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Taoism Mythology

Taoism is a religion with about 225 million followers that was started around 600 BC by Lao Tzu. It believes that happiness is found by going with the natural flow of things rather than working hard. Taoism sees the world as made of opposing but balanced forces of yin and yang. The ancient Chinese creation myth of Pan Ku tells that in the beginning there was only a formless universe like an egg. After 18,000 years it hatched and the lighter yang elements became heaven while the heavier yin became earth. The giant Pan Ku was also born and through 18,000 years of work with magical creatures, shaped the world as we know it. When he died, his body transformed into the elements

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248 views2 pages

Taoism Mythology

Taoism is a religion with about 225 million followers that was started around 600 BC by Lao Tzu. It believes that happiness is found by going with the natural flow of things rather than working hard. Taoism sees the world as made of opposing but balanced forces of yin and yang. The ancient Chinese creation myth of Pan Ku tells that in the beginning there was only a formless universe like an egg. After 18,000 years it hatched and the lighter yang elements became heaven while the heavier yin became earth. The giant Pan Ku was also born and through 18,000 years of work with magical creatures, shaped the world as we know it. When he died, his body transformed into the elements

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MarleneAgustin
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Taoist Mythology

Tao means "way" or "path." Taoism is sometimes spoken as Daoism. It is a religio


n with about 225 million followers, although it's impossible to calculate the ex
act number of followers because many of these followers also follow other religi
ons. most followers believe that it was started a little before 600 BC by Lao Tz
u(or Tsu) . Lao believed that the way to go to happiness was to "Go with the flo
w." He thought instead of working hard to get things done that people should spe
nd their time trying to find out an easier way to do things. He believed that th
e yin(the dark side) was the women, still things, and death. The yang(the bright
/bright side) was the side of men, the sun, things that move, dragons, and birth
. Everyone has yin and yang in them, but it's important to keep them balanced be
cause some chinese doctors believe a lot of illnesses come from too much yin or
too much yang. Lao also thought is was important to make sure there are lots of
laws about how people should behave.
The Myth of Pan Ku: Creation and the Universal Egg
In the beginning of time, there was only chaos. The elements and gases of the he
avens and earth freely mingled, and the organizing principle was dormant. It lay
dormant somewhere inside this elemental cosmos, awaiting the right moment to be
gin the transformation. The shape of this primeval mass was something like an eg
g.
For 18,000 years the universe remained in this state, until the incubation was f
inally complete, and the egg hatched. Then the heavens and the earth came into e
xistence. The lighter, most pure substances floated upward and became the heaven
s. These elements were named yang. The heavier, more impure substances descended
and became the earth. These were named yin.
From the same forces, a third, the giant Pan Ku, was born as well. As he grew, h
is sheer size divided the heavens and the earth. The giant lived for another 18,
000 years. With the assistance of four creatures, a tortoise, a phoenix, a drago
n, and a unicorn, he labored daily to mold the earth. Together they created the
world as we know it today.
When Pan Ku finally died, his body was transformed. His left eye became the sun

and his right eye became the moon. His blood became the rivers and oceans, his b
reath became the wind, his sweat became the rain, and his voice became the thund
er. His flesh became the soil, and from the fleas living on his body, the human
race sprang into being. In this way, the stage was set for the pageant of histor
y to unfold.
The story of Pan Ku is the Chinese myth of creation. The ancient myths of creati
on from virtually all cultures show that at the root of human experience is the
belief that our world has an organizing principle. After this creative force app
ears, everything else takes the form of opposing forces: heaven and earth, black
and white, day and night, good and evil. These are the ideas of the yang and th
e yin, of the masculine and feminine. These opposing qualities are, by their fun
damental natures, equal in all respects but forever separate entities.
Here we see the theme of the One giving rise to the two in the order of creation
, and of a creator who, like Pan Ku, works with primordial substances to bring a
n entire world into being. This theme will expanded upon in the next section as
we discuss the connection between Taoism and nature.

http://people.howstuffworks.com/meaning-of-taoism1.htm
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/china/philosophy/taoism.htm
http://creationstoriesmyths.weebly.com/taoism.html

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