eat deal about the structure of the Chinese family. The universal idea of the egg can be found in many creation myths. The egg symbolizes a mother’s womb out of which life comes. The egg is “a symbol of the totality from which all creation comes” (Encyclopedia Britannica Online). This holds true in its use in the story of P’an Ku since from the egg came the creation of everything. The use of the egg in creation myths gives a very visual idea of creation; in your mind you can see the egg open, just like a mother’s womb, and from it life is born. The egg is sometimes referred to as cosmic, and from it comes not only new life, but also the beginning of life and the possibility of “a perfect creation” (Encyclopedia Britannica Online). The idea of the egg remains familiar to us in modern times. It still plays a large role in our idea of the creation and celebration of life as our celebration of Easter demonstrates. The Chinese creation story about P’an Ku contains this universal egg, giving it a universal element that makes it similar to the many creation myths such as those of the Japanese culture, Hindu tradition, the Buddhists and the Greeks and many others.Another universal element is the presence of chaos. Chaos can be found in the creation ideas of Hesiod, Hyginus, Ovid and Aristophanes and the Bible. The modern meaning of the word chaos, as defined by Ovid, “original disordered and formless mass, from which the maker of the Cosmos produced the ordered universe” (Encyclopedia Britannica Online). The interpretation of the creation story in the first chapter of Genesis applied this very idea. The idea of chaos has always represented either the emptiness of the universe before the creation or thought to be tied in with the idea of the underworld. Both of these ideas can be found in the theologies of Hesiod. In the case of the myth of P’an Ku, the chaos represe...
