Mythology
Chinese mythology
China has thousands of years of stories, which have reached us from very ancient books such as the “Classic of Mountains and Seas”, from folk tales and from great novels. There are giants who create the world, goddesses who mend the sky, dragons who bring rain and a monkey king who defies the gods. Many Chinese festivals today, like the New Year or the Mid-Autumn Festival with its full moon, are still celebrated in memory of these myths.
Who they were, where, and how we know
China has one of the longest written traditions in the world, and its myths come from many periods and many peoples. There is no single «book of myths»: the stories are scattered across collections of different eras.
Among the oldest texts is the «Shan Hai Jing», the «Classic of Mountains and Seas» (written between about the 4th and 1st century BC), which describes marvellous creatures, and the «Huainanzi» (2nd century BC), with the story of Nüwa mending the sky. Later came the 16th-century novels, such as «Journey to the West», with the Monkey King Sun Wukong, and the «Fengshen Yanyi», with heroes such as Nezha.
The best-loved figures are Pangu, the giant who separated sky and earth, Nüwa, the goddess who shaped human beings, dragons, a symbol of good fortune and not of fear, the phoenix fenghuang and the qilin.
The cards
Panguat the beginning of the world · giant of creation not scary at all
NüwaChina · creator goddess not scary at all
Sun Wukong, the Monkey Kingthe Mountain of Flowers and Fruit · monkey king not scary at all
The Chinese Dragonthe rivers, seas and skies of China · rain dragon not scary at all
FenghuangChina · bird of peace not scary at all
Chang'e and Hou Yithe Moon · goddess of the Moon not scary at all
QilinChina · creature of good omen not scary at all
The Nian and the New Yearthe villages of China · New Year monster a little scary
The Legend of the White SnakeHangzhou, West Lake · love story a little scary
The Cowherd and the Weaver Girlthe sky, on the Milky Way · a story of stars not scary at all
The Four Symbolsthe sky of China · guardians of the four directions not scary at all
The Jade Emperorthe palace of heaven · ruler of heaven not scary at all
GuanyinChina and East Asia · bodhisattva of compassion not scary at all
NezhaChentang, on the Eastern Sea · the boy warrior a little scary
Zhong KuiChang'an, the old capital · demon hunter a little scaryWho comes from whom
Tap a name: its parents and children light up. Names with a medallion open their card (with a finger: tap them twice).
Places of the myths
- Mount Kunlun
- the sacred mountain where the immortals and the Queen Mother of the West lived.
- The Moon
- where Chang'e and the jade rabbit live.
- The Milky Way
- the river of stars that separates the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.
- West Lake
- in Hangzhou, where the story of the White Snake takes place.
Main sources
- Shanhaijing, Classic of Mountains and Seas
- Huainanzi (2nd century BC)
- Journey to the West (16th century)
- Anne Birrell, Chinese Mythology: An Introduction (1993)
GreekRomanNorseEgyptianCelticMesopotamianHinduJapaneseAztec and MayaAfricanPolynesianAboriginalSlavic
Who's behind this
Ciro Simone Irmici
I build websites, apps and games. I built the Atlas with artificial intelligence and I check every card and every source myself. I am not a scholar of mythology: I tell these legends with respect and always say where they come from. If you know a legend from your town, write to me.
More of my work: free audiobooks on YouTube · ebooks on Gumroad · Apple Books · music on Spotify and YouTube Music