Chinese Fairy Tales
HOW THE FIVE ANCIENTS BECAME MEN
BEFORE the earth was separated
from the heavens, all there was was a great ball of watery vapor called
chaos. And at that time the spirits of the five elemental powers took
shape, and became the five Ancients. The first was called the Yellow
Ancient, and he was the ruler of the earth. The second was called the
Red Lord, and he was the ruler of the fire. The third was called the
Dark Lord, and he was the ruler of the water. The fourth was known as
the Wood Prince, and he was the ruler of the wood. The fifth was called
the Mother of Metals, and ruled over them. These five Ancients set all
their primal spirit into motion, so that water and earth sank down. The
heavens floated upward, and the earth grew firm in the depths. Then
they allowed the waters to gather into rivers and seas, and hills and
plains made their appearance. So the heavens opened and the earth was
divided. And there were sun, moon and all the stars, wind, clouds,
rain, and dew. The Yellow Ancient set earth’s purest power spinning in
a circle, and added the effect of fire and water thereto. Then there
came forth grasses and trees, birds and beasts, and the tribes of the
serpents and insects, fishes and turtles. The Wood Prince and the
Mother of Metals combined light and darkness, and thus created the
human race as men and women. And thus the world gradually came to be.
At
that time there was one who was known as [36] the True Prince of the
Jasper Castle. He had acquired the art of sorcery through the
cultivation of magic. The five Ancients begged him to rule as the
supreme god. He dwelt above the three and thirty heavens, and the
Jasper Castle, of white jade with golden gates, was his. Before him
stood the stewards of the eight-and-twenty houses of the moon, and the
gods of the thunders and the Great Bear, and in addition a class of
baneful gods whose influence was evil and deadly. They all aided the
True Prince of the Jasper Castle to rule over the thousand tribes under
the heavens, and to deal out life and death, fortune and misfortune.
The Lord of the Jasper Castle is now known as the Great God, the White
Jade Ruler.
The five Ancients withdrew after they had done their
work, and thereafter lived in quiet purity. The Red Lord dwells in the
South as the god of fire. The Dark Lord dwells in the North, as the
mighty master of the somber polar skies. He lived in a castle of liquid
crystal. In later ages he sent Confucius down upon earth as a saint.
Hence this saint is known as the Son of Crystal. The Wood Prince dwells
in the East. He is honored as the Green Lord, and watches over the
coming into being of all creatures. In him lives the power of spring
and he is the god of love. The Mother of Metals dwells in the West, by
the sea of Jasper, and is also known as the Queen-Mother of the West.
She leads the rounds of the fairies, and watches over change and
growth. The Yellow Ancient dwells in the middle. He is always going
about in the world, in order to save and to help those in any distress.
The first time he came to earth he was the Yellow Lord, who taught
mankind all sorts of arts. In his later years he fathomed the meaning
of the world on the Ethereal Mount, and flew up to the radiant sun.
[37] Under the rule of the Dschou dynasty he was born again as Li Oerl,
and when he was born his hair and beard were white, for which reason he
was called Laotsze, “Old Child.” He wrote the book of “Meaning and
Life” and spread his teachings through the world. He is honored as the
head of Taoism. At the beginning of the reign of the Han dynasty, he
again appeared as the Old Man of the River, (Ho Schang Gung). He spread
the teachings of Tao abroad mightily, so that from that time on Taoism
flourished greatly. These doctrines are known to this day as the
teachings of the Yellow Ancient. There is also a saying: “First Laotsze
was, then the heavens were.” And that must mean that Laotsze was that
very same Yellow Ancient of primal days.
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