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Chinese Mythological Gods (Images of Asia)

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Like any myth, Chinese myths tell why the world began. They tell also the why of bad things, such as drought, flood and plague. They also guess about after death. In contrast, like any legend, Chinese legends tell about real people of long ago.

The first CHINESE MYTHOLOGICAL GODS were around before the world. For example, Daoists believed their great master Hongjun Laozu to be life-giving nature, from before the world was made. The actual worldmaker, either Pangu the giant or Yuanshi Tianzun, was in the next set of gods.

Some were gods of the ancestors of the Chinese people, in what's now southern Shanxi province, about 6,000-7,000 years ago. Others these ancestors got from the people they met in moving into what's now central and southern China. The latest gods were believed to have come down from heaven just 100 years ago. Ordinary Chinese people saw all of them as helpers drawing on the power of the highest god, the Jade Emperor Yu Huang Dadi. Favorite helpful gods have been Lei Gong, for kidnapped children, orphans, and widows; Tai Sui, whenever the ground's disturbed; and Yang Jian, during trouble.

Then came the heroes of legend. They showed up as demigods, sage emperors, and founding ministers of Chinese culture. For example, Yo and Shun were last of the 5 legendarily wise emperors. All Chinese rulers were supposed to be like them.

There were also supposed to be the same kinds of ministers on earth, as in heaven. Rule in both places needed ministers of agriculture, exorcisms, finance, fire, the 5 sacred mountains, medicine, public works, thunder, time, war, and water. A favorite was Yu the engineer. His canals and embankments tamed the "untameable" Yellow river.

A lot of this was written in two stories. One was the Fengshen Yanyi, or Identification of the gods, from the Ming dynasty of 1368-1644. Carvers made their images and statues from its descriptions. The other was the Xiyou Ji, or Journey to the West, from the 16th century. It was about a Buddhist monk, Xuanzang, bringing Buddhist books, icons and images to China about 1,200 years ago.

So Keith G Stevens did an excellent job of sorting out an unknown subject for me. I'd read other books by him. His book gives a good understanding of Chinese culture, ...

Les mythes chinois nous disaient pourquoi le monde etait cree, pourquoi il y avait tant de mal, et ce qui se passait apres la mort. Bien sur, il s'agissait aussi des dieux mythologiques, tels que Lei Gong, qui s'occupaient des orphelins et des veuves. Les legendes chinoises nous racontaient la vie des braves gens anciens. Par exemple, Yo et Shun etaient les derniers de 5 empereurs sages auxquels tous les souverains chinois devaient se ressembler. Il y avait des ministres des cieux et de la terre, tels que l'ingenieur Yu qui savaient soumettre la riviere Jaune tellement inapprivoisable. Alors l'auteur Keith Stevens nous donne un livre bien fait, bien ecrit sur un theme dont je ne savais rien. Bravo!