Comparative study between Chinese mythology and Greek mythology.doc

Comparative study between Chinese mythology and Greek mythologyAbstract: Chinese mythology and Greek mythology are all great treasures of world arts. They have a profound effect on the world civilization. Owning to national diversity, we can find an obvious contrast between the cultures of east and west by comparing Chinese and Greek mythology.Key words: Chinese mythology, Greek mythology, diversityMythology, which is made by the ancient ancestors, reflects their understanding about origin of the world, natural phenomena, and social life. These myth stories are the important source of nation's history. Owning to national diversity, the mythology has distinct regional culture characteristics. Therefore, mythology, the oldest and strongest root of national culture, is the essential feature of it.China and Greece are cradles of civilization in the east and west history respectively. Similarly, the Chinese mythology and the Greek mythology are two shining pearls in the world. They have a profound effect on the world civilization. We can find an obvious contrast between the cultures of east and west by comparing them. 1. The image of GodMost of gods in the Chinese mythology are combinations of human and beast. But in the Greek mythology, gods are humanized.According to the Classic of Mountains and Rivers, the ratio of humanoid gods to non-humanoid gods is about one to four. The gods in the Chinese mythology are always half-human and half-beast. Fuxi has a face of human but a body of snake. The Yan Emperor Shennong has a head of cattle and a body of man. Even the Yellow Emperor, the legendary ancestor of the Chinese people, has four faces in mythology. In addition, the gods in the Chinese mythology are added more mysterious color. To the ancient Chinese, gods are supreme and inviolable. They are considered the incarnation of virtues. Nuwa is an incarnation of maternity, and KuaFu is endowed with perseverance. On the contrary, in the Greek mythology, gods are humanized. These gods have human appearance, character and emotion. The ancient Greeks created the gods which were based on human appearance. For example, Apollo is a handsome young man. Eros is a boy. Priapus is a man with a beard. Their characters are not perfect. Cowardliness and envy exist with braveness and magnanimity. The ruler of Gods, Zeus, is a crusty autocrat. Goddess of marriage, Hera, portrayed as extremely jealous and vindictive. Besides, most of gods in the Greek mythology have the basic needs of life and complicated emotions like human. The goddess of love, Aphrodite, was hurt in the Trojan War. She fled weeping to Mount Olympus to be healed and comforted like a little girl. 2. The gender perceptionThe goddesses in Chinese mythology are venerable, while the females are just in subordinate position in the Greek mythology.In Chinese mythology, Nuwa is known as a great mother of the Chinese nation. She shaped clay figurines which were the original human beings. When the sky fell down, Nuwa repaired it with multicolored stone. She loved her children and the whole world. For Chinese, Nuwa is a kind and selfless goddess who created and protected human beings.In the opinion of ancient Greeks, the males should be respected. Zeus ruled the whole world. All the gods were related to him. The creator of human is Prometheus. He stole fire for the benefit of mankind. Oppositely, the first woman, Pandora, was created along with a box filled with evils as the punishment of humanity. Up to now, we can still find the discrimination against women in English words which are derived from Greek mythology. For instance, because of the connection between Venus and the sex, the word veneral disease emerged. Other examples like Jocasta complex, nymphomania, arachnephobia.3. The valuesThe core of Chinese mythology is morality. In the Greek mythology, individuality and strength are advocated.Devotion, charity, and righteousness are celebrated in Chinese mythology. Pangu separated sky from earth. He stood between them and pushed up the sky for 18000 years until he was exhausted. Besides, Kuafu chased up the sun, Jingwei fill up the sea, Houyi shot down suns, all these myths reflect lofty moral characters. In Greek mythology, Zeus ruled all gods by his powerful force. All the gods in Olympus have different division of labor on the basis of their strength. Further more, gods and heroes in Greek mythology aspired the material and spiritual enjoyment rather than the welfare of human. These differences can be attributed to the diversity of history and culture.From the angle of times, the Chinese mythology was produced much earlier than the Greek mythology. Hence, the totemism and the female worship in matrilineal society had a greater effect on Chinese mythology. The beasts were seen as sacred, so the Chinese gods are combinations of human and beast. In that era, China was a matriarchal clan society. The Chinese mythology was the products of matrilineal clanship. This concept didnt disappear even in the patrilineal society. However, the Greek history persisted for a shorter period of time relatively, so the mythology appeared later. Greece entered patrilineal society quickly. The Greek myths were male-centered. At that time, Greece was in the period of homeric age which was away from the totemism. The Greeks were more and more intelligent. They didnt worship the totem any more. So gods in the Greek mythology are humanized.Considering the diversity of culture, because China was located in the interior, it formed a closed and simplex traditional culture. This was also the result of agricultural civilization. The group consciousness in agricultural civilization led to the ethics of Chinese mythology. So good and evil in Chinese mythology is clear. The mythical figures in it tend to dedicatory. Due to the configuration of the mountains, ancient Greeks were accustomed to migration, so they were brave and adventurous. Besides, Greek, situated on the shores of the Mediterranean, is an island. The culture in Greek is more open and diversiform. They worship the spirit of adventure and freedom. Comparative study between Chinese mythology and Greek mythology is helpful to comprehend differences in mental and cultural mechanism of the two national. Meanwhile, we can find the far-reaching influence of mythology on modern culture.In a word, from the mythology, we can obviously feel the diversity of history and culture in the world. It is the same today that it always was, and it will never change.