Pangu, the primordial god

Pangu is one of the most renowned creation deities in Chinese mythology, considered the progenitor who separated the heavens and earth and gave birth to all things.The Legend of the Creation of Heaven and Earth

• Primordial Chaos: The universe was like an egg ("天地混沌如鸡子"), with Pangu gestating within, slumbering for 18,000 years.
• Separating Heaven and Earth:
  • Pangu awoke and cleaved the chaos with an axe, the lighter, clearer yang rising to become the heavens, and the heavier, darker yin sinking to form the earth.
  • He propped up the heavens with his hands and stood upon the earth with his feet, his height increasing by one zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) each day, the heavens and earth thus separating by 90,000 li over 18,000 years.
• Transformation After Death:
  • Pangu perished from exhaustion, his body transforming into all things:
    • His left eye became the sun, his right eye the moon;
    • His blood flowed into rivers and oceans, his breath into the wind and clouds;
    • His muscles morphed into fertile soil, his bones into mountain ranges;
    • His hair and fur into flora, his sweat into dewdrops;
    • His marrow into pearls, his teeth into rocks and metals…
  • Legend says his spinal column became the "Buzhou Mountain" (one of the pillars of heaven).