Chinese legend about the appearance of a magical lake. Magic lake Manasarovar

China is an ancient country with a rich and varied mythology. The history and culture of the country go back several thousand years. The most advanced civilization of antiquity managed to preserve its heritage. Unique legends telling about the creation of the world, life and people have survived to our times. There are a huge number of ancient legends, but we will tell you about the most significant and interesting myths of Ancient China.

The Legend of Pan-gu - the Creator of the World

The first ones tell about the creation of the world. It is believed that it was created by the great deity Pan-gu. Pristine chaos reigned in space; there was no sky, no earth, no bright sun. It was impossible to determine where was up and where was down. There were no cardinal directions either. Space was a large and strong egg, inside of which there was only darkness. Pan-gu lived in this egg. He spent many thousands of years there, suffering from heat and lack of air. Tired of such a life, Pan-gu took a huge ax and hit the shell with it. From the impact it split, splitting into two parts. One of them, clean and transparent, turned into the sky, and the dark and heavy part became the earth.

However, Pan-gu was afraid that heaven and earth would close together again, so he began to hold the firmament, raising it higher every day.

For 18 thousand years Pan-gu held the firmament until it hardened. Having made sure that the earth and sky would never touch again, the giant let go of the vault and decided to rest. But while holding him, Pan-gu lost all his strength, so he immediately fell and died. Before his death, his body transformed: his eyes became the sun and the moon, his last breath became the wind, his blood flowed across the earth in the form of rivers, and his last cry became thunder. This is how the creation of the world is described.

The myth of Nuiva - the goddess who created people

After the creation of the world, Chinese myths tell about the creation of the first people. The goddess Nuiva, who lives in heaven, decided that there was not enough life on earth. While walking near the river, she saw hers, took some clay and began to sculpt a little girl. Having finished the product, the goddess showered it with her breath, and the girl came to life. Following her, Nuiva blinded and revived the boy. This is how the first man and woman appeared.

The goddess continued to sculpt people, wanting to fill the whole world with them. But this process was long and tedious. Then she took a lotus stem, dipped it in clay and shook it. Small clay lumps flew to the ground, turning into people. Fearing that she would have to sculpt them again, she ordered the creations to create their own offspring. This is the story told in Chinese myths about the origins of man.

The myth of the god Fusi, who taught people to fish

Humanity, created by a goddess named Nuiva, lived but did not develop. People didn’t know how to do anything, they just collected fruits from trees and hunted. Then the heavenly god Fusi decided to help people.

Chinese myths say that he wandered along the shore for a long time in thought, but suddenly a fat carp jumped out of the water. Fusi caught it with his bare hands, cooked it and ate it. He liked the fish and decided to teach people how to catch it. But Lung Wang opposed this, fearing that they would eat all the fish on earth.

The Dragon King proposed to prohibit people from catching fish with their bare hands, and Fusi, after thinking, agreed. For many days he thought about how he could catch fish. Finally, while walking through the forest, Fusi saw a spider weaving a web. And God decided to create networks of vines in her likeness. Having learned to fish, the wise Fusi immediately told people about his discovery.

Gun and Yu fight the flood

In Asia, the myths of Ancient China about the heroes Gun and Yu, who helped people, are still very popular. A misfortune has happened on earth. For many decades, the rivers overflowed violently, destroying the fields. Many people died, and they decided to somehow escape the misfortune.

Gun had to figure out how to protect himself from the water. He decided to build dams on the river, but he did not have enough stones. Then Gun turned to the heavenly emperor with a request to give him the magic stone “Sizhan”, which could build dams in an instant. But the emperor refused him. Then Gun stole the stone, built dams and restored order on earth.

But the ruler found out about the theft and took the stone back. Again the rivers flooded the world, and angry people executed Gunya. Now it was up to his son Yu to set things right. He again asked for "Sizhan", and the emperor did not refuse him. Yu began to build dams, but they did not help. Then, with the help of a celestial turtle, he decided to fly around the entire earth and correct the course of the rivers, directing them to the sea. His efforts were crowned with success, and he defeated the elements. As a reward they made him their ruler.

Great Shun - Chinese Emperor

The myths of China tell not only about deities and ordinary people, but also about the first emperors. One of them was Shun, a wise ruler whom other emperors should look up to. He was born into a simple family. His mother died early, and his father remarried. The stepmother could not love Shun and wanted to kill him. So he left home and went to the capital of the country. He was engaged in farming, fishing, and pottery. Rumors about the pious young man reached Emperor Yao, and he invited him to his service.

Yao immediately wanted to make Shun his heir, but before that he decided to test him. To do this, he gave him two daughters as wives. Under Yao's orders, he also pacified mythical villains who attacked people. Shun ordered them to protect the borders of the state from ghosts and demons. Then Yao gave up his throne to him. According to legend, Shun wisely ruled the country for almost 40 years and was revered by the people.

China tells us about how ancient people saw the world. Not knowing scientific laws, they believed that all natural phenomena were the acts of the old gods. These myths also formed the basis of ancient religions that still exist today.

Leifeng Pagoda was built in 977 (Northern Song time) by King Tian Hongchu in honor of the birth of his son. Under the pagoda there was a repository of Buddhist relics: a silver pagoda of Indian emperor Ayu, a figurine of Shakyamuni Buddha seated on a lotus, in turn standing on the head of a dragon, and a rare wood-carved sutra. Old photos of these relics are now displayed inside the pagoda, but it is not said where they went.

Photo 1 was taken from a boat on Lake Xihu (West Lake). Trees that look like naked Christmas trees near Moscow, eaten by a beetle, are not Christmas trees at all. This is a two-row swamp cypress or taxodium that sheds its needles in the winter. Found this out thanks to kmaal

The beautiful and one of the most famous Chinese love legends, “The White Snake,” is closely associated with the Leifeng Pagoda.

There is an escalator attached to Leifeng Tower for those who are too lazy to walk up.

// china-shore.livejournal.com

An old photograph of Leifeng Tower shortly before the collapse. The fact is that during the late Ming, at the end of the 16th century, Hangzhou was attacked by Japanese pirates. The pirates burned the tower, only its brick skeleton remained, all the wooden parts of the pagoda were burned. After the fire, the tower was not restored, so it stood, burnt, for almost 500 years. Why? More on this below.

// china-shore.livejournal.com

During the late Qing, rumors spread that parts of the Leifeng Pagoda protected against evil spirits, promoted the birth of sons, and helped in the breeding of silkworms. Of course, people began to dismantle the pagoda for amulets and amulets.

In 1924 the tower collapsed. Photo 4 shows what remains of the ancient tower. A new Leifeng Tower was erected over its remains in 2002.

// china-shore.livejournal.com

Inside the tower there is an elevator that will take you to the 4th, 3rd, 2nd floor. View of Hangzhou from the 4th floor of Leifeng Tower - in photos 5 and 6.

In photo 5. The edge of the Western Lake. Photo 1 (before the kata) was taken from the part of the lake on the right in the photo. There they are, the Christmas trees. not fir trees, but swamp cypresses.

// china-shore.livejournal.com

The island on the lake (photo 6) is a wonderful place, called the Island of Three Ponds Reflecting the Moon. You can buy a ticket for a ship going to the island from different sides of the lake and then go from there in different directions on the ship. This pleasure costs 70 (or 75, I don’t remember exactly) yuan per person.

On the left in photo 6 is the Su Dam, built by Su Dongpo, the poet and governor of Hangzhou in 1089. gern_babushka13 sent a wonderful piece written by the poet Su Shi.

The rain over Xihu has stopped.
The autumn distance is clear.
Half a sixth in the fall
There is more water here.

I'm heading back
Alone, without worries...
Let my frail boat
The wave is rocking!
Su Shi (Su Dongpo)

// china-shore.livejournal.com

Well, about why the Leifeng Tower was not restored, although it was not forgotten, it was a very famous, popular place. Emperors Kangxi (1654 - 1722) and Qianlong (1711 -1799) visited the tower several times and made inscriptions dedicated to it.

The tower was not restored because the very popular legend “White Snake” is associated with the tower and its destruction. The legend is depicted in carved pictures on one of the floors of the modern Leifeng Tower. I will use them for storytelling.

White and Blue snakes are sisters. They cultivated themselves for many years and became Celestials. But in Heaven they became bored and fled to earth to understand human life.

In photo 7. - Celestials watching the flight of the White snake to the ground. On the right in the photo, many will recognize the Eight Immortals. On the throne is Mother Lady of the West with a dragon staff in her hand and a curtain headdress, such as was worn by rulers in old China.

// china-shore.livejournal.com

The white snake, whose name in human form was Bai Suzhen, flies from Heaven to Earth, silly...

// china-shore.livejournal.com

On earth, Blue Snake, White Snake's sister, became a maid named Xiao Qing, she did not accumulate as much merit as her sister. The girls settled in Hangzhou. While walking on the day of the Qingming holiday (All Souls' Day), near the Broken Bridge on Lake Xihu (another famous place in present-day Hangzhou), the girls met a young man Xu Xian, an assistant pharmacist. Xiao Qing, seeing that her sister liked the young man, used magic to make it rain. Xu Xian hid the girls under the canopy of his boat and borrowed an umbrella, taking the girls' address. Meeting at the Broken Bridge and an umbrella as an excuse to get acquainted is a popular theme in Chinese paintings.

// china-shore.livejournal.com

Soon, Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian got married, moved to Zhenjiang and opened their own pharmacy. Bai Suzhen became pregnant. The young people were happy, but then the Buddhist monk Fa Hai intervenes in the story. In a past life, he was a huge turtle in the palace in Heaven and stole three precious, magical items from Buddha Zhulay: a cape, a staff in the form of a dragon and a golden cup. He settled in the Jinshan Monastery and sent a fever to the people so that they would bring more donations to the monastery. But the pharmacist Xu Xian and his wife Bai Suzhen successfully dealt with the fever and Fa Hai was angry.

Fa Hai told Xu Xian that his wife was an evil spirit, a werewolf. On the day of the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival, among other things, it is customary to drink wine with realgar (arsenic monosulfide). Realgar is believed to protect against evil spirits. Xu Xian served this wine to his wife. Bai Suzhen, under the influence of realgar, took the form of a large white snake. The amazed Xu Xian fell dead (here he lies in photo 10).

// china-shore.livejournal.com

Bai Suzhen saved her husband by stealing a potion from Mount Kunlun for him and fighting the Celestials along the way.

Monk Fa Han lured Xu Xian to the monastery and locked him there, persuading him to become a Buddhist monk. Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing rush to help Xu Xian. They raise the inhabitants of the river, shrimp, crabs, and turtles (pictured 11) to fight Fa Han. But they could not cope with Fa Han, the owner of three magic items. Xu Xian became convinced that his wife was an evil spirit.

// china-shore.livejournal.com

The girls return to Hangzhou. Xu Xian escapes from the monastery and also comes to Hangzhou, where he again meets his wife and her sister at the Broken Bridge on Lake Xihu. The blue snake (Xiao Qing) raises her sword in anger at her sister's husband for being so soft (pictured 12). But Bai Suzhen forgives her husband and they are happy together again. They have a son.

Origin of the lake

In the city of Daexian, in Hubei Province, there is Liangdi Lake. This is the legend they tell about its origin.

About five hundred years ago, on the site of the lake there was a lively and crowded city of Xian. Its inhabitants were mired in sins and rejected the true teaching. Only one woman, whose name was Nian Zi, followed the Buddha's commandments, did good deeds and did not eat meat. One night she dreamed that the city would soon perish under water and that the harbinger of misfortune would be the bloody tears that would be cried by the stone lions that stood at the entrance to the Yamen. The next morning, Nian Zi went out into the street and began to loudly warn residents about the impending disaster. But the residents did not heed the warnings and considered her crazy. And one butcher, in mockery, stained the muzzles of stone lions with pig's blood. In despair, Nian Zi ran away from the city, showered with ridicule and abuse. And a few hours later the Heavens darkened and the city sank underground. The waters of the Yangtze River poured into the hole, and a lake formed in place of the city streets. Only the piece of land on which Nian Zi's house stood survived. Now there is an island in this place that bears her name. During a storm, boats floating on the river take shelter here. The gods protect them in memory of a respectable woman who once lived here. They say that on fine days you can see streets and the remains of houses through the water, and fishermen from time to time pull out household utensils with nets.

From the book The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Stories author Tolkien John Ronald Ruel

From the book The Nature of Film. Rehabilitation of physical reality author Kracauer Siegfried

From the book Aztecs. Warlike subjects of Montezuma author Soustelle Jacques

From the book Etruscan Civilization by Thuillet Jean-Paul

From the book Chechens author Nunuev S.-Kh. M.

The origin of Lake Galanchezh Near the village of Yalkhoroy, in a place called Amka, there was a lake. One day, one mother and her daughter went to the shore of the lake and, out of foolishness, began to wash dirty diapers in its crystal clear water. The spirit of the lake turned both women into stones for this desecration,

From the book Maori Tales and Legends author Kondratov Alexander Mikhailovich

From the book Magi, sorcerers and ghouls in the religion of the ancient Slavs author Afanasyev Alexander Nikolaevich

Lakes and rivers Lakes: ILMER and STUDENETS, rivers: BUG and DON were adored along with other deities. The huge black forests along the banks were dedicated to them, where, under the death penalty, not only did the shooter or bird-catcher not dare to enter for his craft, but the fisherman did not

From the book Requests of the Flesh. Food and sex in people's lives author Reznikov Kirill Yurievich

From the book Scythians: the rise and fall of a great kingdom author Gulyaev Valery Ivanovich

The origin of the Scythians “Almost every researcher who, to one degree or another, came into contact with the history and archeology of the Scythians, expressed, at least in passing, his thoughts regarding the ethnogenesis of the latter,” notes the famous Ukrainian archaeologist V.Yu.

From the book The Origins of Counterculture author Roshak Theodor

Origins of the counterculture

From the book Everyday Life of European Students from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment author Glagoleva Ekaterina Vladimirovna

Origin Initially, general education was all-class. Whoever the bright boy’s parents were who wanted to send him to study, he could shave his tonsure on the top of his head and dress in a black cassock, because in the Middle Ages all students were clerics. In the future this

From the book Two Faces of the East [Impressions and reflections from eleven years of work in China and seven years in Japan] author Ovchinnikov Vsevolod Vladimirovich

Origin and paths The first Italian architects who followed the king's call and came to Krakow were closely connected with Florence. It can also be assumed that their route to Poland ran through Hungary, which could have been facilitated by the king’s personal contacts

Leifeng Pagoda was built in 977 (Northern Song time) by King Tian Hongchu in honor of the birth of his son. Under the pagoda there was a repository of Buddhist relics: a silver pagoda of Indian emperor Ayu, a figurine of Shakyamuni Buddha seated on a lotus, in turn standing on the head of a dragon, and a rare wood-carved sutra. Old photos of these relics are now displayed inside the pagoda, but it is not said where they went.

Photo 1 was taken from a boat on Lake Xihu (West Lake). Trees that look like naked Christmas trees near Moscow, eaten by a beetle, are not Christmas trees at all. This is a two-row swamp cypress or taxodium that sheds its needles in the winter. Found this out thanks to kmaal
1.

The beautiful and one of the most famous Chinese love legends, “The White Snake,” is closely associated with the Leifeng Pagoda.
Under the cut there are 16 photos and letters, letters...

There is an escalator attached to Leifeng Tower for those who are too lazy to walk up.
2.

An old photograph of Leifeng Tower shortly before the collapse. The fact is that during the late Ming, at the end of the 16th century, Hangzhou was attacked by Japanese pirates. The pirates burned the tower, only its brick skeleton remained, all the wooden parts of the pagoda were burned. After the fire, the tower was not restored, so it stood, burnt, for almost 500 years. Why? More on this below.
3.

During the late Qing, rumors spread that parts of the Leifeng Pagoda protected against evil spirits, promoted the birth of sons, and helped in the breeding of silkworms. Of course, people began to dismantle the pagoda for amulets and amulets.

In 1924 the tower collapsed. Photo 4 shows what remains of the ancient tower. A new Leifeng Tower was erected over its remains in 2002.
4.

Inside the tower there is an elevator that will take you to the 4th, 3rd, 2nd floor. View of Hangzhou from the 4th floor of Leifeng Tower - in photos 5 and 6.

In photo 5. The edge of the Western Lake. Photo 1 (before the kata) was taken from the part of the lake on the right in the photo. There they are, the Christmas trees. not fir trees, but swamp cypresses.
5.

The island on the lake (photo 6) is a wonderful place, called the Island of Three Ponds Reflecting the Moon. You can buy a ticket for a ship going to the island from different sides of the lake and then go from there in different directions on the ship. This pleasure costs 70 (or 75, I don’t remember exactly) yuan per person.

On the left in photo 6 - Su Dam, built by Su Dongpo, the poet and governor of Hangzhou in 1089. germ_babushka13sent a wonderful thing written by the poet Su Shi.

The rain over Xihu has stopped.
The autumn distance is clear.
Half a sixth in the fall
There is more water here.
......................
I'm heading back
Alone, without worries...
Let my frail boat
The wave is rocking!
Su Shi (Su Dongpo)

6.

Well, about why the Leifeng Tower was not restored, although it was not forgotten, it was a very famous, popular place. Emperors Kangxi (1654 - 1722) and Qianlong (1711 -1799) visited the tower several times and made inscriptions dedicated to it.

The tower was not restored because the very popular legend “White Snake” is associated with the tower and its destruction. The legend is depicted in carved pictures on one of the floors of the modern Leifeng Tower. I will use them for storytelling.

White and Blue snakes are sisters. They cultivated themselves for many years and became Celestials. But in Heaven they became bored and fled to earth to understand human life.

In photo 7. - Celestials watching the flight of the White snake to the ground. On the right in the photo, many will recognize the Eight Immortals. On the throne is Mother Lady of the West with a dragon staff in her hand and a curtain headdress, such as was worn by rulers in old China.
7.

The white snake, whose name in human form was Bai Suzhen, flies from Heaven to Earth, silly...
8.

On earth, Blue Snake, White Snake's sister, became a maid named Xiao Qing, she did not accumulate as much merit as her sister.
The girls settled in Hangzhou. While walking on the day of the Qingming holiday (All Souls' Day), near the Broken Bridge on Lake Xihu (another famous place in present-day Hangzhou), the girls met a young man Xu Xian, an assistant pharmacist. Xiao Qing, seeing that her sister liked the young man, used magic to make it rain. Xu Xian hid the girls under the canopy of his boat and borrowed an umbrella, taking the girls' address. Meeting at the Broken Bridge and an umbrella as an excuse to get acquainted is a popular theme in Chinese paintings.
9.

Soon, Bai Suzhen and Xu Xian got married, moved to Zhenjiang and opened their own pharmacy. Bai Suzhen became pregnant. The young people were happy, but then the Buddhist monk Fa Hai intervenes in the story. In a past life, he was a huge turtle in the palace in Heaven and stole three precious, magical items from Buddha Zhulay: a cape, a staff in the form of a dragon and a golden cup. He settled in the Jinshan Monastery and sent a fever to the people so that they would bring more donations to the monastery. But the pharmacist Xu Xian and his wife Bai Suzhen successfully dealt with the fever and Fa Hai was angry.

Fa Hai told Xu Xian that his wife was an evil spirit, a werewolf. On the day of the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival, among other things, it is customary to drink wine with realgar (arsenic monosulfide). Realgar is believed to protect against evil spirits. Xu Xian served this wine to his wife. Bai Suzhen, under the influence of realgar, took the form of a large white snake. The amazed Xu Xian fell dead (here he lies in photo 10).
10.

Bai Suzhen saved her husband by stealing a potion from Mount Kunlun for him and fighting the Celestials along the way.

Monk Fa Han lured Xu Xian to the monastery and locked him there, persuading him to become a Buddhist monk.
Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing rush to help Xu Xian. They raise the inhabitants of the river, shrimp, crabs, and turtles (pictured 11) to fight Fa Han. But they could not cope with Fa Han, the owner of three magic items. Xu Xian became convinced that his wife was an evil spirit.
11.

The girls return to Hangzhou. Xu Xian escapes from the monastery and also comes to Hangzhou, where he again meets his wife and her sister at the Broken Bridge on Lake Xihu.
The blue snake (Xiao Qing) raises her sword in anger at her sister's husband for being so soft (pictured 12). But Bai Suzhen forgives her husband and they are happy together again. They have a son.
12.

Fa Hai comes to the young couple's house and separates them, imprisoning Bai Suzhen in Leifeng Tower. The blue snake goes to the mountains to improve himself in order to gain strength and free his sister. The scene of Bai Suzhen's farewell to Xu Xian against the backdrop of Leifeng Tower in photo 13.
13.

For eighteen years, Bai Suzhen was imprisoned in Leifeng Tower. But after these years, Xiao Qing, having gained strength, defeated Fa Hai (with the help of the Buddha Zhulay). The Leifeng Tower collapsed and the family of the female werewolf Bai Suzhen and the pharmacist Xu Xian were reunited. (pictured 14).

The collapsed tower gave freedom to Bai Suzhen, so when Japanese pirates burned the Leifeng Pagoda in the 16th century, it was not restored.
14.

Now the tower has been rebuilt.
15.

Yes, here is a photo (there is one) of Buddhist relics, ct. were kept at the base of Leifeng Tower.
Silver Pagoda of Indian Emperor Ayu.
16.

Statue of Buddha Shakyamuni seated on a lotus, in turn standing on the head of a dragon
17.