Chinese Myth

盘古开天🔊

Pán Gǔ Kāi Tiān
📚 Myths⏱ 3 min read🎧 Audio

This is China's creation myth about the origin of the universe.

The Story 🔊

Hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ yǐqián tiāndì hái méiyǒu fēnkāi
很久很久以前Hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ yǐqián🔊天地tiāndì🔊还没有hái méiyǒu🔊分开fēnkāi🔊
Yǔzhòu xiàng yí gè dà jīdàn lǐmiàn yīpiàn hùndùn
宇宙Yǔzhòu🔊xiàng🔊一个yí gè🔊大鸡蛋dà jīdàn🔊里面lǐmiàn🔊一片yīpiàn🔊混沌hùndùn🔊
Pán Gǔ jiù dànshēng zài zhège hùndùn zhīzhōng
盘古Pán Gǔ🔊jiù🔊诞生在dànshēng zài🔊这个zhège🔊混沌之中hùndùn zhīzhōng🔊
Tā xǐng lái hòu yòng fǔtóu pī kāi le hùndùn
🔊醒来后xǐng lái hòu🔊yòng🔊斧头fǔtóu🔊劈开了pī kāi le🔊混沌hùndùn🔊
Qīng de dōngxi shàngshēng biàn chéng le tiān
轻的Qīng de🔊东西dōngxi🔊上升shàngshēng🔊变成了biàn chéng le🔊tiān🔊
Zhòng de dōngxi xiàchén biàn chéng le dì
重的Zhòng de🔊东西dōngxi🔊下沉xiàchén🔊变成了biàn chéng le🔊🔊
Pán Gǔ pà tiāndì zàicì hélǒng jiù yòng tóu dǐng zhe tiān jiǎo tà zhe dì
盘古Pán Gǔ🔊🔊天地tiāndì🔊再次zàicì🔊合拢hélǒng🔊jiù🔊yòng🔊头顶着天tóu dǐng zhe tiān🔊脚踏着地jiǎo tà zhe dì🔊
Tā měitiān zhǎng gāo yī zhàng tiāndì yě měitiān fēnkāi yī zhàng
🔊每天měitiān🔊长高zhǎng gāo🔊一丈yī zhàng🔊天地tiāndì🔊🔊每天měitiān🔊分开fēnkāi🔊一丈yī zhàng🔊
Yī wàn bā qiān nián hòu tiāndì zhōngyú gùdìng le
一万八千年后Yī wàn bā qiān nián hòu🔊天地tiāndì🔊终于zhōngyú🔊固定了gùdìng le🔊
Pán Gǔ yě lèi dǎo le tā de shēntǐ biàn chéng le shìjiān wànwù
盘古Pán Gǔ🔊🔊累倒了lèi dǎo le🔊他的tā de🔊身体shēntǐ🔊变成了biàn chéng le🔊世间万物shìjiān wànwù🔊
English Translation:
Long, long ago, heaven and earth were not separated. The universe was like a big egg filled with chaos. Pangu was born within this chaos. When he woke up, he split the chaos with his axe. Light things rose to become the sky. Heavy things sank to become the earth. Pangu feared heaven and earth would merge again, so he held up the sky with his head and stood on the earth with his feet. He grew one zhang taller each day. After 18,000 years, heaven and earth finally stabilized. Pangu collapsed, and his body transformed into everything in the world.

Key Vocabulary

盘古开天
pán gǔ kāi tiān
Pangu creates the world
天地
tiāndì
heaven and earth
混沌
hùndùn
chaos
斧头
fǔtóu
axe
万物
wànwù
all things
诞生
dànshēng
born

The Moral

Great sacrifice creates the world! This myth tells how Pangu sacrificed himself to create the universe, symbolizing the spirit of selfless dedication.

Cultural Insight

盘古开天 is one of the oldest Chinese creation myths, recorded in "Sanwu Liji" (三五历记).