P'AN KU, CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE
In the beginning an egg-like that of a chicken-contained the entire universe. Within the egg was one chaotic mass. Heaven and earth were identical. And all was always dark, for neither the sun nor the moon existed. From within this dark mass, P'an Ku, the first living being, was formed. Then, finding himself alive in darkness, encased within an egg, and surrounded by chaos, P'an Ku decided to bring order into the universe. First he broke open the world egg. Yang, the lighter part, rose and became the heavens. And Yin, the heavier part, sank and became the earth. P' an Ku tried to stand upon the earth. But the heavens pressed heavily upon his head. He realized that no life would ever be able to exist on earth if the heavens were not high in the sky. And so he sat down and thought about how to solve this problem. That day, P'an Ku went through nine transformations. And it came to pass that P'an Ku became more godlike than Heaven and more wise than earth. He decided that the only way living objects and creatures would form and survive upon the earth would be if he held up the sky. For the next eighteen thousand years, P'an Ku worked constantly to keep the heavens from crushing the surface of the earth. He ate only the mists that blew into his mouth, and he never slept. At first he could only rest on his knees with his elbows bent, And yet, summoning all of his great strength, he pushed his feet against the earth, and he pushed his hands upward against the sky. Each day he pushed the heavens ten feet higher, and be forced the earth to sink ten feet lower. And each day he became ten feet taller. The time came when P'an Ku could rise to his feet. But his knees were still bent as he pushed his feet down against the earth, and his elbows were still bent as he pushed his hands upward against the sky. At last the time came when P'an Ku could stand at his full height. And then he pushed his feet down against the earth with straight legs, and he pushed his hands upward against the sky with his arms stretched out to their full length. Day after day and night after night, month after month, and year after year, P'an Ku stood upright, as firm as a rock column. He never stopped pushing the earth lower with his feet, and he never stopped pushing the heavens higher with his hands. P'an Ku's pushing caused the earth and the sky to move ten feet each day. And so it came to pass that, little by little, the earth sank lower and lower beneath the sky. And it came to pass that, little by little, the sky rose higher and higher above the earth. And the lower the earth sank, and the higher the heavens rose, the taller, P'an Ku became. At last the earth reseed far below the heavens. And the heavens rested high above the earth. And only then did P'an Ku realize that he was very, very tired. He looked up at the heavens above his hands, and then he looked far, far down to the earth beneath his feet. And P'an Ku felt certain that the distance between heaven and earth was so great that he could lie down and rest without fearing that the sky would collapse and crush the earth. So P'an Ku lay down and fell asleep. And it came to pass that P'an Ku died in his sleep. But he had not done all that he could do, for living objects and creatures could now survive upon the earth, but as yet they had no form. And so it came to pass that P'an Ku's corpse gave shape and substance to the universe. His head formed the mountain of the East, while his feet formed the mountain of the West. His right arm formed the mountain of the North, while his left arm formed the mountain of the South. And his torso formed the mountain of the Center. These five sacred mountains defined the four corners of the square earth and its center. Each stood firmly upon the earth like a giant stone column, and each did its part to hold up the heavens. From the hair on P'an Ku's head, chin, and eyebrows came forth the planets and the stars. His left eye became the sun, while his right eye became the moon. His breath formed the clouds and the wind. His voice became lightning and thunder. And his perspiration and body-fluids became the rain and the dew. P'an Ku's flesh formed the soil of the earth, while his blood and his semen became the oceans and rivers that encircle it. His veins and muscles gave shape to the earth's surface. His teeth and his bones formed rocks and minerals, while his bone marrow became jade and pearls. From the hair on his body came forth trees, plants, and flowers. Then the wind that had come forth from P'an Ku's breath blew upon the mites that lived on his skin. And these mites became fish, animals, and the black-haired people.