The Phenomena of Life According to Chinese and Egyptian Myth
Have you ever marveled at the very miraculous idea how life begins, or an explanation to the miracle that happens every day? There is such an abundance of diverse theories to how it all began, and explanations of what occurs during death. The veracity of possibilities that after life is tangible is a disputable question also. If such thing exists, no one can state for a fact. Scientific views contradict some religious beliefs of these topics. There are minor and major differences in the takes on these topics, between the Chinese and Egyptian mythological view on the phenomenon of life; birth, death, and the afterlife. In Chinese mythology, the story of the creation of life for man dates back thousands of years. The beginning of life for men in Chinese mythology says that a god named Nu Wa created men from clay and rope. It is said that there were no men when the sky and the earth were separated. It was Nü Wa who made men by molding yellow clay. The work was so taxing that her strength was not equal to it. So she dipped a rope into the mud and then lifted it. The mud that dripped from the rope also became men. Those made by molding yellow clay were rich and noble, while those made by lifting the rope were poor and
Life after death was also included in mythology. The Chinese believed in Heaven. Heaven was located in the Great Bear constellation because of Kui Xing, who as legend says was a greatly intelligent scholar, but not physically attractive. When Kui Xing was to receive a golden rose for being the top scholar, the emperor refused to give him the rose because of his ugliness. Kui Xing tried to drown himself because of his devastation, but a sea creature carried him into the sky (Allen, 104-105). Kui Xing was considered supervisor over the sky; “from that time until the imperial examinations came to an end in the twentieth century, he was their presiding deity” (Allen 105). In comparison, the Egyptian myth and Chinese myth have the same base. When the soul dies, it is judged by some form of higher power. The Egyptian myth believed the soul to pass through a state of perfection, while the Chinese myth believed the soul was punished for any felony committed during life with a proper chastisement. The Egyptian mythological take on death is very complex. They believed that “the deeds done in the body would be subjected to an analysis and scrutiny by the divine powers after the death of a man” (Wallis 136). The Egyptians believed that when one died, they passed though a stage of perfection, which was when yolour body was embombed and mummified. The ka, or spirit of a body, traveled through death, and left the body behind (Fleming 95-96). In conclusion, by comparing the likes and differences of Egyptian and Chinese Mythology, it is clear that their takes on the phenomenon of life is quite similar. Although the details of each are different, the basic ideas of most myths are very similar. For instance, both mythological views believe man was created from clay and that during death you are judged by a divine power. Egyptian and Chinese mythology also both believe in an after life
Some topics in this essay:
Kui Xing,
Nü Wa,
Wheel Transmigration,
Shi-tien Yen-Wang,
,
Chinese Egyptian,
Chinese Mythology,
Egyptian Chinese,
Nu Wa,
chinese mythology,
Heaven Heaven,
kui xing,
egyptians believed,
believed soul,
mythology believe,
created clay,
egyptian mythological,
chinese myth,
chinese mythology believe,
death judged,
eight courts,
myth believed soul,
molding yellow clay,
egyptian chinese mythology,
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Approximate Word count = 1277
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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