sometimes he appears as a dragon mastering the four elements, sometimes he holds the sun in one hand and the moon in the other, sometimes he is chipping away at a rock-face, watched by a snake.
Actually, the P’an Ku legend in China is probably not so old as the mighty man himself. Travelers from the kingdom of Siam (Thailand) are reputed to have brought the legend to China for the first time in the sixth century.
“Chinese mythology describes Yan Shih Tien-Tsun as the ‘father of things,’” said the Director. “He is the unfathomable being, the beginning and end of all things, the highest and most inconceivable being in heaven. In later times he was also called Yu Ch’ing. If you write about him, you must take care not to confuse Yu Ch’ing with the mysterious Emperor Yu, who is reputed to have caused the Flood. Do you know the legend of Yuan Shih Tien Wang?”
I shook my head. The Director took a volume of the Dictionary of Chinese Mythology from his shelves.
“There, read the story in your hotel. You will find some stories in the dictionary that are fascinating when considered in connection with your theories. For example, the legend of the goddess Chih Nu who was the patron saint of weavers. While she was still young, her father sent her to a neighbor who kept watch over the ‘Silver Stream of the Heavens,’ obviously the Milky Way. Chih Nu grew up and became very beautiful. She spent the days and nights playing and laughing, never was there a wilder or crazier lover in heaven than Chih Nu. The Sun King grew tired of these goings-on and when she bore a child to her guardian friend, he ordered the ardent lover to take up his post at the other end of the Silver Stream and only to see the lovely Chih Nu once a year on the seventh night of the seventh month.”
“The story of the king’s children who could not meet each other!”
“The legend has a happy ending for the lovers. Millions of shining heavenly birds formed an endless bridge over the Milky Way. So Chih Nu and her guardian could meet whenever they wanted.”
“If the shining heavenly birds were really spaceships patrolling between the stars, it seems perfectly plausible for the lovers to have met as often as they wished.”
Mr. Chiang Fu-Tsung stood up:
“You
are
a visionary! But of course you’re not forced to kowtow to traditional explanations. Perhaps modern interpretations of myths and legends are justified, perhaps they will throw new light on things. There is a lot we don’t know yet.”
----
THE Director appointed the best-informed member of his staff, Marshal P. S. Wu, Head of the Excavation Department, to act as my guide during my stay. Although only a fraction of the 250,000items in the Museum are on display at any one time, there is still such a bewilderingly large number that I could scarcely have collected my “finds” without the help of Mr. Wu who understood instinctively what interested me. Here is a selection:
Bronze vessels from the period of the Shang dynasty (1766-1122 B.C.) automatically reminded me of the other side of the Pacific. Nazca pottery, pre-Inca work much more recent than the Chinese vessels, exhibits very similar ornaments: geometrical lines, opposed squares and spirals. A jade axe, a small copy of a larger one. The divine symbol of the dragon with a trail of fire is engraved on the greenish stone; the firmament is decorated with spheres. I remembered identical representations on Assyrian cylinder seals.
Altar trappings for the worship of the god of the mountains and clouds is the orthodox archaeological label under a right-angled object dating to 206 B.C. A mountain is visible, but it is dwarfed by a giant sphere with a trail of fire. This sphere, which has three small spheres arranged geometrically above it, is so big that it seems to be quite unrelated to sun, moon and stars. Altar trappings? It is far more likely that in the remote past this picture recalled some unforgettable,
Actually, the P’an Ku legend in China is probably not so old as the mighty man himself. Travelers from the kingdom of Siam (Thailand) are reputed to have brought the legend to China for the first time in the sixth century.
“Chinese mythology describes Yan Shih Tien-Tsun as the ‘father of things,’” said the Director. “He is the unfathomable being, the beginning and end of all things, the highest and most inconceivable being in heaven. In later times he was also called Yu Ch’ing. If you write about him, you must take care not to confuse Yu Ch’ing with the mysterious Emperor Yu, who is reputed to have caused the Flood. Do you know the legend of Yuan Shih Tien Wang?”
I shook my head. The Director took a volume of the Dictionary of Chinese Mythology from his shelves.
“There, read the story in your hotel. You will find some stories in the dictionary that are fascinating when considered in connection with your theories. For example, the legend of the goddess Chih Nu who was the patron saint of weavers. While she was still young, her father sent her to a neighbor who kept watch over the ‘Silver Stream of the Heavens,’ obviously the Milky Way. Chih Nu grew up and became very beautiful. She spent the days and nights playing and laughing, never was there a wilder or crazier lover in heaven than Chih Nu. The Sun King grew tired of these goings-on and when she bore a child to her guardian friend, he ordered the ardent lover to take up his post at the other end of the Silver Stream and only to see the lovely Chih Nu once a year on the seventh night of the seventh month.”
“The story of the king’s children who could not meet each other!”
“The legend has a happy ending for the lovers. Millions of shining heavenly birds formed an endless bridge over the Milky Way. So Chih Nu and her guardian could meet whenever they wanted.”
“If the shining heavenly birds were really spaceships patrolling between the stars, it seems perfectly plausible for the lovers to have met as often as they wished.”
Mr. Chiang Fu-Tsung stood up:
“You
are
a visionary! But of course you’re not forced to kowtow to traditional explanations. Perhaps modern interpretations of myths and legends are justified, perhaps they will throw new light on things. There is a lot we don’t know yet.”
----
THE Director appointed the best-informed member of his staff, Marshal P. S. Wu, Head of the Excavation Department, to act as my guide during my stay. Although only a fraction of the 250,000items in the Museum are on display at any one time, there is still such a bewilderingly large number that I could scarcely have collected my “finds” without the help of Mr. Wu who understood instinctively what interested me. Here is a selection:
Bronze vessels from the period of the Shang dynasty (1766-1122 B.C.) automatically reminded me of the other side of the Pacific. Nazca pottery, pre-Inca work much more recent than the Chinese vessels, exhibits very similar ornaments: geometrical lines, opposed squares and spirals. A jade axe, a small copy of a larger one. The divine symbol of the dragon with a trail of fire is engraved on the greenish stone; the firmament is decorated with spheres. I remembered identical representations on Assyrian cylinder seals.
Altar trappings for the worship of the god of the mountains and clouds is the orthodox archaeological label under a right-angled object dating to 206 B.C. A mountain is visible, but it is dwarfed by a giant sphere with a trail of fire. This sphere, which has three small spheres arranged geometrically above it, is so big that it seems to be quite unrelated to sun, moon and stars. Altar trappings? It is far more likely that in the remote past this picture recalled some unforgettable,
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