A Comparative Study of the Chinese Yugur and Han Creation

Abstract

       Creation myths, as an important part of the mythology of any nation, are valuable for studying ancient human ideology, religious beliefs and cultural heritage. China is a country with multi-ethnic groups, and the Han nationality and other minority cultures constitute the Chinese national culture. Chinese creation myths include both Han creation myths and minority creation myths. Based on a comparative study, this paper explored the Yugur creation myths and Han creation myths. The Yugur nationality is a very small ethnic group in China, with a population of just over 14,000, mainly in the Yugur Autonomous County of Sunan and the Huangnibao area of Jiuquan, Gansu Province of China. Despite their small population, the Yugur has a history of over 1200 years and rich literary resources. With the literature approach, this paper selected the most famous creation myths of the Yugur minority groups and the representative creation myths of the Han nationality to explore the similarities and differences between the Yugur creation myths and the Han creation myths. The similarities lie in the fact that the creation myths of the two nationalities reflect the correspondence between the universe and the human being, the close relationship between the creation of the universe and God, and the harmonious idea of the unity between heaven and man; the differences lie in the fact that the creation myths of the two nationalities have different religious and political overtones, and that the animal totem worships highlighted in the Yugur myths is not reflected in the creation myths of the Han nationality. Through the comparative study of Yugur and Han creation myths, this paper explains Chinese culture’s inheritance, intermingling and commonality when integrating with multi-ethnic groups.