chinese tuesdays

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Chinese Myth Tuesdays: Fuxi

 

Yes, yes, I know it's Wednesday/Thursday, but I've been out in the boondocks and just got back online. Then again, Chinese Tuesdays has always been more than a day of the week, it's a state of mind.

Anyway, here is the continuation of our early Chinese myths season, courtesy of Fuck Yeah Chinese Myths!:

We talked about Nüwa last time, so now we’re going to talk about her husband. Fu Xi (伏羲 Fúxī) was the first of the Three Sovereigns, Five Emperors (三皇五帝 sānhuáng wǔdì) who ruled during the mythical dynasty before the Xia Dynasty, on the banks of the Yellow River.

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Chinese Myth Tuesdays: Nüwa

 

Edited from Fuck Yeah Chinese Myths!:

 

Last week we talked about Pan Gu and how he awesomely created the world by holding up the sky for 18,000 years, and when he died his body parts became the hills and valleys.

After that came Nüwa, who is a badass female creation goddess (half human half serpent in some images) who came to earth from the heavens, and made all the animals. She did this for six days: as the legend goes, on the first day she made chickens, on the second, dogs, then sheep, pigs, cows and horses. Then on the seventh day she still felt lonely, so she created people.

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Chinese Myth Tuesdays: Pan Gu

 

Edited from Fuck Yeah Chinese Myths!:

You know how in every culture we wonder who we are, and where we came from? The Norse believed that everything came from the primordial void of the Ginnungagap (“mighty gap”), until the frost Giant Ymir thawed out from the ice and his sweat became human beings. And so do the Chinese, more or less!

The story goes that a long time ago, there was nothing except a primordial chaos, and from that chaos emerged a cosmic egg. The egg remained unhatched for 18,000 years. I don’t know how we’re meant to know this. I suppose they wanted to make their creation myth more believable.

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Chinese Tuesdays: Time Map of China

 

Something a little different on Chinese Tuesdays today, as we're expanding our remit to include history and myth as well as language. We're not usually ones to share gifs on the Anthill, but this time map of the shifting territories of China throughout its dynasties, from 1000BC to present day, is fascinating. Hat tip here to our new friends and partner site Fuck Yeah Chinese Myths!

This map should be enough to disabuse you of the notion that "China" is a fixed entity and not an empire. Ditto that Tibet and Xinjiang always have and always will be part of it, etc. – although do note that many of the boundaries are disputed by scholars, and regional influence is of course harder to pin down. Here's the map, enjoy:

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Chinese Tuesdays: Calligrapher and son

 

Wang Xizhi 王羲之 (Wáng Xīzhī) was a famous calligrapher of the Eastern Jin dynasty, who lived from 303-361 in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, and is known now as the Sage of Calligraphy (书圣, shūshèng). There's a supposedly true story about him, which is also a classic example of a joke that's lost in translation.

The story goes that when Wang Xizhi's son, Wang Xianzhi 王献之 (Wáng Xiànzhī), who later went on to be a well-known calligrapher in his own right, was young, his father would have him practice for hours on end. One day, Wang Xianzhi brought the results to his father, hoping for praise and encouragement. Wang Xizhi wasn't impressed, however.

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