formed the heavens while the “heavy” parts of the egg, the yin, sank and formed the earth (Shan 1). P’an Ku had to stand between them holding up the heavens to keep them from colliding with the earth. P’an Ku, held up the heavens and stood on the earth day after day. Each moved ten feet further away from the other every day as he grew ten feet everyday: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 (Rosenberg 328). When the earth rested far below the heavens and the heavens far above the earth. P’an Ku realized that he was tired. So finally he sat down, went to sleep and died. After he died his breath turned into the winds and the clouds, his voice became the rolling thunder and lightening. One of his eyes became the sun, the other the moon. His head formed the mountains in the east while his feet formed the mountains in the west. His right arm became the mountains of the north while his left the mountains of the south. His torso became the mountains of the center. The flesh off his body became the soil and his fluids became the oceans and rivers. Veins, muscles, teeth and bones gave shape to the earth’s surface while from the hair from his body generated he plants. Finally the wind blew and all of the mites that had lived on his skin became the animals, fish and people. The legend of P’an Ku is the most widely known. His character is found in the story of the goddess Nu Kua and is often used in conjunction with stories of the yin and yang. This story not only contains many universal elements that give it a similarity to all creation myths but it also says a gr...
