legend in China
4.1 Historical written records of Nuwa’s story
Theearliest written story of Nüwa was from < Shan Hai Jing - Da Huang Xi Jing> BCE(1600—BCE1046)：Therewere ten spirits. It said Nüwa's intestines scatter into ten spirits, Theylived in millet fields and slept on Roads. (In Chinese 《山海经•大荒西经》(商代,公元前1600年——公元前1046年)：有神十人，名曰女娲之肠，化为神，处栗广之野，横道而处；)
Otherearlier written story of Nüwa was from < Liezi, chapter 5: "Questionsof Tang" (卷第五汤问篇)>(475 - 221 BC) author: Lie Yukou.
Paragraph1: "Nüwa repairs the heavens" Describes Nüwa repairing the imperfectheavens. Nüwa uses five colored stones to repair the heavens, cut the legs of atortoise and use them as struts to establish the four corners of the earth(TheEnds of the Earth).
（In Chinese：《汤问》（约前475年～公元前221）故昔者女娲氏练五色石以补其阙；断鳌之足以立四极。其后共工氏与颛顼争为帝，怒而触不周之山，折天柱，绝 地维；故天倾西北，日月辰星就焉；地不满东南，故百川水潦归焉。）
BambooAnnals （BCE475-BCE221）：Therewas Mountain called Heaven Platform outside East Sea; there was a ladder led toHeaven, and a platform scattered Human Being to spirit, People with wings livedthere. Heaven Platform, was a mountain carried by The tortoise, floating aroundthe sea for many years. When Nüwa cut the legs of a tortoise and use them asstruts to establish the four corners of the earth(The Ends of the Earth), Shesaw The Spirit Mountain was unsteady, then moved it to Langya beach.
(InChinese《竹书纪年》(约前475年～公元前221)东海外有山曰天台，有登天之梯，有登仙之台，羽人所居。天台者，神鳌背负之山也，浮游海内，不纪经年。惟女 娲斩鳌足而立四极，见仙山无着，乃移于琅琊之滨。)
‘ShanHai Jing-Hai Nei Dong Jing’: Langya Platform was near Bo Sea.
(InChinese《山海经•海内东经》云：“琅琊台在渤海间，琅琊之东。其北有山，一曰在海间．)
Accordingto the earliest written story of Nüwa, Nüwa was not the creator of HumanBeings.
Inthe book: ‘Huainanzi, chapter 6: Lanmingxun (览冥训)’(179 - 122 BC) author: Liu An, "Nüwa Mended the Sky": Inremote antiquity, the four corners collapsed, and the earth descended intochaos: the firmament was no longer able to cover everything, and the earth wasno longer able to support itself; fire burned wild, and waters flooded theland. Fierce beasts ate common people, and ferocious birds attacked the old andthe weak.
Hence,Nüwa tempered the five-colored stone to mend the heavens, cut off the feet ofthe great turtle to establish the four corners of the Earth (The Ends of theEarth), killed the black dragon to help the earth, and gathered the ash of reedto stop the flood.
AfterNüwa finishing her tasks: Heavens repaired; The Four Corners of the Earthestablished; Flood water dried; China became peaceful; Evil animals died; Goodpeople grew;
ThenNüwa left Square Earth, enfolded (went to) Round Heaven
(InChinese《淮南子•览冥训》：往古之时，四极废，九州岛裂，天不兼覆，地不周载，火滥（lǎn）焱而不灭，水浩洋而不息，猛兽食颛民，鸷鸟攫老弱。于是,女娲炼五色石以补苍天，断鳌足以立四极，杀黑龙以济冀州，积芦灰以止淫水。苍天补，四极正；淫水涸，冀州平 ；狡虫死，颛民生; 背方州，抱圆天。)
Fromthe earlier written records, we only could find the following story of Nüwa：Repairedthe heavens; established the four corners of theearth (The Ends of the Earth); Killed the black Dragon; Stopped The Big Flood. Wecould find that Nüwa was not the creator of Human Beings.
4.2 Enriching legends of Nuwa
Later,mankind had keep enriching Nüwa’s stories by adding in more fancies.
Nüwais presented differently in so many myths; it is not accurate to tie her downas a creator, mother. Depending on the myths, she is responsible for being awife, sister, man, tribal leader (or even emperor), creator, maintainer, etc.It is not clear from the evidence which view came first. Regardless of theorigins, most myths present Nüwa as female in a procreative role after acalamity.
4.3 The name of Nüwa “女娲”came from"女娃" (Pronouncepinyin: Nüwa)
Inancient China, men and women did not have name.
Foran example, Liu Bang(256BC-195BC), the first emperor of Han Dynasty(206BC-220AC), his original name was Liu Ji (Ji means the third sonof the family). Liu Bang had two brothers: Liu Bo (Bo means thefirst son of the family); Liu Zhong (Zhong means the second son of thefamily).
Anotherexample, the very famous story of Meng Jiang Nu cried for the Great Wallin Qin Dynasty. Meng Jiang Nu did not have her name too. Jiangwas the family name, Meng meant the first daughter in the family. Meng JiangNu meant the first daughter of Jiang’s family.
Thepronunciations (pinyin) of Chinese words “女娲”and “女娃” are same--- Nüwa.
“女娃" (Pronounce pinyin: Nüwa）originallymeant “Beautiful lady”. At first Nüwadid not have a name; People called her "女娃" (Pronounce pinyin: Nüwa), meant “Beautifullady”.
Latersome people thought that as the Goddess, Nüwa must have her own name, so theyspecially invented a Chinese character “娲”(Pronounce: wa) for her. After that, Nüwahad her own name "女娲" (Pronounce pinyin:Nüwa)instead of “女娃” (Pronounce pinyin: Nüwa)。
AncientChinese character Oracle bone script （upperpart:我 and lowerpart:母）is theChinese character “娥” (Pronounce pinyin: e), it means“Beautiful lady”.
ShangDynasty People prayed to ‘E’ (娥): offersacrifice to ancestors; offer sacrifice to country ancestors; give sacrificegift to those who are loyal to the king; pray for good harvest; pray for rain;pray for luck and happiness; pray forprosperityfor the country. “娥”(Pronounce pinyin: e) was the goddess with highest rank. Many scholars thinkthat “娥”(Pronounce pinyin: e) was indeed "女娲"(Pronounce pinyin: Nüwa)
InAncient Chinese Phonology system, “娲”came from "呙". Itbelonged to Ge section of the pre-Qin Chinese Phonology.
“娲, 呙,我,娥”were at same section of the pre-Qin Chinese Phonology. The vowel rhyme of娲and 娥 couldbe transferred,娲and 娥 wereinterchangeable.
"女娲"(Pronounce pinyin: Nüwa) wasindeed “女娥”(Pronounce pinyin: Nüe). It originally meant “Beautiful Lady”.
4.4 The image of Nüwa changed to Human Head andSnake Body since Han Dynasty (202BCE-220ACE)
In theprehistoric legendary system and according to the literature available, theimage of Nuwa was an indeterminate goddess in the eyes of the poets during themiddle and latter half of the Warring States Period as far as her appearanceswere concerned.
Qu Yuan(BCE340 – BCE 27 was the first one questioning the image of Nüwa in‘Questioning Heaven’. He questioned: ‘If Nüwa has a body, who made it?’
Wang Yi(in East Han Dynasty) said: ‘It circulated widely as folk literature that Nüwawas half people and half snake, and her body changed 70 times a day. If it wasreal, who made Nüwa?’
The imageof Nuwa was a saint who advocated emptiness and purity and ranked with Fuxi asthe people with consummate morality in the literature of Western Han Dynasty.With the revival of the doctrine of three empresses during the time between theWestern Hun and Eastern Han dynasties, the doctrine of three empresses (Fuxi,Shennong, Suiren or Zhurong) at the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynastyevolved into the series of three empresses (Fuxi, Nuwa, Shennong) at the latterstage of the Eastern Han Dynasty, marking the eventual formation of the imageof Nuwa as a saint. <The Evolution ofthe Image of Nuwa during the Periods of the WarringStates, Qin and Han>(SONG Chao, (The Editorial Department of History Studies, Beijing, China) http://www.csscipaper.com/chinahistory/xianqin/110629.html
Nüwa andFuxi were pictured as having snake like tails interlocked in an Eastern Handynasty mural in the Wuliang Temple in Jiaxiang county, Shandong province.
ZhuNai-cheng, the Director of Institute of archaeology Information Center ofChinese Academy of Social Sciences, thought in his book ‘The Origin andFormation of China Dragon (中华龙：起源和形成ISBN:9787108030771) that it was Sima Qian who wrote a story about a dragon andLiu Bang’s mother, started giving a linkage between Dragon and emperor. SinceHan Dynasty, dragon was slowly evolved into the symbol of the Imperial rights. Thedragon became a symbol of power, strength, and good luck after Han Dynasty.
The Reasonthat Nüwa started to have an image of half people and half snake(or Dragon)since Han Dynasty (206BC – 220 AD) was because Satan (The Serpent, The Dragon,The Snake) deceived mankind and let them believe in the Dragon worship.
There wasalso a fiction of Nuwa that Nuwa was from an ethnic group who worshippedphoenix. This possibly came from the bird worship history in ancient China.
Archaeologistsand Scientists had discovered, many groups in ancient China chose bird as theirtotem. Such as: people in Shandong Peninsula before Zhou Dynasty (1050BC－256BC);And Shang Dynasty (1600BC—1046BC),Shi Jing recorded: God Orders Xuan Bird to Give Birth to Shang. From bird,ancient China started to worship Chinese phoenix/phoenix, queen/king of allbirds, it was a symbol of good luck.
4.5 Threefamous Flood recorded in Ancient China
According to theliterature available, ancient China had recorded three famous Floods: NüwaFlood, Gong Gong Flood and Da Yu Flood
Nüwa Flood, Gong GongFlood and Da Yu Flood were three different floods.
4.5.1 Nüwa Flood happened before 20000 years ago.
In the book: <Huainanzi, chapter 6: Lanmingxun (览冥训)> (179 - 122 BC) author: Liu An, "Nüwa Mended the Sky": In remote antiquity, the four corners collapsed, and the earth descended into chaos: the firmament was no longer able to cover everything, and the earth was no longer able to support itself; fire burned wild, and waters flooded the land. Fierce beasts ate common people, and ferocious birds attacked the old and the weak. Nüwa repaired the Heavens; established the Four Corners of the Earth; stopped the Big Flood water. China became peaceful; Evil animals died; Good people grew;
There is a similar story about big flood in Maya records.
Maya Five Sun JI calendar is a record of Maya historical changes. Ancient Maya people believed human started from 23614 BCE, First Sun JI (MATLACTIL ART) (23614 BCE - 18489 BCE) was destroyed in a flood, the mysterious scientists think that was Noah's flood.
All most all fossils of modern Homo sapiens showed that modern humans started between 30000 - 20000 years ago.
Quaternary glaciation, also known as the Pleistocene glaciation, the current ice age or simply the ice age, refers to the period from 2.58 Ma (million years ago) to present, in which permanent ice sheets were established in Antarctica and perhaps Greenland, and fluctuating ice sheets have occurred elsewhere (for example, the Laurentide ice sheet). During the colder episodes — referred to as glacial periods — large ice sheets also existed in Europe, North America, and Siberia. The south edge of ice sheet reached North latitude 50 in Europe, North latitude 40 in America around 20000 years ago.
The so called ends of the earth located near North latitude 40 in Asia and America, South latitude 40 in Australia. East end of the earth in Weihai prefecture of China was North latitude: 37.23, East Longitude:122.41; West end of the earth in Western America was about North latitude: between 35-40, East Longitude: between120-125; South end of the earth in Melbourne of Australia was near South latitude 40.
According to the Holy Bible, Noah Flood lasted 150 days. At that time, most land on the earth was under the ice sheet. In a short period of 150 days, ice sheet could not be melt under water. And it could not leave many Geological traces on the earth.
Later climate warming brought to result in rising sea level. According to NASA, the sea level was 120 m lower as of around 20,000 years ago. Temperature rose quickly as of about 20,000-6000 years ago. After the ice sheets began to melt and retreat, the sea level rose rapidly. By the mid-Holocene period, 6000 years ago, glacial melting had essentially ceased. [2]
As of 6000 years ago, the sea level near Shandong Peninsula was 2-5meters higher than today’s present sea level. A lot of dry lands of the present Shandong Peninsula were under the sea. 5500 years ago, also the sea level was 2-5 meters lower than present sea level.
[2] Vivien Gornitz, Sea Level Rise, After the Ice Melted and Today, Jan 2007, NASA, http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/briefs/gornitz_09/
4.5.2 Gong Gong Flood happened 10000 years ago.
4.5.2.1 Historicalwritten records of Gong Gong Flood
"Questionsof Tang" (汤问篇) (Liezi,chapter 5: "Questions of Tang" (卷第五汤问篇)> (475 - 221 BC) author: Lie Yukou) had clearly indicated that after Nüwa finished hertasks (Repairedthe heavens; Established the four corners of the earth (The Ends of the Earth);Stopped The Big Flood), later then Gong Gong(共工)fight with Zhuan Xu(颛顼) for theleadership. Gong Gong saw that he was losing,He bumped hishead against Mount Buzhou (不周山)inanger. （In Chinese：《汤问》故昔者女娲氏练五色石以补其阙；断鳌之足以立四极。其后共工氏与颛顼争为帝，怒而触不周之山，折 天柱，绝地维；故天倾西北，日月辰星就焉；地不满东南，故百川水潦归焉。）
Thepillar of the earth collapsed and caused the earth to tilt towards thenorthwest and the southeast land sinking lower. Water changed it’s flowing tosoutheast.
Therewere also some other written records of Gong Gong bumping his head againstMount Buzhou (不周山) inanger.
“HuaiNan Zi” had the same written stories of Gong Gong as "Questions ofTang".
《天文训, 淮南子》：“昔者共工与颛顼争为帝，怒而触不周之山，天柱折，地维绝。天倾西北，故日月星辰移焉；地不满东 南，故水潦尘埃归焉。”
“ShenYi Jing. Xi Bei Huang Jing” had a record of Gong Gong too: There were someonelived in Northwest, He had human face, red hears, snake body, and human handsand feet. He ate cereals and meat. He was ferocious, stubborn and foolish; Hewas called Gong Gong. 《神异经.西北荒经》“西北荒有人焉，人面，朱发，蛇身，人手足，而食五谷禽兽。贪恶愚顽，名曰共工。”
(Inancient China, mankind was named with Tribal clan’s name. Gong Gong was thetribal clan’s name too, and its totem was human face, red hears, snake body andhuman hands and feet)
4.5.2.2 Sciencediscovery proved that Gong Gong flood possibly happened 10000 years ago.
Thestory of Gong Gong bumping his head against Mount Buzhou was possibly a veryserious earthquake, which caused the Earth's rotation axis shifting.
Here,“the pillar of the sky” was exactly “The pillar of the earth”; it was the Earth'srotation axis. TheEarth'srotation axis shifting caused great calamities on the Earth, and big changes onthe earth.
Accordingto the story, the earth tilted to the northwest; seeing from the earth, itseemed that the moon and stars’ locations had changes. The southeast land ofChina sank lower, while The Western land of China uplifted; and all the rivers changedit’s flowing to southeast.
a) Scientists had discovered that uplift ofTIBETAN PLATEAU had been suddenly rapid at a rate of 7cm per year 10000 yearsago.
b) According to historical records, Yellow Riverhad changed its estuary from Tianjin (north) to Qing County (southeast); andlater, its estuary kept shifting to southeast.
《山海经•北山经》大河下游大致北流到永定河冲积扇的南缘，向东经过雄县、霸县一线，到今天天津市区附近入 海；
《禹贡》大河下游在今深县与《山经》大河别流，穿过今河北平原中部，于青县以东入海；
Scientists haddiscovered that Earthquake could change Earth's rotation.
TheEarth spins on an axis that is tilted some 23.5° from the vertical. But this positionis far from constant – the planet's axis is constantly shifting in response tochanges in the distribution of mass around the Earth.
JPLresearch scientist Richard Gross computed how Earth's rotation should havechanged as a result of the Feb. 27 2010 quake. Using a complex model, he andfellow scientists came up with a preliminary calculation that the quake shouldhave shortened the length of an Earth day by about 1.26 microseconds (amicrosecond is one millionth of a second). Gross calculates the quake shouldhave moved Earth's figure axis (the axis about which Earth's mass is balanced)by 2.7 milliarcseconds (about 8 centimeters, or 3 inches). Earth’s figure axisis not the same as its north-south axis; they are offset by about 10 meters(about 33 feet).
Bycomparison, Gross said the same model estimated the 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatranearthquake should have shortened the length of day by 6.8 microseconds andshifted Earth's axis by 2.32 milliarcseconds (about 7 centimeters, or 2.76inches).
Landererand colleagues estimate that the melting of Greenland's ice is already causingEarth's axis to tilt at an annual rate of about 2.6 centimetres – and that ratemay increase significantly in the coming years.
IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change said Over the next century, the subtle effect isexpected to cause the northern pole of Earth's spin axis to shift by roughly1.5 centimetres per year in the direction of Alaska and Hawaii.
4.5.3 Da Yu Flood happened about 4500-5000 years ago.
Accordingto “Shan Hai Jing”, the Tribal clan of the Gong Gong made flood again duringYao, Shun, and Yu period. Da Yu fought with Gong Gong, deportation them andexiled them to You Zhou.
Archaeologicalevidences could prove that Da yu flood happened 4500-5000 years ago.
Thereare three archaeological sites which remain the flood phenomena: Handan,Luoyang, Wugong (Xu xi Zhuang andzhao jialai).
Anarchaeological site located in a stream channel near Luo Yang (It belongs tolongShan Culture) indicated that People living in lower places were much earlierthan upper places. Lower places were before flood; upper places were afterflood. 5000 years ago, those people shifted from lower places to upper places.
Wugongarchaeological site indicated that Xu Xi Zhuang located in lower places; ZhaoJia Lai located in upper places. 5000 years ago, People shifted from Xu XiZhuang to Zhao Jia Lai.
Some written recordsabout Da Yu Flood
《淮南子•本经篇》“舜之时，共工振滔洪水，以薄空桑。”
《淮南子》说“共工振滔洪水，以薄空桑”，
《山海经•大荒西经》中提到“有禹攻共工国山”，
《荀子·成相篇》中说：“禹有功，抑下鸿，为民除害逐共工”，
《尚书·舜典》说：“流共工于幽州，放驩兜于崇山，窜三苗于三危，殛鲧于羽山，四罪而天下咸服。”《括地志 》亦说：“故龚城在檀州燕乐县界，故老传云舜流共工幽州，居此城。”清人顾炎武作《昌平山水记》稱，“其城 仍在，亦曰共城，在密云县东北五十里。”
5. China Pangu and Nuwa Legends had great similarities with Biblestories of the Creation and the Big Flood
5.1 ChinaPangu Legend had great similarities with Bible stories of the Creation
Accordingto the Genesis 1, the universe was formless and empty and darkness. It was Godwho created universe (the heavens and the earth). God created everything on theearth.
Accordingto Pangu Legend, the universe was formless. It was Pangu who started theuniverse. Everything on the earth came from Pangu.
5.2 China NüwaLegend had great similarities with Bible stories of the Big Flood
5.2.1 Nüwa and Noah
FromNüwa’s story, we knew there was a big flood. This flood was exactly the same flood of Noah (Genesis 6). The waterswere from the heavens and the springs of the deep.
5.2.2 Nüwa andThe Four Corners of the Earth (The Ends of the Earth)
TheHoly Bible told us that after the Big Flood, mankind firstly settled in Shinar,later Mankind were scattered by the Lord over the face of the whole earth afterBabel (Genesis 11:9). The phrase ‘Whole Earth’ clearly told us that The Ends ofthe Earth were definitely not near the land of Middle East where Jerusalem, theHoly city, God's Capital city on the earth located; They should include:Easternmost place in China; Westernmost place in USA; Northernmost place nearArctic Circle; Southernmost place in Australia and New Zealand .
http://peacepink.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-ends-of-the-earth
AccordingNüwa Legend, after The Big Flood, Nüwa established The Four Corners of theEarth (In Chinese”立四极”).
AfterNüwa finishing God’s tasks, Heavens were repaired; The Four Corners of theEarth (The Ends of the Earth) were established; Flood water were dried; Chinabecame peaceful; Evil animals died; Good people grew; (In Chinese苍天补，四极正；淫水涸，冀州平；狡虫死，颛民生; 背方州，抱圆天),Then She left Square earth and enfolded (went to) Round Heaven.
In ancient Chineseculture, Chinese thought: “Heaven was high and round – Round Heaven; and theearth was low and rectangular – Square Earth”
背（Bei） means “leave”; suchas: 背井离乡（Bei Jing Li Xiang）（leave one’s native home）
抱（Bao） means “enfold”. Hereit means “go to”.
5.2.3 Nüwa and Angel
TheBible uses the terms מלאך אלהים (mal'akh Elohim; messenger of God), מלאך יהוה(mal'akh YHWH; messenger of the Lord), בני אלהים (b'nai Elohim; sons of God)and הקודשים (ha-qodeshim; the holy ones) to refer to beings traditionallyinterpreted as angels.
Danielis the first biblical figure to refer to individual angels by name. The writerincludes the names Gabriel (God's primary messenger) in Daniel 9:21 and Michael(the holy fighter) in Daniel 10:13. These are part of Daniel's apocalypticvisions and are an important part of all apocalyptic literature.
Angelsare created by God, and carrying out God's tasks "praiseye Him, all His angels: praise ye Him, all His hosts... for He spoke and theywere made. He commanded and they were created..." (Psalms 148:2-5;Colossians 1:16).
FromChina Legend, Nüwa appeared only after Pangu opened up the universe. Nüwa wascreated by Pangu.
Wecan consider Pangu to be God, and Nüwa to be an Angel created by God. Nüwacarried out God’s tasks after The Big Flood.
Themain tasks of Nüwa were to work for God: to repair the heavens; to establishthe four corners of the earth (The ends of the Earth); to kill the blackdragon; to stop the flood.
6 Conclution
Abstract: OldTestament Bible Stories told us The Creation Story and The Big Flood Story.
In Ancient China legend, it was Pangu who started the universe from its formless. Nuwawho appeared only after Pangu opening up the universe, carried out God’s tasks tostop the Big Flood; repair the heavens and establish the Four Ends of the Earth.
Thisarticle briefly introduced the ancient China legends of Pangu and Nuwa. Thelegends of Pangu and Nuwa were similar with the Bible stories of the Creationand the Big Flood. These stories which came from different ancient civilizationshad uncanny similarities. Even Pangu and Nuwa stories were regarded as legendsin China, it should bring more confidence that these stories came from the samehistorical events as the Bible stories of the Creation and the Big Flood. TheCreation Story and The Big Flood Story were not fictions, but real history ofthe earth.
1. Introduction
OldTestament Bible Stories told us The Creation Story and The Big Flood Story. Inthe beginning God created the heavens and the earth from a formless, emptyearth where darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of Godwas hovering over the waters. God created all creatures and mankind, and putAdam and Eve to the Garden of Eden. But because of the serpent, Adam and Eveate the apple and they were banished by the Load God from the Garden of Eden towork the ground from which he had been taken.
WhenMen began to increase in number on the earth, the earth was corrupt in God’ssight and was full of violence. But only Noah found favor in the eyes of theLord. God let Noah let Noah make an ark and wiped all people and animals andthe creatures from the earth by a big flood, except Noah, his family andcreatures with him in the ark.
Mankindwere scattered by Lord over the face of the whole earth after Babel (Genesis11:9). The phrase ‘Whole Earth’ clearly told us that The Ends of the Earth weredefinitely not near the land of Middle East where Jerusalem, the Holy city,God's Capital city on the earth located; They should include: Easternmost placein China; Westernmost place in USA; Northernmost place near Arctic Circle;Southernmost place in Australia and New Zealand .
http://peacepink.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-ends-of-the-earth
Accordingto Pangu Legend in China, in the beginning there was nothing in the universeexcept a formless chaos. However this chaos coalesced into a cosmic egg. AndPangu was inside it. After many years, Pangu opened up the universe and separatedthe sky from the earth.
Nuwawho appeared only after Pangu opening up the universe, Nuwa was an angle of Godwho carried out God’s tasks to stop the Big Flood; repair the heavens andestablish the Four Ends of the Earth.
Thelegends of Pangu and Nuwa were similar with the Bible stories of the Creationand the Big Flood. These stories which came from different ancientcivilizations, but had uncanny similarities, it should bring more confidencethat the legends of Pangu and Nuwa and the Bible stories of the Creation andthe Big Flood came from the same historical events. The Creation Story and TheBig Flood Story were not fictions, but real history of the earth.
2. TheCreation Story and The Big Flood Story in the Bible
2.1 TheCreation Story in the Bible
OldTestament Bible Stories told us The Creation Story and The Big Flood Story. Inthe beginning God created the heavens and the earth from a formless, emptyearth where darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of Godwas hovering over the waters. God let there be ‘day’ and ‘night’; ‘sky’, ‘land’and ‘seas’; ‘sun’ and ‘moon’; ‘evening’ and ‘morning’; God created creatures ofthe ground and the sea; and birds. God created mankind in his own image.(Genesis). Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vastarray (Genesis 2:2). And the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, inEden; and there he put the man he had formed (Genesis 2:
. Becauseof the serpent, Adam and Eve ate the apple and they were banished by the LoadGod from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken(Genesis 3:23).
2.2 The BigFlood Story in the Bible
WhenMen began to increase in number on the earth, the earth was corrupt in God’ssight and was full of violence. (Genesis 6:11) But only Noah found favor in theeyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:
. God let Noah make himself an ark (Genesis 6:14)and go into the ark with his whole family, and take with him seven pairs ofevery kind of clean animal, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, andalso seven pairs of every kind of bird (Genesis 7:7).Allthe springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavenswere opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. The watersrose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits.Everyliving thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and thecreatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth.Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. The waters flooded the earthfor a hundred and fifty days. (Genesis 7)
ButGod remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were withhim in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. 2Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed,and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. (Genesis
By the first day ofthe first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried upfrom the earth. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth wascompletely dry. Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and hissons’ wives. 19 All the animals and all the creatures that move along theground and all the birds—everything that moves on land—came out of the ark, onekind after another.3. The Pangu Legend inChina
3.1 Historicalrecords of Pangu Legend
The first writer torecord the myth of Pangu was Xu Zheng (徐整) during the Three Kingdoms (184－280AC) (三国) period.
Inthe beginning there was nothing in the universe except a formless chaos.However this chaos coalesced into a cosmic egg. And Pangu was inside it. After many years, Pangu separated the Skyfrom the earth. The yang which was light and pure rose to become the sky, andthe yin which was heavy and murky sank to form the earth. Pangu was inside itfor many years, and changed many times every day; with each day the sky grewten feet (3 meters) higher, the Earth ten feet wider, and Pangu ten feettaller. Another many years passed, and there was an extremely high sky, anextremely thick earth, and an extremely tall Pangu.
Afterthe universe became extremely large, there were Human Beings.
Afterthe many years had elapsed, Pangu was laid to rest. His breath became the wind;his voice the thunder; left eye the sun and right eye the moon; his body becamethe mountains and extremes of the world; his blood formed rivers; his musclesthe fertile lands; his facial hair the stars and milky way; his fur the bushesand forests; his bones the valuable minerals; his bone marrows sacred diamonds;his sweat fell as rain; and the fleas on his fur carried by the wind became thefish and animals throughout the land.
(Note: In ancientChina, number 9 and 18 did not exactly mean nine and eighteen, it meant many, evencould not be count).
In Pangu’s story,18000 years did not mean exactly eighteen thousands years, it meant many years,even could not be count. And ‘change 9 times a day” did not mean exactly ninetimes, it meant many times.
(In Chinese《三五历记》：”(1) 天地浑沌如鸡子。盘古生在其中。万八千岁。天地开辟。阳清为天。阴浊为地。盘古在其中。一日九变。神于天。 圣于地。天日高一丈。地日厚一丈。盘古日长一丈。如此万八千岁。天数极高。地数极深。盘古极长。故天去地九 万里。后乃有三皇。 (2) 天气蒙鸿，萌芽兹始，遂分天地，肇立乾坤，启阴感阳，分布元气，乃孕中和，是为人也。首生盘古。垂死化身。 气成风云。声为雷霆。左眼为日。右眼为月。四肢五体为四极五岳。血液为江河。筋脉为地里。肌肉为田土。发为 星辰。皮肤为草木。齿骨为金石。精髓为珠玉。汗流为雨泽。身之诸虫。因风所感。化为黎甿.”)
3.1 The I-Ching (Yi-Jing) and The Pangu Legend
3.1.1 The basictheory of I-Ching (Yi-Jing)
I-Ching,or the Book of Change said, "Changes has the Great Ultimate, which giverise to the Two Elements. The Two Elements give rise to the Four Phenomena, andthe Four Phenomena give rise to the Eight Hexagrams, and the Eight Hexagramsgive rise to all events and things." ( In Chinese: 易经：太极生两仪，两仪生四象，四象生八卦，八卦演万物)。
TaiChi (Tai Ji), The Great Ultimate, It actually means the earliest, thebeginning... of all events and things.
Everythingcame from 1 ( Tai Chi) to 2 (elements) to 4 (phenomena) to 8 (hexagrams) to…..64 (hexagrams)……to all events and things.
3.1.2 The Pangu Legend had great similarities with thebasic theory of I-Ching
(1) In the beginning there was nothing in theuniverse except a formless chaos. However this chaos coalesced into a cosmicegg. And Pangu was inside it. (In Chinese “天地浑沌如鸡子。盘古生在其中”)
I-Chingbelieved that there was nothing in the universe except Tai Chi (Tai Ji), TheGreat Ultimate. It actually means the earliest, the beginning... of all eventsand things.
Pangucan be considered Tai- Chi (Tai-Ji), The Great Ultimate.
(2) After many years, Pangu separated the Sky fromthe earth. The Yang (阳清) whichwas light and pure rose to become the sky, and the Yin (阴浊)which was heavy and murky sank to form the earth. (In Chinese “万八千岁。天地开辟。阳清为天。阴浊为地.”)
I-Chingsaid Tai Chi (Tai Ji), the Great Ultimate, gave rise to the Two Elements.
TheYin and the Yang can be considered Two Elements which came from Tai Chi (TaiJi), the Great Ultimate.
(3) According to Pangu legend, his breath becamethe wind; his voice the thunder; left eye the sun and right eye the moon; hisbody became the mountains and extremes of the world; his blood formed rivers;his muscles the fertile lands; his facial hair the stars and milky way; his furthe bushes and forests; his bones the valuable minerals; his bone marrowssacred diamonds; his sweat fell as rain; and the fleas on his fur carried bythe wind became the fish and animals throughout the land.
I-Chingbelieved that all things came from Tai Chi (Tai-Ji), The Great Ultimate.
Panguwas Tai Chi (Tai-Ji), The Great Ultimate; it gave rise to all things.
3.2 The BigBang and The Pangu Legend
3.2.1 The BigBang
Currentlysome people believe The Big Bang theory.
TheBig Bang was the event which led to the formation of the universe, according tothe prevailing cosmological theory of the universe's early development (knownas the Big Bang theory or Big Bang model). According to the Big Bang model, theuniverse, originally in an extremely hot and dense state that expanded rapidly,has since cooled by expanding to the present diluted state, and continues toexpand today. Based on the best available measurements as of 2010, the originalstate of the universe existed around 13.7 billion years ago, which is oftenreferred to as the time when the Big Bang occurred.
3.2.2 The Pangu Legend had some similarities withthe Big Bang
IfBig Bang theory is correct, there will be some inspiration from Pangu’s story.
(1) In the beginning there was nothing in theuniverse except a formless chaos. However this chaos coalesced into a cosmicegg. And Pangu was inside it. (InChinese“天地浑沌如鸡子。盘古生在其中。”)
Pangucan be considered a kind of energy.
(2) After many years, Pangu separated the Skyfrom the earth. The yang which was light and pure rose to become the sky, andthe yin which was heavy and murky sank to form the earth. (In Chinese “万八千岁。天地开辟。阳清为天。阴浊为地。”)
“万八千岁”it did not mean 18000 years. In ancient China, it meant “extremelylarge/extremely long/extremely much”, even could not be count.
“阴浊”Theyin which was heavy and murky can be considered those matters which formplanets
“阳清”Theyang which was light and pure can be considered those matters which are outsideplanets.
(3) Pangu was inside it for many years, andchanged many times every day; with each day the sky grew ten feet (3 meters)higher, the Earth ten feet wider, and Pangu ten feet taller.(InChinese“盘古在其中。一日九变。神于天。圣于地。天日高一丈。地日厚一丈。盘古日长一丈。”)
“一日九变” it didnot mean “change 9times every day”. Inancient China, it meant “changemany times a day”.
Inthe beginning of The Big Bang, The universe was very unsteady and rapidlyexpanding.
(4) Another many years passed, and there was anextremely high sky, an extremely thick earth, and an extremely tall Pangu.After the universe became extremely large, Human Beings started. (In Chinese“如此万八千岁。天数极高。地数极深。盘古极长。故天去地九万里。后乃有三皇。”)
4. The Nüwa Legend in China
4.1 Historical written records of Nuwa’s story
Theearliest written story of Nüwa was from < Shan Hai Jing - Da Huang Xi Jing> BCE(1600—BCE1046)：Therewere ten spirits. It said Nüwa's intestines scatter into ten spirits, Theylived in millet fields and slept on Roads. (In Chinese 《山海经•大荒西经》(商代,公元前1600年——公元前1046年)：有神十人，名曰女娲之肠，化为神，处栗广之野，横道而处；)
Otherearlier written story of Nüwa was from < Liezi, chapter 5: "Questionsof Tang" (卷第五汤问篇)>(475 - 221 BC) author: Lie Yukou.
Paragraph1: "Nüwa repairs the heavens" Describes Nüwa repairing the imperfectheavens. Nüwa uses five colored stones to repair the heavens, cut the legs of atortoise and use them as struts to establish the four corners of the earth(TheEnds of the Earth).
（In Chinese：《汤问》（约前475年～公元前221）故昔者女娲氏练五色石以补其阙；断鳌之足以立四极。其后共工氏与颛顼争为帝，怒而触不周之山，折天柱，绝 地维；故天倾西北，日月辰星就焉；地不满东南，故百川水潦归焉。）
BambooAnnals （BCE475-BCE221）：Therewas Mountain called Heaven Platform outside East Sea; there was a ladder led toHeaven, and a platform scattered Human Being to spirit, People with wings livedthere. Heaven Platform, was a mountain carried by The tortoise, floating aroundthe sea for many years. When Nüwa cut the legs of a tortoise and use them asstruts to establish the four corners of the earth(The Ends of the Earth), Shesaw The Spirit Mountain was unsteady, then moved it to Langya beach.
(InChinese《竹书纪年》(约前475年～公元前221)东海外有山曰天台，有登天之梯，有登仙之台，羽人所居。天台者，神鳌背负之山也，浮游海内，不纪经年。惟女 娲斩鳌足而立四极，见仙山无着，乃移于琅琊之滨。)
‘ShanHai Jing-Hai Nei Dong Jing’: Langya Platform was near Bo Sea.
(InChinese《山海经•海内东经》云：“琅琊台在渤海间，琅琊之东。其北有山，一曰在海间．)
Accordingto the earliest written story of Nüwa, Nüwa was not the creator of HumanBeings.
Inthe book: ‘Huainanzi, chapter 6: Lanmingxun (览冥训)’(179 - 122 BC) author: Liu An, "Nüwa Mended the Sky": Inremote antiquity, the four corners collapsed, and the earth descended intochaos: the firmament was no longer able to cover everything, and the earth wasno longer able to support itself; fire burned wild, and waters flooded theland. Fierce beasts ate common people, and ferocious birds attacked the old andthe weak.
Hence,Nüwa tempered the five-colored stone to mend the heavens, cut off the feet ofthe great turtle to establish the four corners of the Earth (The Ends of theEarth), killed the black dragon to help the earth, and gathered the ash of reedto stop the flood.
AfterNüwa finishing her tasks: Heavens repaired; The Four Corners of the Earthestablished; Flood water dried; China became peaceful; Evil animals died; Goodpeople grew;
ThenNüwa left Square Earth, enfolded (went to) Round Heaven
(InChinese《淮南子•览冥训》：往古之时，四极废，九州岛裂，天不兼覆，地不周载，火滥（lǎn）焱而不灭，水浩洋而不息，猛兽食颛民，鸷鸟攫老弱。于是,女娲炼五色石以补苍天，断鳌足以立四极，杀黑龙以济冀州，积芦灰以止淫水。苍天补，四极正；淫水涸，冀州平 ；狡虫死，颛民生; 背方州，抱圆天。)
Fromthe earlier written records, we only could find the following story of Nüwa：Repairedthe heavens; established the four corners of theearth (The Ends of the Earth); Killed the black Dragon; Stopped The Big Flood. Wecould find that Nüwa was not the creator of Human Beings.
4.2 Enriching legends of Nuwa
Later,mankind had keep enriching Nüwa’s stories by adding in more fancies.
Nüwais presented differently in so many myths; it is not accurate to tie her downas a creator, mother. Depending on the myths, she is responsible for being awife, sister, man, tribal leader (or even emperor), creator, maintainer, etc.It is not clear from the evidence which view came first. Regardless of theorigins, most myths present Nüwa as female in a procreative role after acalamity.
4.3 The name of Nüwa “女娲”came from"女娃" (Pronouncepinyin: Nüwa)
Inancient China, men and women did not have name.
Foran example, Liu Bang(256BC-195BC), the first emperor of Han Dynasty(206BC-220AC), his original name was Liu Ji (Ji means the third sonof the family). Liu Bang had two brothers: Liu Bo (Bo means thefirst son of the family); Liu Zhong (Zhong means the second son of thefamily).
Anotherexample, the very famous story of Meng Jiang Nu cried for the Great Wallin Qin Dynasty. Meng Jiang Nu did not have her name too. Jiangwas the family name, Meng meant the first daughter in the family. Meng JiangNu meant the first daughter of Jiang’s family.
Thepronunciations (pinyin) of Chinese words “女娲”and “女娃” are same--- Nüwa.
“女娃" (Pronounce pinyin: Nüwa）originallymeant “Beautiful lady”. At first Nüwadid not have a name; People called her "女娃" (Pronounce pinyin: Nüwa), meant “Beautifullady”.
Latersome people thought that as the Goddess, Nüwa must have her own name, so theyspecially invented a Chinese character “娲”(Pronounce: wa) for her. After that, Nüwahad her own name "女娲" (Pronounce pinyin:Nüwa)instead of “女娃” (Pronounce pinyin: Nüwa)。
AncientChinese character Oracle bone script （upperpart:我 and lowerpart:母）is theChinese character “娥” (Pronounce pinyin: e), it means“Beautiful lady”.
ShangDynasty People prayed to ‘E’ (娥): offersacrifice to ancestors; offer sacrifice to country ancestors; give sacrificegift to those who are loyal to the king; pray for good harvest; pray for rain;pray for luck and happiness; pray forprosperityfor the country. “娥”(Pronounce pinyin: e) was the goddess with highest rank. Many scholars thinkthat “娥”(Pronounce pinyin: e) was indeed "女娲"(Pronounce pinyin: Nüwa)
InAncient Chinese Phonology system, “娲”came from "呙". Itbelonged to Ge section of the pre-Qin Chinese Phonology.
“娲, 呙,我,娥”were at same section of the pre-Qin Chinese Phonology. The vowel rhyme of娲and 娥 couldbe transferred,娲and 娥 wereinterchangeable.
"女娲"(Pronounce pinyin: Nüwa) wasindeed “女娥”(Pronounce pinyin: Nüe). It originally meant “Beautiful Lady”.
4.4 The image of Nüwa changed to Human Head andSnake Body since Han Dynasty (202BCE-220ACE)
In theprehistoric legendary system and according to the literature available, theimage of Nuwa was an indeterminate goddess in the eyes of the poets during themiddle and latter half of the Warring States Period as far as her appearanceswere concerned.
Qu Yuan(BCE340 – BCE 27
was the first one questioning the image of Nüwa in‘Questioning Heaven’. He questioned: ‘If Nüwa has a body, who made it?’Wang Yi(in East Han Dynasty) said: ‘It circulated widely as folk literature that Nüwawas half people and half snake, and her body changed 70 times a day. If it wasreal, who made Nüwa?’
The imageof Nuwa was a saint who advocated emptiness and purity and ranked with Fuxi asthe people with consummate morality in the literature of Western Han Dynasty.With the revival of the doctrine of three empresses during the time between theWestern Hun and Eastern Han dynasties, the doctrine of three empresses (Fuxi,Shennong, Suiren or Zhurong) at the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynastyevolved into the series of three empresses (Fuxi, Nuwa, Shennong) at the latterstage of the Eastern Han Dynasty, marking the eventual formation of the imageof Nuwa as a saint. <The Evolution ofthe Image of Nuwa during the Periods of the WarringStates, Qin and Han>(SONG Chao, (The Editorial Department of History Studies, Beijing, China) http://www.csscipaper.com/chinahistory/xianqin/110629.html
Nüwa andFuxi were pictured as having snake like tails interlocked in an Eastern Handynasty mural in the Wuliang Temple in Jiaxiang county, Shandong province.
ZhuNai-cheng, the Director of Institute of archaeology Information Center ofChinese Academy of Social Sciences, thought in his book ‘The Origin andFormation of China Dragon (中华龙：起源和形成ISBN:9787108030771) that it was Sima Qian who wrote a story about a dragon andLiu Bang’s mother, started giving a linkage between Dragon and emperor. SinceHan Dynasty, dragon was slowly evolved into the symbol of the Imperial rights. Thedragon became a symbol of power, strength, and good luck after Han Dynasty.
The Reasonthat Nüwa started to have an image of half people and half snake(or Dragon)since Han Dynasty (206BC – 220 AD) was because Satan (The Serpent, The Dragon,The Snake) deceived mankind and let them believe in the Dragon worship.
There wasalso a fiction of Nuwa that Nuwa was from an ethnic group who worshippedphoenix. This possibly came from the bird worship history in ancient China.
Archaeologistsand Scientists had discovered, many groups in ancient China chose bird as theirtotem. Such as: people in Shandong Peninsula before Zhou Dynasty (1050BC－256BC);And Shang Dynasty (1600BC—1046BC),Shi Jing recorded: God Orders Xuan Bird to Give Birth to Shang. From bird,ancient China started to worship Chinese phoenix/phoenix, queen/king of allbirds, it was a symbol of good luck.
4.5 Threefamous Flood recorded in Ancient China
According to theliterature available, ancient China had recorded three famous Floods: NüwaFlood, Gong Gong Flood and Da Yu Flood
Nüwa Flood, Gong GongFlood and Da Yu Flood were three different floods.
4.5.1 Nüwa Flood happened before 20000 years ago.
In the book: <Huainanzi, chapter 6: Lanmingxun (览冥训)> (179 - 122 BC) author: Liu An, "Nüwa Mended the Sky": In remote antiquity, the four corners collapsed, and the earth descended into chaos: the firmament was no longer able to cover everything, and the earth was no longer able to support itself; fire burned wild, and waters flooded the land. Fierce beasts ate common people, and ferocious birds attacked the old and the weak. Nüwa repaired the Heavens; established the Four Corners of the Earth; stopped the Big Flood water. China became peaceful; Evil animals died; Good people grew;
There is a similar story about big flood in Maya records.
Maya Five Sun JI calendar is a record of Maya historical changes. Ancient Maya people believed human started from 23614 BCE, First Sun JI (MATLACTIL ART) (23614 BCE - 18489 BCE) was destroyed in a flood, the mysterious scientists think that was Noah's flood.
All most all fossils of modern Homo sapiens showed that modern humans started between 30000 - 20000 years ago.
Quaternary glaciation, also known as the Pleistocene glaciation, the current ice age or simply the ice age, refers to the period from 2.58 Ma (million years ago) to present, in which permanent ice sheets were established in Antarctica and perhaps Greenland, and fluctuating ice sheets have occurred elsewhere (for example, the Laurentide ice sheet). During the colder episodes — referred to as glacial periods — large ice sheets also existed in Europe, North America, and Siberia. The south edge of ice sheet reached North latitude 50 in Europe, North latitude 40 in America around 20000 years ago.
The so called ends of the earth located near North latitude 40 in Asia and America, South latitude 40 in Australia. East end of the earth in Weihai prefecture of China was North latitude: 37.23, East Longitude:122.41; West end of the earth in Western America was about North latitude: between 35-40, East Longitude: between120-125; South end of the earth in Melbourne of Australia was near South latitude 40.
According to the Holy Bible, Noah Flood lasted 150 days. At that time, most land on the earth was under the ice sheet. In a short period of 150 days, ice sheet could not be melt under water. And it could not leave many Geological traces on the earth.
Later climate warming brought to result in rising sea level. According to NASA, the sea level was 120 m lower as of around 20,000 years ago. Temperature rose quickly as of about 20,000-6000 years ago. After the ice sheets began to melt and retreat, the sea level rose rapidly. By the mid-Holocene period, 6000 years ago, glacial melting had essentially ceased. [2]
As of 6000 years ago, the sea level near Shandong Peninsula was 2-5meters higher than today’s present sea level. A lot of dry lands of the present Shandong Peninsula were under the sea. 5500 years ago, also the sea level was 2-5 meters lower than present sea level.
[2] Vivien Gornitz, Sea Level Rise, After the Ice Melted and Today, Jan 2007, NASA, http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/briefs/gornitz_09/
4.5.2 Gong Gong Flood happened 10000 years ago.
4.5.2.1 Historicalwritten records of Gong Gong Flood
"Questionsof Tang" (汤问篇) (Liezi,chapter 5: "Questions of Tang" (卷第五汤问篇)> (475 - 221 BC) author: Lie Yukou) had clearly indicated that after Nüwa finished hertasks (Repairedthe heavens; Established the four corners of the earth (The Ends of the Earth);Stopped The Big Flood), later then Gong Gong(共工)fight with Zhuan Xu(颛顼) for theleadership. Gong Gong saw that he was losing,He bumped hishead against Mount Buzhou (不周山)inanger. （In Chinese：《汤问》故昔者女娲氏练五色石以补其阙；断鳌之足以立四极。其后共工氏与颛顼争为帝，怒而触不周之山，折 天柱，绝地维；故天倾西北，日月辰星就焉；地不满东南，故百川水潦归焉。）
Thepillar of the earth collapsed and caused the earth to tilt towards thenorthwest and the southeast land sinking lower. Water changed it’s flowing tosoutheast.
Therewere also some other written records of Gong Gong bumping his head againstMount Buzhou (不周山) inanger.
“HuaiNan Zi” had the same written stories of Gong Gong as "Questions ofTang".
《天文训, 淮南子》：“昔者共工与颛顼争为帝，怒而触不周之山，天柱折，地维绝。天倾西北，故日月星辰移焉；地不满东 南，故水潦尘埃归焉。”
“ShenYi Jing. Xi Bei Huang Jing” had a record of Gong Gong too: There were someonelived in Northwest, He had human face, red hears, snake body, and human handsand feet. He ate cereals and meat. He was ferocious, stubborn and foolish; Hewas called Gong Gong. 《神异经.西北荒经》“西北荒有人焉，人面，朱发，蛇身，人手足，而食五谷禽兽。贪恶愚顽，名曰共工。”
(Inancient China, mankind was named with Tribal clan’s name. Gong Gong was thetribal clan’s name too, and its totem was human face, red hears, snake body andhuman hands and feet)
4.5.2.2 Sciencediscovery proved that Gong Gong flood possibly happened 10000 years ago.
Thestory of Gong Gong bumping his head against Mount Buzhou was possibly a veryserious earthquake, which caused the Earth's rotation axis shifting.
Here,“the pillar of the sky” was exactly “The pillar of the earth”; it was the Earth'srotation axis. TheEarth'srotation axis shifting caused great calamities on the Earth, and big changes onthe earth.
Accordingto the story, the earth tilted to the northwest; seeing from the earth, itseemed that the moon and stars’ locations had changes. The southeast land ofChina sank lower, while The Western land of China uplifted; and all the rivers changedit’s flowing to southeast.
a) Scientists had discovered that uplift ofTIBETAN PLATEAU had been suddenly rapid at a rate of 7cm per year 10000 yearsago.
b) According to historical records, Yellow Riverhad changed its estuary from Tianjin (north) to Qing County (southeast); andlater, its estuary kept shifting to southeast.
《山海经•北山经》大河下游大致北流到永定河冲积扇的南缘，向东经过雄县、霸县一线，到今天天津市区附近入 海；
《禹贡》大河下游在今深县与《山经》大河别流，穿过今河北平原中部，于青县以东入海；
Scientists haddiscovered that Earthquake could change Earth's rotation.
TheEarth spins on an axis that is tilted some 23.5° from the vertical. But this positionis far from constant – the planet's axis is constantly shifting in response tochanges in the distribution of mass around the Earth.
JPLresearch scientist Richard Gross computed how Earth's rotation should havechanged as a result of the Feb. 27 2010 quake. Using a complex model, he andfellow scientists came up with a preliminary calculation that the quake shouldhave shortened the length of an Earth day by about 1.26 microseconds (amicrosecond is one millionth of a second). Gross calculates the quake shouldhave moved Earth's figure axis (the axis about which Earth's mass is balanced)by 2.7 milliarcseconds (about 8 centimeters, or 3 inches). Earth’s figure axisis not the same as its north-south axis; they are offset by about 10 meters(about 33 feet).
Bycomparison, Gross said the same model estimated the 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatranearthquake should have shortened the length of day by 6.8 microseconds andshifted Earth's axis by 2.32 milliarcseconds (about 7 centimeters, or 2.76inches).
Landererand colleagues estimate that the melting of Greenland's ice is already causingEarth's axis to tilt at an annual rate of about 2.6 centimetres – and that ratemay increase significantly in the coming years.
IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change said Over the next century, the subtle effect isexpected to cause the northern pole of Earth's spin axis to shift by roughly1.5 centimetres per year in the direction of Alaska and Hawaii.
4.5.3 Da Yu Flood happened about 4500-5000 years ago.
Accordingto “Shan Hai Jing”, the Tribal clan of the Gong Gong made flood again duringYao, Shun, and Yu period. Da Yu fought with Gong Gong, deportation them andexiled them to You Zhou.
Archaeologicalevidences could prove that Da yu flood happened 4500-5000 years ago.
Thereare three archaeological sites which remain the flood phenomena: Handan,Luoyang, Wugong (Xu xi Zhuang andzhao jialai).
Anarchaeological site located in a stream channel near Luo Yang (It belongs tolongShan Culture) indicated that People living in lower places were much earlierthan upper places. Lower places were before flood; upper places were afterflood. 5000 years ago, those people shifted from lower places to upper places.
Wugongarchaeological site indicated that Xu Xi Zhuang located in lower places; ZhaoJia Lai located in upper places. 5000 years ago, People shifted from Xu XiZhuang to Zhao Jia Lai.
Some written recordsabout Da Yu Flood
《淮南子•本经篇》“舜之时，共工振滔洪水，以薄空桑。”
《淮南子》说“共工振滔洪水，以薄空桑”，
《山海经•大荒西经》中提到“有禹攻共工国山”，
《荀子·成相篇》中说：“禹有功，抑下鸿，为民除害逐共工”，
《尚书·舜典》说：“流共工于幽州，放驩兜于崇山，窜三苗于三危，殛鲧于羽山，四罪而天下咸服。”《括地志 》亦说：“故龚城在檀州燕乐县界，故老传云舜流共工幽州，居此城。”清人顾炎武作《昌平山水记》稱，“其城 仍在，亦曰共城，在密云县东北五十里。”
5. China Pangu and Nuwa Legends had great similarities with Biblestories of the Creation and the Big Flood
5.1 ChinaPangu Legend had great similarities with Bible stories of the Creation
Accordingto the Genesis 1, the universe was formless and empty and darkness. It was Godwho created universe (the heavens and the earth). God created everything on theearth.
Accordingto Pangu Legend, the universe was formless. It was Pangu who started theuniverse. Everything on the earth came from Pangu.
5.2 China NüwaLegend had great similarities with Bible stories of the Big Flood
5.2.1 Nüwa and Noah
FromNüwa’s story, we knew there was a big flood. This flood was exactly the same flood of Noah (Genesis 6). The waterswere from the heavens and the springs of the deep.
5.2.2 Nüwa andThe Four Corners of the Earth (The Ends of the Earth)
TheHoly Bible told us that after the Big Flood, mankind firstly settled in Shinar,later Mankind were scattered by the Lord over the face of the whole earth afterBabel (Genesis 11:9). The phrase ‘Whole Earth’ clearly told us that The Ends ofthe Earth were definitely not near the land of Middle East where Jerusalem, theHoly city, God's Capital city on the earth located; They should include:Easternmost place in China; Westernmost place in USA; Northernmost place nearArctic Circle; Southernmost place in Australia and New Zealand .
http://peacepink.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-ends-of-the-earth
AccordingNüwa Legend, after The Big Flood, Nüwa established The Four Corners of theEarth (In Chinese”立四极”).
AfterNüwa finishing God’s tasks, Heavens were repaired; The Four Corners of theEarth (The Ends of the Earth) were established; Flood water were dried; Chinabecame peaceful; Evil animals died; Good people grew; (In Chinese苍天补，四极正；淫水涸，冀州平；狡虫死，颛民生; 背方州，抱圆天),Then She left Square earth and enfolded (went to) Round Heaven.
In ancient Chineseculture, Chinese thought: “Heaven was high and round – Round Heaven; and theearth was low and rectangular – Square Earth”
背（Bei） means “leave”; suchas: 背井离乡（Bei Jing Li Xiang）（leave one’s native home）
抱（Bao） means “enfold”. Hereit means “go to”.
5.2.3 Nüwa and Angel
TheBible uses the terms מלאך אלהים (mal'akh Elohim; messenger of God), מלאך יהוה(mal'akh YHWH; messenger of the Lord), בני אלהים (b'nai Elohim; sons of God)and הקודשים (ha-qodeshim; the holy ones) to refer to beings traditionallyinterpreted as angels.
Danielis the first biblical figure to refer to individual angels by name. The writerincludes the names Gabriel (God's primary messenger) in Daniel 9:21 and Michael(the holy fighter) in Daniel 10:13. These are part of Daniel's apocalypticvisions and are an important part of all apocalyptic literature.
Angelsare created by God, and carrying out God's tasks "praiseye Him, all His angels: praise ye Him, all His hosts... for He spoke and theywere made. He commanded and they were created..." (Psalms 148:2-5;Colossians 1:16).
FromChina Legend, Nüwa appeared only after Pangu opened up the universe. Nüwa wascreated by Pangu.
Wecan consider Pangu to be God, and Nüwa to be an Angel created by God. Nüwacarried out God’s tasks after The Big Flood.
Themain tasks of Nüwa were to work for God: to repair the heavens; to establishthe four corners of the earth (The ends of the Earth); to kill the blackdragon; to stop the flood.
6 Conclution
Total Comments 0
