398 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



circle two oppositely directed semicircles, whose centers are those 

 of the two radii. The reciprocal action of the dual powers, con- 

 tinuing through ages, produced all that is. Puan Ko, sometimes 

 represented as a giant holding up the sun and moon and shaping 



the mountains, is only the personifica- 



^ -^ tion of the forces that wrought in chaos. 



^Sg n, A zenith, ;i nadir, and all the points 



A W a \ f the compass wen' gradually evolved. 



M ak \ There came to lie a distinction between 



fl ^^ I the ^ > i * i i-A' 1 1 1 heavens, with the seven mov- 



gfek I ing luminaries, and the dark earth, with 



m m^< m / ^ s seas ' ^ G ma ^ e P rmc ipl e predomi- 



^ W / nated above, the female principle pre- 



^^ ^p ^y dominated below, as Father Heaven and 



Mother Earth, each having an all-per- 

 vading spirit, but with unlike influence. The body comes from 

 and depends upon the earth ; the soul comes from and returns to 

 the heavens. 



The rocks are the bones of the divine body, the soil is the flesh, 

 the metals are the nerves and veins ; the tide, wind, rain, clouds, 

 frost, and dew are all caused by its respirations, pulsations, and 

 exhalations. Originally the mountains rose to the firmament, and 

 the seas covered the mountains to their tops. At that time there 

 was, in the divine body, no life besides the divine life. Then the 

 waters subsided ; small herbs grew, and in the lapse of cycles 

 developed into shrubs and trees. As the body of man, unwashed 

 for years, breeds vermin, so the mountains, unlaved by the seas, 

 bred worms and insects, greater creatures developing out of lesser. 

 Beetles in the course of ages became tortoises, earth-worms became 

 serpents, high-flying insects became birds, some of the turtle-doves 

 became pheasants, egrets became cranes, and wild cats became 

 tigers. The praying mantis was by degrees transformed into an 

 ape, and some of the apes became hairless. A hairless ape made a 

 fire by striking crystal upon a rock, and, with the spark struck 

 out, igniting the dry grass. With the fire they cooked food, and 

 by eating warm victuals they grew large, strong, and knowing, 

 and were changed into men. There is a story that the ape who 

 first taught cooking had a peculiar origin. He was imprisoned, 

 from the beginning, in a rock on the sea-shore. The waves beat 

 on the rock century after century, and at last wore away all except 

 the ape that had been its center. Then the sun warmed him, and 

 the winds breathed upon him, till he became alive, and with a 

 divine impulsion went and taught his kind to cook their food. 



Khu says : " In the early days of man there were peace and 

 plenty, because no one disturbed or maltreated the body of God. 

 Those who saw a stone removed from its natural site, wept, and 



