Chinese Gods and Mythology

Chinese Gods

Nüwa

• She was the goddess of humanity

• repaired the Pillar of Heaven

• Mother goddess of Chinese mythology

• sister and wife to Fuxi, the emperor god

Fuxi (Fu Hsi or Paoxi)

• Sister and husband to Nüwa

• helped create humanity

• invented fishing, cooking, hunting, domestication, and the Cangjie system of writing chinese characters around 2,000 BCE

• 
  

• 
  

Chang'e

• goddess of the moon

• usually has a white bunny with her

• originally known as Heng'e

• her name means pretty young woman

Pangu

• separated heaven and earth

• became geographical features like mountains and rivers

• 
  

• 
  

Dragon King

• god of weather and water

• also known as the dragon god

Mazu

• sea god

• 
  

Zhong Kui

• vanquisher of evil

• thought to be able to control 80,000 devils

Legend of Nian

This is why chinese people celebrate Chinese New Year.

Nian was a monster that rose from the sea each year. It had long claws, sharp teeth, a big mouth, scales, and more. It could swallow 5 people in one bite! It loved to eat children most. People in China were scared of Nian. Each year, they would hide in a cave. One year, an old man said he could defeat Nian. The people didn't believe him, so they hid in the cave. In the cave, the heard roars made by Nian. The next day, the came out of the cave a found a small package in their town. Nobody knew where the old man was. Inside the package, their were firecrackers, red shirts, red lanterns, and more. The people learned that Nian was afraid of fire, noise, and the color red. Now, chinese people celebrate Chinese New Year to scare off Nian and to have fun.