The charm of ancient classic myths and stories will always be there
▓ Zhang Lantao
If we compare the process of human understanding of the world to a long and endless ladder, then the myths of antiquity are at the forefront of this ladder. This is like opening a primitive window in the process of civilization, revealing a faint light to illuminate the ancestors, in the process of toddler, from the stage of intuition, perceptual and speculation, to the stage of gradual perfection of natural science, history, literature and art, religious concepts and philosophical ideas. To a certain extent, myths and legends are closely related to the birth of Chinese civilization.
Myths and legends in ancient times began from oral tradition, far earlier than written history, not a little earlier, but a long time earlier. Judging from the myths and stories recorded in relevant ancient books, it is clear at a glance: the time when the ancient myths and legends of the ancient ages are recorded in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" and "Huainanzi" respectively, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and the Western Han Dynasty, the difference is that the author of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" does not have a specific signature, which belongs to the crystallization of the collective wisdom of cultural people with rich imagination in ancient times, and the signature of "Huainanzi" is Liu An and so on.
The reason why our Chinese civilization exists independently is that in ancient times, there were quite a few ancients who loved to use their brains and brought their imagination to the extreme, thus creating many supernatural and surreal myths.
These myths and stories are so wonderful that when we read them now, we are full of admiration and awe for the extraordinary imagination of these ancients. These myths are both independent and interrelated, such as the well-known "Jingwei Reclamation", "Houyi Shooting the Sun", "Nuwa Mending the Sky", "Kuafu Chasing the Sun", etc., which can be called ancient classic myths, which have been widely spread so far, and have a strong charm of mythology and art.
Jingwei reclamation
Jingwei who aspires to reclamation for other people's drowning
For example, the story of Jingwei's reclamation recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, the Classic of the North Mountains, is the explanation of natural phenomena by the ancestors, expressing their desire to conquer and dominate natural forces. In other words, what you can't do by yourself is imagined to be realized and accomplished by the power of the gods.
The original text of Jingwei reclamation is described in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas": "The mountain of the dove, on which there are many trees, there are birds, its shape is like a black, the head of the text, the white beak, barefoot, the name is Jingwei, its name is self-pity, it is the girl of the Yan Emperor, and the name is called the female baby." The girl swam in the East China Sea and drowned and did not return; Therefore, it is Jingwei, often called the wood and stone of the West Mountain, and is located in the East China Sea. ”
It is said that on the Fajiu Mountain in the area of Changzi County, Shanxi Province, there is a kind of mulberry forest that grows in it, and there is a taunting bird in it, which looks like an old crow, with a flower head, a sharp beak, and red feet, and its name is Jingwei, and it can make a sound like calling its own name.
Emperor Yan had a young daughter named Nuwa, who unfortunately drowned during a tour of the East China Sea. In order to commemorate her, Jingwei often filled the East China Sea with wood and stones from the West Mountain, praying that the tragedy of Nuwa would not happen again.
Hou Yi shoots the sun
Hou Yi shot every day
In the book "Huainanzi Benjing Training", only 95 words of ink are used to vividly narrate the mythical story of Houyi shooting the sun.
Excerpt from the original text: "When he was caught in Yao, he went out on the ten days, scorched the crops, killed the grass and trees, and the people had no food. Yao Nai made Yi Zhu chisel his teeth in the wilderness of Chou Hua, kill nine babies on the fierce water, pay the wind in the Ze of Qingqiu, shoot up for ten days and kill the snake, break the snake in the cave, capture the wind in the mulberry forest, all the people are happy, and Yao thinks that he is the Son of Heaven. ”
Basically, when Emperor Yao (Emperor Tang) took over the throne, there were 10 suns shining in the sky, and there was a severe drought, which scorched the crops, dried the grass and trees, and cut off the people's food source. Not only that, people are also attacked by monsters such as dragon heads and tiger claws, teeth like chisel teeth, water and fire with nine heads, and often encounter fierce birds, wild boars and giant pythons, which have become the scourge of mutilating people's lives.
Di Yao felt the seriousness of the matter, and immediately summoned Hou Yi, a warrior who was good at archery, to receive the mission of driving him away for ten days, and asked him to first kill the fierce man-eating monster in the southern Chouhua area, and then kill the nine-baby monster on the shore of the fierce water in the north, and strangled the fierce big bird with a rope in the field of Qingqiu in the east. The world is peaceful, and all the people rejoice and support Di Yao as the Son of Heaven.
This myth tells us that the natural environment in ancient times was very harsh, and it was necessary to conquer and transform nature, and seek and create natural conditions conducive to survival, so that they could reproduce and pass on life from generation to generation.
Hou Yi shoots the sun or is called Yi shoots the ninth day, which is the two historical documents of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" and "Huainanzi", which describe the different statements of this mythical story, but in fact have the same meaning. Sima Qian wrote in his Historical Records. "Justice" also mentions the matter of Hou Yi shooting the sun, which shows that the myth and legend of Hou Yi shooting the sun was widely spread in the Western Han Dynasty.
Although Hou Yi's shooting of the sun is a mythical story, Hou Yi is a real person from ancient times. Di Yao greatly appreciated his superb archery skills, and put today's Shangqiu under his management. At that time, Hou Yi had a great influence and was worshiped by people, and was known as the handsome and dashing, graceful and suave hero of the Great God Yi. He shot down 9 suns in the sky, destroyed so many demons and monsters on the ground, and helped people get out of the sea of suffering and restore normal life order.
Hou Yi shoots the sun is different from the apocryphal composition of today's composition, but shows the rich imagination of ancient people.
Following the logical framework of this myth, we can reproduce in our imagination what a feat beyond nature "Hou Yi shoots the sun": in order to save mankind, Hou Yi opened the samurai frame, stretched his bow and scissors, and shot at the extra 9 suns in the sky with one arrow, and the suns he shot all fell to the earth in turn with bursting fireballs, and from then on, only one sun in the sky was left as we see now.
In fact, there have never been 10 suns in the sky, so the story of Hou Yi shooting the sun is a myth.
In the emergence and development of our Chinese civilization, myths and legends not only play a role in rendering, but also add a confusing sense of agility. This is precisely the color that the ancient Egyptian civilization, the ancient Babylonian civilization, and the ancient Indian civilization did not have.
Nuwa mends the sky and comments newly
In ancient times, Jingwei, Houyi, Nuwa, Kuafu, etc. were all very powerful people, regardless of whether they did as miraculous as the legend said, but this did not prevent them from playing an unyielding and leading role in the process of conquering nature.
Let's just say Nuwa, it's amazing (it's a pity that she drowned in the East China Sea), first of all, her identity is prominent, the mother and ancestor of the Chinese nation, she not only has the ability to make people from the soil, but also can refine colorful stones, the heavens make up for the leaks, prevent the endless invasion of the earth by the torrential rain, protect the growth of crops, lush forests, rich life, and peaceful days.
Liu An, the grandson of Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, was very interested in the legend of Nuwa mending the heavens, and recorded it in his book "Huainanzi Lan Yin Xun": "In ancient times, the four poles were wasted, Kyushu was divided, the sky was not covered, and the earth was not circumferential. The fire is burning but not extinguished, and the water is vast and the ocean is endless; Beasts eat the people, and birds grab the old and weak. So Nuwa refined the five-colored stone to make up for the sky, broke the turtle enough to set up the four poles, killed the black dragon to help Jizhou, and accumulated ashes to stop lewd water. Replenish the sky, the four poles are positive, the lewd water is dry, Jizhou is flat, the cunning worm is dead, and the people's livelihood is lost. ”
Although Liu An only served as the king of Huainan and had no chance with the emperor's dragon chair, he inherited the literary genes of his ancestors' "Song of the Great Wind", and wrote "Nuwa Mending the Sky" as both immersive and brilliant, so that our descendants all admire his talent and read his wonderful articles freely.
Liu An tells us in concise and concise language: In ancient times, the four pillars supporting the celestial bodies collapsed, and the earth of Kyushu collapsed, and the heavens covered the earth, all of which were contained in the meantime. A fire burned continuously, and the flood was like an ocean, boundless. All kinds of beasts of prey feed on people, and birds of prey use their claws to catch the old, weak, sick and disabled, which is unbearable.
As a result, Nuwa began to cultivate multicolored stones to make up for the leakage of the sky. With an idea, she cut off the four legs of the giant turtle in the sea to restore the four pillars that had collapsed earlier, and killed the oolong to save Jizhou, using the ashes of the accumulated reeds to stop the flooding, which achieved unexpected results.
Nuwa successfully repaired the sky, the four pillars supporting the celestial bodies, and re-established themselves majestically on the earth, the flood was conquered by her, Jizhou was safe, and the man-eating birds of prey were killed by Nuwa, and the people lived a safe and unharmed life from then on.
I thought that the myths and legends of "Nuwa Mending the Sky" were more wonderful in Liu An's pen than among the people. If it is said that the folk circulation is a blank, then after Liu An has been sorted out, enriched and polished, it has become a shining mythological boutique, and even has been interpreted as a classic of mythological art to circulate in the world.
It is conceivable that no matter what era, without the extreme ability of cultural people, where can it be wonderful?
From ancient times to the present, the sun hangs in the sky and shines brightly, and when it sets, it is the coming of night, and so on and so on, the cycle of day and night is as common as the copy and paste of a computer.
夸父逐日
The Kuafu who chases the sun
In ancient times, there was a man named Kuafu, also known as Bo Father, who was very curious about the sun hanging in the sky, which could emit the light of Gao Gao, and the transparency of the earth, so he had the idea of chasing the sun.
Kuafu chased after the pursuit of plucking the sun from the sky, and ran with the sun like crazy every day, until the place where the sun set, and then stopped running.
To say that he is not tired is definitely a lie. But he has a kind of long-cherished wish of "those who do not seek easy things to succeed", which supports his crazy behavior that he is tired of, and he is willing to do such a thing, and among his contemporaries, there is no second person who is infatuated with it, which is a very valuable spirit.
In ancient times, most of the touching stories were myths beyond nature, and cultured people were moved to record the story of Kuafu's chasing the sun in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas. In the classic works of "Overseas North Longitude":
"Praise the father and the sun to chase away, into the sun: thirsty, want to drink, drink in the river, Wei; The river and Wei are insufficient, and the north drinks Daze, but before it arrives, the road dies of thirst, abandons its staff, and turns into Deng Lin. ”
Kwafu chased the sun until sunset. Sweating all over his body, he was thirsty and wanted to drink water, but he drank all the water in the Yellow River and Wei River, and still did not quench his thirst. He was to drink water from the northern lakes to quench his thirst, and before he could get there, he was killed by an unbearable thirst on the way there. Kwafu threw his cane at the place where he died, and it turned into a peach grove.
The curiosity of Kuafu racing against the sun and wanting to take off the sun expresses the ancient ancestors of the Chinese nation through the myths and legends of "Kuafu Chasing the Sun", full of simple and naïve imagination and willpower.
Although Kuafu did something that was fruitless and could not be realized at all, Kuafu began to explore the mystery of the existence of the sun from then on, and for the generation of modern radio astronomical telescopes and celestial eyes, Kuafu was regarded as an astronomer in ancient times, and his main project was the sun, and he paid the price of his life for it.