mythmaking

Check this out.

“Based on the wealth of documentary records and archaeological discoveries uncovered, Fuxi culture is estimated to have originated over 8,000 years ago. According to documents dating back to pre-Qin times (before 248 BC) and historical books from the Han dynasty (206 BC-220AD), Fuxi was honored as forming the bloodline of five other emperors (the Yellow Emperor, Zhuanxu, Ku, Yao and Shun) and the head of three august ones (Fuxi, Nuwa and Shennong).

Long admired as a vital region in China, Tianshui has had the good fortune of being the birthplace and dwelling of many forefathers of the Chinese nation represented today by Fuxi. Each year, thousands of Chinese flock to the city to honor the memories of their ancestors and hold ceremonies for Fuxi.”

Now, there’s nothing wrong with a good knowledge of your country’s history or an appropriate veneration of your ancestors, but this would seem to be stretching things just a little bit.

“Fuxi was respected by tribes from near and far, as he taught them to weave fishing nets, feed animals and farm. The wise forebear also established a rudimentary type of social governance, laid down original marriage laws and composed his community’s first music.”

Now forgive me, but, although I’ll accept that the historical Fuxi, like all of the pre-Xia mythological and legendary kings and emperors, was probably a great leader, I can’t help but suspect that all the achievements attributed to him were actually achieved by people under his leadership.

About the Author

wangbo

A Kiwi teaching English to oil workers in Beijing, studying Chinese in my spare time, married to a beautiful Beijing lass, consuming vast quantities of green tea (usually Xihu Longjing/西湖龙井, if that means anything to you), eating good food (except for when I cook), missing good Kiwi ale, breathing smog, generally living as best I can outside Godzone and having a good time of it.

4 thoughts on “mythmaking

  1. I’d sooner suspect that such “inventions” had been round long before this guy and his chums ever turned up on the scene. He probably claimed to have invented them so that he could charge licensing fees for them. It was a tax-raising scam.

  2. Yes, I admit it. I knew this day would come eventually, because I invented it. Now you have to pay me a Â¥500 licence fee for it. If you don’t have any change, then just pay me Â¥1000 and we’ll call it even.

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