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Summer's picture

Stories, Facts and Truth

 If somebody says, the stories about how this world created are the truth, I'll absolutely argue with him or her. Yes, I can't deny that all the myths somehow reflects the facts on the earth. However, the myths are told ever since thousands of years ago, who can guarantee people back then knew exactly how the earth created? 

    In ancient China, people believed the sky is round and the earth is a flat, rectangular plate. Therefore, in all Chinese myths, you can find the god or goddess making a flat land and put a semi sphere on top of the land to cover it. Rivers flow from west to east and go into the sea, so it says in the myths. In my perspective, myths are the made by our ancestors with their knowledge of the world and their imagination. When they told the stories to their children, they add their hope into the stories. They also teach their children what is right and wrong, good and evil. They encourage their children to be strong, brave, kind, thoughtful and so on. They did those things by telling stories reflect those qualities in the early years of their children's lives. If you ask me "do you believe those myths which you were told when you were young?", I'll say no. If you ask me "will you tell those stories to your children", I'll say absolutely yes.

    I read the Greek myth about the creation of the world. I found the story unacceptable in almost every way in China. It conflicts with the morals in Chinese society. In Greek myth, Gaea mate with her own son Uranus, and they have many offsprings. Then Uranus hated his child, Gaea got angry and let their children attack Uranus. One of the gods named Cronus married his sister. In ancient China, those things are definitely immoral and should be punished. 

    To conclude, myths, creation stories reflects the truth of the world and the aspects of people's lives at some points, but they do not tell about what the world really is. Those stories contain people's judgements and wishes, they are different in areas. Enjoy them, think about them, do not completely believe them.

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