This is the second in a series of articles by an Epoch Times research team describing the foundations of Chinese civilization, and setting forth the traditional Chinese worldview. The series surveys the course of Chinese history, showing how key figures aided in the creation of China’s divinely-inspired culture. Following is an installment on the god Fu Xi.
The progenitor of today’s world and civilization was the god Fu Xi. In accordance with the laws of creation, he brought order and stability to heaven and earth. Legends about this process are recorded in ancient texts such as the unofficial history written by Song Dynasty-era scholar Luo Mi or the Annals of Three Emperors and the Book of Jin from the Tang Dynasty.
The period of Fu Xi saw great changes and cataclysms. A global flood that ravaged the world for many years exterminated the civilizations that existed in the legendary lands of Mu and Atlantis. Only those living in the Kunlun mountains survived.
Following the great flood, heaven and earth were mixed together in primeval chaos. Using his divine power, Fu Xi brought the world to a state of order in a process recorded in the Silk Manuscript of Chu. He married the goddess Nü Wa and had four children with her. These became the gods of the seasons and directions. Through their balancing of heaven, earth, and the stars, days were divided into day and night, the year into four seasons, and the world into four directions.
Fu Xi also created the dual forces of Yin and Yang and the Eight Trigrams, a tool that future generations would use for divination.
Paintings of Fu Xi and Nü Wa from the Han Dynasty depict the divinities holding carpenters’ tools, reflecting their roles in crafting the universe. Other portrayals show them holding the moon and sun.
