Before Heaven and Earth

01

Chapter One: Primordial Chaos

5 entries

1. 01What Was the World Like at the Beginning of Chinese Myth?EncyclopediaFOLTXT
2. 02Was Hundun a State or a Deity?ConceptFOLTXT
3. 03Where Does “Heaven and Earth Were Chaotic Like an Egg” Come From?ResearchFOLTXT
4. 04Why Does China Have No Single Unified Creation Account?ResearchTXT
5. 05The Birth of the Cosmos in Chinese MythEncyclopediaFOLTXT

02

Chapter Two: Pangu

8 entries

1. 01PanguFigureFOLTXT
2. 02Was Pangu China’s Earliest Creation Deity?ResearchFOLTXT
3. 03Why Do Pre-Qin Texts Say So Little About Pangu?ResearchTXT
4. 04Pangu Is Born Within Primordial ChaosLegendFOLTXT
5. 05Why Does Pangu Grow for Eighteen Thousand Years?ResearchFOLTXT
6. 06What Does Pangu’s “Nine Changes a Day” Mean?ConceptFOLTXT
7. 07Why Do Heaven and Earth Separate?EventFOLTXT
8. 08Do Pangu’s Cosmic Opening and Bodily Transformation Belong to One Narrative Layer?ResearchFOLTXT

03

Chapter Three: Heaven and Earth Form

8 entries

1. 01The Clear Yang Becomes Heaven; the Murky Yin Becomes EarthConceptFOLTXT
2. 02Why Does Heaven Rise One Zhang Each Day?ConceptFOLTXT
3. 03Why Does Earth Thicken One Zhang Each Day?ConceptFOLTXT
4. 04Why Are Heaven and Earth Ninety Thousand Li Apart?ConceptFOLTXT
5. 05SunConceptFOLTXT
6. 06MoonConceptFOLTXT
7. 07StarsConceptFOLTXT
8. 08How Did the Cosmos Acquire Direction and Scale?ConceptFOLTXT

04

Chapter Four: All Things Emerge

10 entries

1. 01Pangu’s Body Becomes the WorldLegendFOLTXT
2. 02Mountains and LandscapesConceptFOLTXT
3. 03Rivers and WaterwaysConceptFOLTXT
4. 04The Four ExtremitiesConceptFOLTXT
5. 05KunlunEncyclopediaFOLTXT
6. 06Mount BuzhouEncyclopediaFOLTXT
7. 07WindConceptFOLTXT
8. 08RainConceptFOLTXT
9. 09Plants and TreesConceptFOLTXT
10. 10Birds, Beasts, Insects and FishEncyclopediaFOLTXT

05

Chapter Five: Cosmic Order

8 entries

1. 01The Alternative Creation Model of “The Great One Gave Birth to Water”ResearchTXT
2. 02Is “The Dao Gave Birth to One” Myth or Philosophy?ResearchTXT
3. 03Cosmic OrderConceptFOLTXT
4. 04How Do Yin and Yang Organize the Cosmos?ConceptTXT
5. 05How Do the Four Seasons Appear?ConceptTXT
6. 06The Motions of Sun and Moon and the Order of TimeConceptFOLTXT
7. 07The Four Directions and the CenterConceptFOLTXT
8. 08How Do Different Creation Models Coexist?ResearchTXT

06

Chapter Six: Before Humanity

6 entries

1. 01All ThingsConceptFOLTXT
2. 02Divine BeingsConceptFOLTXT
3. 03NatureConceptFOLTXT
4. 04Mythic BeastsEncyclopediaFOLTXT
5. 05The Natural World Before Living BeingsEncyclopediaFOLTXT
6. 06Cosmic Order Before the Birth of HumanityResearchFOLTXT