Chinese mythology offers several versions of the creation of the world, the most famous of which are the Pangu and Nuiwa myths. These stories reflect ancient Chinese ideas about the origin of the universe and humanity.
According to the Pangu myth, in the beginning there was a formless chaos resembling a huge egg. Inside this egg was born Pangu, who slept soundly for 18,000 years. When he awoke, he broke the egg with his axe, dividing it into two parts: the upper part became heaven (Yang) and the lower part became earth (Yin). To prevent heaven and earth from merging again, Pangu stood between them, holding them together, and each day he grew as the distance between heaven and earth grew. After 18,000 years, Pangu died, and from his body emerged the various elements of the world: his breath became wind and clouds, his voice became thunder, his left eye became the sun, his right eye became the moon, his blood became rivers, his muscles became the earth, his hair and beard became vegetation, his bones and teeth became metals and stones, and the parasites on his body became people.
The myth of Nyuwa tells of a goddess with a human face and a serpent’s body who created humans from yellow clay. At first she molded each figure by hand, but when she got tired, she began to dip a rope into the clay and shake off the drops, from which people also emerged. Later, when the sky cracked and a flood began, Nyuwa melted multicolored stones and used them to fill the hole in the sky, and used the legs of a giant tortoise to prop up the sky, restoring order to the world.
These myths emphasize the importance of harmony between Yin and Yang, and the role of divine beings in creating and maintaining the world. They reflect ancient Chinese ideas about the origins of the universe and humanity