Some people may say that Shan Hai Jing can't be understood, so are you sure you can understand Greek mythology in Latin? When it was seen by China people, I didn't know how many hands it had. First translated into English, then translated into Chinese, every translation is re-creation. And I don't know if the oldest book is like this.
What do you mean? Unified China myth? ? Do you know how big this range is? The myth of China exists now. My findings have at least three dimensions.
The first is the time dimension, which is generally divided into three periods, namely the Han Dynasty, the Tang and Song Dynasties and the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are too few materials before the Han Dynasty, and it is generally believed that Shan Hai Jing is a work of the Warring States Period. But this does not mean that there are no new works with mythological elements before the Warring States Period and after the Ming and Qing Dynasties. ) Their performances are different. The representative works of war and Han Dynasty include Shan Hai Jing, Shen Yi Jing and other works, accompanied by Han Dynasty stone reliefs and silk paintings. The myth of this period is primitive, simple and magnificent. The representative myths in the Tang and Song Dynasties are the legends of the Tang and Song Dynasties, which are mostly found in Taiping Guangji and Yijianzhi, accompanied by Dunhuang murals and Dazu stone carvings. During this period, because of the entry of Buddhism and the rise of Taoism, myths became more colorful and had many elements. The Ming and Qing Dynasties are the final forming times of China myth. Many myths in this period are more entertaining and instructive, but the stories are longer and more complete, and the three religions of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism are more unified. Representative works include The Journey to the West, The Flower in the Mirror, etc., accompanied by various folk color paintings and murals.
The second dimension is spaciousness. From south to north, every province and every nation has its own mythological characteristics. Similar worship varies greatly in different regions. The fourth gate in Northeast China is different from the fourth gate in North China. The Tathagata of Tibetan Buddhism is different from Sakyamuni in Southern Buddhism. In Sichuan, Guanyin can be Wang's third daughter, or she can be an oil-rich scholar. In Lingnan, Nezha can be a prince or a king of Tongguo. In this story, the same person is endowed with the opposite image of good and evil by different people, and the most typical one is Chiyou. In the myth of Han nationality, he is often the image of the devil, but in the myth of ethnic minorities, he is the ancestor and hero. Fifty-six ethnic groups have at least one hundred myth systems. For example, being both Tibetans, the system of Tibetans and Sichuan Tibetans is different, and the myth system within the Han nationality is more complicated.
The third dimension is class nature. Myths are different at different levels. A boiler maker who takes Lao Jun as his ancestor may never know what it is. The truth can be known, but it is not necessarily a well-known truth? Similarly, Taoist priests in Qin 'an Hall of the Forbidden City will never hear the legend that Zhenwu is a butcher. The Tathagata in Journey to the West is just one of the five elders. Many Taoists believe that the Jade Emperor is Indra. This complicates the myth. In the ancient system, the highest point was once the worship of national worship, that is, national myth. There used to be Dayu who controlled water, which made Hou Ji feel alive. Secondly, religious myths, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism all have different myths. Then there are folk myths, but in the past they were generally understood as folk stories. Novels created by literati belong to mythical literature. Such a vast number, just sorting out a few scales and claws is enough to spend a person's life. The myth of any of China's 56 ethnic groups can rival Greek and Roman mythology, which is different from that of other countries and can be solved by just a few ancient books?
However, for a long time, the myth of China and even the world followed the western, that is, the Greek model. I can't help it Who told people to learn early? Therefore, it is epic that records Greek myths, and it should be epic that records all myths. Greek mythology epic was formed in BC, and all mythological texts should be typed as old as possible. Greek mythology epic is a long poem, and short poems are not worthy of being called epics. A small country can, but a big country with a long history and rich culture like China can only get more and more chaotic. Because it is as long as our history, but not as big as ours. Our vast history is not as long as ours. Even if other countries relax their requirements according to the world average, they often die young. So foreign? Three dimensions? It's hard to get together.
Moreover, these three dimensions are embedded in each other, and time, space and level influence each other, resulting in a cubic increase in the number of myths. It's just that the myth of Warring States can be divided into Qin State and Central Plains. Five emperors and five assistants? , Chu? Nine songs? , qi? Ba Shen department? In a short time, it appeared to unify the whole country? Trinity killer. . As most people know now? Ancient myths? In fact, Yuan Ke, the master of China mythology in the last century, borrowed the mythological elements from China's ancient books and recreated them by imitating Greek mythology based on Shan Hai Jing. Its success lies in making many people think that it is a real ancient myth. In fact, it's like a dinosaur turned into a fossil. In fact, it is really irreparable. Because of this mistake, the ancient goddess like Nu Wa is too high in people's impression now. In fact, this is based on social evolution? Matriarchal society? Location. In fact, in the stone relief spectrum of the Han Dynasty, Fuxi Nuwa was under the Queen Mother of the West. Besides,? Five emperors? And then what? Five gods emperor? This distinction has also been intentionally blurred. On the left, the author points out how good is China's divination? Family god