Flood in Greek and Chinese Mythology(中西神话对比论文——洪水神话).doc

1、Flood in Greek and Chinese MythologyAncient people couldnt understand and explain what was happening, so they came up with ideas and stories through which they hoped they could make a sense of it. Among those mysteries， flood is an everlasting theme throughout the world, as Cassirer said: “From the

2、history that any great culture is controlled and dominated by the flood myth ”There are many floods occurring in primitive times, “the basic structure of the nations flood myths is similar, but there are many different places of specific details due to various factors, thats why we have so many diff

3、erent myths.”(1) The myths of different countries displayed their different national spirits and cultural values, To clarify the conditions of forming flood myths, we should obtain a comprehensive explanation from the historical and cultural factorsIn Chinese mythology, a man named Gun tried for nin

4、e years to dam the destructive waters that covered the land. Because he failed, the supreme god executed him. Guns son, Yu, took up the task of taming the waters. Instead of building a dam, he decided to drain away the floodwaters through channels. A winged dragon flew in front of him, marking with

5、his tail where Yu should dig the channels. Yu worked for many years, too busy even to see his family. In the end, however, he tamed the rivers, making the land along them suitable for farming. As his reward, Yu became emperor of China.To understand this myth, you have to know how important the Yello

6、w River is to the Chinese. Its the second longest river in China, more importantly the Yellow River is the birthplace of ancient Chinese culture and the cradle of Chinese Civilization. We call it, the Mother River. For thousands of years, people who lived in that area suffered from the flooding. In

7、order to get a better living condition, their primary task was to solve the problem which was caused by the river. The story, in which these great heroes lead Chinese people to struggle against nature and triumph over it, shows us how brave and how strong they were. People have praised Yu a lot, nam

8、ely, Chinese people would give their admiration when they say, “During his 13 years time trying to solve it, he was so busy and devoted that he passed by his house three times without going inside.” (2)Actually, what most of them dont know is that even though Gun failed, he deserves as much respect

9、as Yu does, for he is the one who did a lot already which is the base of Yus success. And though hes killed by Yudis (the king of gods) order, he kept his body for three years from decay, and when his belly was cut open, he delivered Yu to continue his job What you see from these myths should not on

10、ly be a myth, but also ancient Chinese peoples spirit of advance wave upon wave struggling and never surrendering to fate. However， the flood myths of Chinese and in the west have a marked difference “Chinese flood myths take the harnessing water as a theme， which mainly reflected the use and contro

11、l of floods. On the contrary， the theme of Western flood myth is asylum， which did not reflect the spirits of protest ”(3)The Western flood myth was God-centered and embodied a strong sense of religion while the Chinese flood myths is peopleoriented While Yu became the representatives of the floods

12、and become a hero of the Chinese nation The Greek flood myth shows no sign of fighting except Prometheus warned his son to escape.The Greek flood myth says that Zeus, father of the gods, sent a mighty inundation to destroy the human race. Some versions say that Zeus was angry at the Titan Prometheus

13、 for stealing the gift of fire from the gods and giving it to people. Others say that the flood was punishment for human sinfulness. Prometheus warned his son Deucalion to escape the flood by building a boat. Deucalion and his wife survived, and when the flood waters retreated, they were the only hu

14、mans left on earth. The couple began the race of people who inhabit the world today. The more you read the flood myths in Chinese mythology and Greek mythology, the more strongly you would feel that Chinese mythology is realistic while Greek mythology is romantic. From history, Chinese people are bo

15、und to land and agriculture. Chinese ancient myths reflect the characteristic of the ancient people, which is pragmatic and rational. Those gods, such as Huangdi, Fuxi, Yao, Shun, Yu, they are immortals and also kings in the mortal world. They conduct people watercourse training and help them with a

16、griculture. They united the nation and ran it with wisdom. The history and myth becomes one thing, mortal and immortal turn into a whole, the gods are not superior, and instead they take part in real life. As to Greece, its a country composed of series of mountain chains and seas. Greek people are i

17、nvolved in handicraft industry, the maritime endeavors. Their gods live high on top of Olympus, they are filled with romanticism, and they advocate the spirit of adventure. They live in Olympus happily above the material attractions of the world. They are far away from real life, except some love af

18、fairs and raising some wars. So when i read the main flood myths in the two countries, I notice that in Chinese myth, Yu leads his people to harness water, he makes an effort to solve it as a part of the whole process, while in Greek myths, all I can see is that gods are superior to mortals, when go

19、ds are angry with mortals and give them punishment, there are nothing you can do but accept it. For instance, as Rebecca EJ said, “The idea that Deucalion and Pyrrha were not only saved, but given god-like powers after they were saved shows that the Greeks believed that at any moment, a human could

20、get swept up in a gods plan and either be rewarded greatly or punished severely for their past actions.”(4)Myth arises from the original clan society， which is the process of “imagination or with imagination to conquer the forces of nature， to control the natural forces and to symbolize the forces o

21、f nature”.(5)Among so many differences between Chinese flood myths and Greek myths, there is a similarity, that is, after the flood, the world starts again. “The flood myth is usually followed by a rebuilding. The humans start over and build new civilizations that replace the old. The structures of

22、life are put in order and reerected with the good on top and the evil absent.”(6)The flood myths show the resilience of the ancient peoples in both countries. Even though the human race is decimated by terrifying flooding, the survivors turn to their gods once more for strength and civilization repa

23、irs the problems that led to the first flood, at least for a while. In this way, creation and flood myths are often interlinked and impossible to separate from each other. In this way, we can tell that how wonderful both Chinese and Greek civilization are, for they suffered so much from floods in hi

24、story, but they didnt vanish or decline, instead they survived as two great cultures. Myth is based on its culture. In order to have a better or full understanding of it, youd better put it back to where it took place. Also through the understanding of the two countries floods myths, we can find evi

25、dence of the culture differences and similarities between Greece and China, which means the more you understand its flood myths, the better you could understand its culture. As Marx said, “myths are like the childhood for the history of mankind”， they are showing eternal beauty as a period that woul

26、d never appear again. The unique charm of myths lies in its reflection on the childhood of mankinds history. In this way, they provide us a great basis to explore the origin of different cultures.Notes: (1) “The Culture Differences between Chinese and Western Food Myths”, Su Jin, masters thesis from

27、 Shandong University (2) Wu Xingjian， “My Glamorous China”， P39(3) “The Culture Differences between Chinese and Western Food Myths”, Su Jin, masters thesis from Shandong University (4) “Great Flood Myths: Different Cultures Have Similar Myths”, Rebecca,EJ http:/ Marx and Engels， ”Literary Arts”v01 B

28、eijing： Peoples Literature Publishing House,1 983， pp 93(6)“Comparative World Mythology”, Harriet Schlueter http:/74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:l0sq5RIn8vYJ:hti.math.uh.edu/curriculum/units/2000/05/00.05.05.php+flood+myth+comparisons&cd=49&hl=en&ct=clnk(7) Marx Karl, “Preface to A Contribution to th

29、e Critique of Political Economy”Bibliography: (1) Yu Sen, Lv Haitao “Analyzing the Differences and Similarities between Chinese and Greek Mythology ” -“Academic Communication”, 2003, the ninth. (2) http:/ http:/ (4). Flood Myths go Globalhttp:/ Mark Isaak , “Flood Stories from Around the World” http:/www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flood-myths.html