A long long time ago, there was nothing but darkness. In a cosmic flash, the universe hatched an egg. Inside the egg was consciousness. It was a giant named Pang Gu. Pang Gu split the world in the middle, and separated the heavens from the earth. The heavens pushed up into the stars. The sky is tien.
At Pang Gu’s feet was the earth. Land and sea. The earth was made of mud – tu. And earth – di.
People sat on the dirt, and went to the market. They built earthen walls, and buried the dead in the ground.
Dragon wove through the water and air. Dragon stitched the planet together with pearls and crystals.
Turtle held up the earth under the sea. Turtle anchored the moving plates of rock.
Pang Gu worked hard to create the universe. His sweat fells as drops of rain. When Pang Gu slept, his sweat cooled and became snow. Flowers of snow drifted onto the earth. Rain is yu. Snow flakes, clouds, and electricity are all relatives of rain.
Pang Gu grew old and tired, and he lay down to sleep. His bones turned into clay, rocks, and mountains. His flesh became the soil. His blood transformed into rivers.
A stone is shí. Plates and bowls made of clay are fired, and become hard like stone.
A mountain is shan. Islands are a mountain in the sea. If you are lost, mountain spirits may help you find your way home. A tasty snack called haw flakes is made from a mountain tree named Crataegus, or hawthorn.
Pang Gu’s finger nails, teeth, and marrow became precious metals in the earth. Gold, Silver, Copper and Zinc. Metals are a sign of prosperity. Gold is jing. Needles, pots and pans, silver, and money all come from metals. A plant fragrant as gold is the tulip.
The lice on Pang Gu’s hairy body turned into monkeys, tigers, elephants, and other animals. His fleas became fishes in the rivers and seas.
In the morning, the goddess Nuwa awoke from her dream. She began to make people out of clay. This is a person, ren. People hide out from the rain under an umbrella. Others go up and live in the mountains, and become immortal. The person is present in the character for “today”.
Mission Azul 