Stories from Ancient China: Fu Xi and the Origin of Chinese Civilization

According to Chinese history, gods from heaven imparted culture directly to the Chinese people who Nu Wa had created. The best-known of these gods are Fu Xi and Shen Nong. They were sent down to earth to teach Chinese people basic skills and knowledge and to improve people’s awareness of nature.

Fu Xi, who lived in China during the time when human beings coexisted with gods. (Catherine Chang/The Epoch Times)

For a time, human beings coexisted with gods and China was called "the land of the divine."

At that time, Chinese people lived very simple lives. They searched for food when hungry and discarded the remains when satisfied. Fu Xi taught the ancient Chinese how to make nets to catch fish. In this way, the people greatly improved their productivity. Fu Xi also taught people how to domesticate animals, and this was the origin of livestock.

In addition, Fu Xi instituted marriage in Chinese society. Before Fu Xi came to earth, people mated with relatives and children lived with their mother and did not know their father. Fu Xi thoroughly changed the Chinese people’s mating habits and instituted a marital system and wedding etiquette.

Fu Xi also created “Shu Qi,” a system of carving on wood to replace the previous record keeping through knot tying. He also established laws for human beings and laid boundaries for the governing of different regions. He appointed officials in charge of public administration and governance.

Fu Xi is considered the originator of the eight trigrams, which enabled Chinese people to understand changes in their world and in the heavens, and the importance of obeying the will of Heaven. In this regard, Chinese people came to worship Heaven and nature with infinite respect, and to understand that their culture was a gift from the gods and a manifestation of certain features of divine culture.

According to tradition, it was Shen Nong who taught early Chinese how to make farm tools, how to make wasteland arable, and how to cultivate crops.

With the gods’ assistance, the quality of life of the ancient Chinese improved. They became better able to cope with nature and established norms for human behavior. In this way, the inexperienced and guileless Chinese gradually made a way of life for themselves, and their society entered the early stages of civilization.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/fu-xi-and-the-origin-of-chinese-civilization-57536.html