중국 창조신화와 우주생성론의 관계 － 반고(盤古)신화와 『회남자(淮南子)』를 중심으로－

Abstract

This article aims to examine the interrelationship between the creation myth of ancient China and the theory of Han Dynasty cosmogony, focusing on the Pan-gu myth and the Huainanzi. Among the fundamental questions posed by mankind since history, the question of the origin of all things has the most primitive and fundamental character. Both the Pan-gu myth, a creative myth, and the cosmological theory of the Huainanzi focus on these issues, dealing with issues such as the first state of chaos, the basis for creation and creation, and the process of generation from the first state of chaos to the concrete world. For the first chaos state, the Pan-gu myth describes the chaos state through the analogy of eggs, and the huainanzi describes it as a chaotic Qi(氣) mass and a fundamental state of production. As for the fundamental power that drives generation from such chaos, Pan-gu myth believes that the fundamental power of creation is already inherent in the state of chaos, and the Huainanzi explains that the 'Dao(道)' as the origin of generation begins generation in the state of energy. Finally, both Pan-gu myth and the Huainanzi understand that the process of creation or occurrence takes place by itself, which implies a natural order at each stage. Through the above discussion, the creation and the perspective of space generation of Pan-gu myth and the Huainanzi can be seen as a process of theoretical transformation in terms of the difference between the theoretical level and thinking. However, since the fundamental question about the origin of heaven and earth can be found simultaneously in two aspects: mythological imagination and philosophical thinking, the theory of cosmic generation of Ban-gu myth and Huainanzi opens up the possibility of coexistence between the mythological and philosophical worldviews.