Chinese Mythology Essay -- essays research papers

Mythology is a collection of myths or the study of ancient traditional stories of gods or heroes, giving an explanation to an unexplained event. For Plato, the fist bashn user of the term, muthologia meant know more than the telling of stories (Kirk 8). Mythology is an all-important(a) aspect to the world, today. Through the study of myths help us develop an idea of what the coatings were like. It includes hints that exhibit how they lived their lives. Myth is its serious purpose and its splendor to the culture (Lansford 1). Every culture has its own myth that explains about the nature of that particular culture. The Chinese culture has been around for many centuries, its myths have accumulated into varies stories of gods and their culture. mainland China is the worlds oldest continuous civilization (Cotterel 9). Evidence show the earliest Chinese civilization to be found around 1650 B.C. The ascendents of Chinese mythology, started around the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Influenced by alchemist ideas, Taoist and Buddhist superstitions, various writers created storied about their enigmatic surroundings. The beginning of the Chinese civilization is based on mythology. One of the creation myths is about the beginning of the world. In it, the world began as an egg and cracking open, the top of the shell grew to be the sky, the lower shell became the Earth, and in the middle stepped a man named Pan-gu. Mythology of the ancient Chinese is apparent through art, music and literature. Since, in that respect is no explanation of how the Chinese civilization began mythology has been a way of explanation to the Chinese culture and other cultures around the world, today. Chinese mythology, as with many other cultures, has many gods and goddesses that are in charge of various things. In the antediluvian Chinese culture, there are gods and goddesses for every important aspect of the peoples life, even things as unlikely as the stove god and the door god. Other deities that were important to the Chinese people were the gods of the elements such as Chu Jung, the fire god, Lei Kun, the thunder god, the wind god, and the lightning goddess. Most of the element gods devoted themselves to punishing criminals and keeping evil hard liquor away. There were also important gods in charge of fields such as Kuan Ti, the god of war, Kuan Yin, the goddess of c... ...an anyone could possibly fathom. If everyone became educated about other culture, there would be little to know unknown, and there would probably be less hate in the world. Mythology, the study of myths, gives people an insight to others dreams, hopes, and their fears. We all have hopes, dreams, and fears. By training about other cultures hopes, dreams, and fears we can feel more connected to each other and reach out. Mythology is a key element in keeping two-eyed violet without shedding blood. Work CitedCotterel, Arthur. Ancient China. Kirk, Geoffrey Stephen. Myth its meaning and functions in ancien t and other culture California University of California Press. 1970Lansford, Tyler. Mythology Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2002. Microsoft Corporation, 2002Owens, D.W. Ancient Chinese Mythology Gods and goddess folklore Google.com. November 5, 2003 Schafer, Edward H. Ancient China. New York Time Inc.1967Williams, Brians. Ancient China. Middlesex, England Reed Educational and Professional Publishing, Ltd. 1996