Unit 2 Emergence of Human Beings

Introduction

Every culture has its own explanations about the origin of mankind.Chinese mythology generally holds two descriptions in this regard.Myths about Pangu suggest that human beings originally derived from mites on his corpse.While according to some other versions of early narratives，humans were but clay sculptures fashioned by the goddess Nüwa from yellow earth and mud.Whereas some later accounts claim human beings as descendants of her and her brother/husband Fuxi.References about Nüwa creating human beings could be traced back to as early as “Tianwen” by Qu Yuan：

When Snake-Queen mounted the throne，

Who said it was well done？

Who made her body change

Into seventy shapes strange？[1]

Huainanzi makes a record of Nüwa mythology two centuries later.On top of that，Ying Shao’s Fengsu Tongyi[2]（Comprehensive Meaning of Customs and Habits）gives a description of the customs and worship of the primeval gods before the Han Dynasty.

Various Greek myths，for example，narrate that human beings were made from dragons’ teeth，as in the story of Cadmus[3]，or from a “mother’s bones，” or from stones，or the ashes of Titans destroyed by Zeus.The most complete one is told in Theogonyby Hesiod.In describing human society，Hesiod named different periods of human history as Golden，Silver，Bronze，Heroic and Iron ages.The two great events happened in the Golden Age are Prometheus[4] stealing fire for human beings and Zeus giving Pandora to Epimetheus[5] as his wife.With fire，people bid farewell to a primitive form of life，thus embracing the process of civilization.Driven by curiosity，Pandora unleashed endless sufferings upon human beings.Irritated by the fall of the human race，the gods sent a flood to expiate their sins.However，the survival of Deucalion[6] and Pyrrha[7] offered new hope for the renewal of humanity.