According to legend, in the beginning of the world, the sky and the earth were not separated, and there was only darkness and chaos.
很早很早以前,天和地还没有分开,宇宙只是混沌一片。
Our ancestor Pangu,a giant, had been born and growing up in it for 108 000 years. One day, he suddenly woke up. Opening the eyes, he found that everything was blurred and invisible.
人类的老祖宗——盘古是一个巨人,就生长在这混沌之中,一直经过了十万八千年。有一天,盘古忽然醒了过来睁开眼睛一看,模糊一片,什么都看不见。
Angrily, he grasped an axe and wielded it with an effort. With a bang, the chaos was split all of a sudden.
他非常生气,抓过一把斧子,朝眼前用力一挥。只听一声巨响,混沌一片的东西忽然分开了。
The light and clear air rose up to the sky, and the heavy and turbid to the earth.
一些轻而清的东西,缓缓上升,变成了天;重而浊的东西,慢慢下降,变成了地。
After it,Pangu propped up the sky with his head and stepped on the ground with his feet, fearing that they might close.
天地分开以后,盘古怕它们还要合在一起,就头顶天,脚踩地,随着它们的变化而变化。
The sky increased its height by 1 zhang daily, and the earth sank by 1 zhang • Pangu Talk About China in English一History grew with it.
天每天升高一丈,地每天下沉一丈,盘古也随着增长变化。
Thousands of years passed, the heaven and the earth finally separated ,but he fell down exhaustedly.
这样不知过了多少年,天和地逐渐成形了,盘古也累得倒了下去。
Following his death, his breath turned into the wind and clouds, his voice the thunder; his eyes the sun and the moon. His four limbs and body became the four quadrants of the globe, and his blood the rivers and his muscles and bones the layers of the earth. His flesh became the soil, his hair and furs the stars, flowers and trees. Even his sweat turned into rain and dew.
盘古死后,他呼出的气息变成了风和云,发出的声音变成了雷,双眼变成了太阳和月亮,手足和身躯变成了大地的四极和高山,血液变成江河,筋骨变成道路,肌肉变成田地,毛发变成星星和花草树木,就连身上的汗,也变成了雨露和甘霖。
Pangu created the rich and beautiful world with his body.
人类的老祖宗盘古,用他整个的身体创造了这美丽而丰富的宇宙。