The familiar account combines several motifs: a cosmos shaped like an egg, the separation of heaven and earth, and a body transformed into the natural world. These motifs reached later readers through texts and quotations produced at different times.
Pangu opens this archive because the entry makes the site’s method visible. Narrative time begins with creation; evidence time begins with surviving texts.
01The familiar version
Pangu awakens inside primordial chaos, separates heaven and earth, and becomes the mountains, rivers and celestial bodies after death.
02Early sources
The lost Sanwu Liji is commonly associated with an early written account. Later encyclopedic quotations and works such as Shuyi Ji preserve and expand the narrative.
03Evolution of the figure
Separate creation motifs, regional traditions and popular retellings gradually produced the unified figure known today.
04Source comparison
- Historical record: establishes the history of texts, not a historical Pangu.
- Folklore: contains the acts of creation and cosmic transformation.
- Media and web: continue to reorganize the mythology.
05Related figures and traditions
Related entries: primordial chaos, Nüwa, Fuxi and Chinese creation narratives.
06Bibliography
- Yiwen Leiju, quotations attributed to Sanwu Liji
- Shuyi Ji, relevant passages
- Modern studies of Chinese creation mythology
07Revision history
29 July 2026: First structured edition with narrative chronology, textual chronology, source labels and a linked Chinese edition.