The Feng Shui Kit [antikvár]

I I > ' i 1 , , : j I i ,Ml.',.' 1. I I ,,' I . . L I _Li'l, 11 'V' i 'i",'. "iVi i ij ' ,1" ISi li'li iiii 'Ui'-H-iS' -<' I I 'l 4,Ti1 : 11 V '!'THE CREATION OF P'AN KUThe Creation of P an KuThe creation of the world and its many shapes and elements, so vital to feng shui, is captured in the story of P'an Ku. As a result of his personal sacrifice, P'an Ku brought order to chaos and so gave birth to all life.Before time began there was an egg of inconceivable size. Darkness and chaos filled the egg, and out of the chaos P'an Ku was created. Nurtured by the darkness, he slowly developed and grew and for eighteen thousand years he was unaware of any life beyond the egg.One day he was awoken by a sudden, sharp movement but he could not see anything through the darkness. At first he was fearful but his fear was replaced by anger at being trapped. He lashed out with his fists and shattered the hard black shell of the egg.Darkness poured out of the egg, but so did the light that had been obscured for thousands of years. Everything that was clear and bright rose to the sky and . everything that was muddy and heavy fell to the earth. For a long time the sky and the earth were clearly divided. But P'an Ku was afraid that the brightness above would fall onto the darkness below, and so he held the heavens aloft with his hands and kept the earth steady with his feet.The years passed by, the sky and earth moved further apart but P'an Ku did not rest. Another eighteen thousand years passed and the earth and sky were so far apart that they could no longer be seen. But still P'anKu would not let go in case chaos came pouring back. A further ten thousand years passed and at last P'an Ku was sure that the world was safe. He finally let go, but as he bowed his head he collapsed from exhaustion and began to die.He let out one final breath which became the wind and the clouds, his deep voice rose as thunder, his left eye flew to the heavens to become the sun, and his right eye soon followed to become the moon. The lifeless body of P'an Ku fell to the earth; his limbs and torso became plains, hills and mountains, and his blood coursed through the earth filling rivers and lakes. His muscles were transformed into the soil and his tendons turned into paths and roads. His thick grey hair and long beard rose to become the stars, and his fine body hair and skin sank into the earth and took root as grass, trees and flowers. His bones, teeth and marrow changed into glistening rubies, jade and minerals.P'an Ku had offered himself to the world, and by doing so gave birth to all life.(Adapted from Chinese Myths and Legends, translated by Man-Ho Kwok, edited by Joanne O'Brien)