MICHAEL WOOD:'China, the land of dragons, 'and of magic and mystery.
MICHAEL WOOD:'All countries have stories about how they began, 'of gods and heroes, myths and fairy tales.
MICHAEL WOOD:'And China is just the same.
MICHAEL WOOD:'And the story you're going to hear 'tells how the Chinese people were made 'out of the yellow mud of the Yellow River.'
MICHAEL WOOD:I'm at a great farmers' festival in the plain of the Yellow River, with a million people all around me.
MICHAEL WOOD:'And all these people have come here 'to celebrate a story which is thousands of years old.
MICHAEL WOOD:'The story tells how the very first Chinese people were created.
MICHAEL WOOD:'And not just people, even dogs and chickens.'
MICHAEL WOOD:How much? Three?
MICHAEL WOOD:Little dog.
MICHAEL WOOD:It's great, isn't it? This whole great festival is to two ancient gods in Chinese mythology,
1300:01:31:00 00:01:33:14MICHAEL WOOD:Fuxi the male god, and Nuwa the female god.
MICHAEL WOOD:And she's famous because she created humanity out of the yellow mud of the Yellow River. And the mud that was left over, she made dogs and chickens, according to the myth.
MICHAEL WOOD:'So this Chinese myth 'is just like the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible. 'But this time it's about Fuxi and Nuwa.
MICHAEL WOOD:'There she is. 'In one hand, she's got the first Chinese baby. 'In the other, a lump of rock 'with which she repaired the hole in the sky.
MICHAEL WOOD:'You mean you didn't know the sky once had a big hole in it? 'Well listen to the story.'
UNKNOWN FEMALE:A long time ago, there was an earthquake and the sky fell in.
UNKNOWN FEMALE:Afterwards, the goddess Nuwa mended the pillars that held up the sky.
UNKNOWN FEMALE:Then, she and her brother Fuxi bit their fingers and mixed their blood with the mud from the Yellow River to make the first people.
UNKNOWN FEMALE:That's why all the people in China are descended from Fuxi and Nuwa.
LAUGHS
MICHAEL WOOD:'So that's why the Chinese people 'say they're the children of the god and goddess Fuxi and Nuwa.
Historian Michael Wood visits a farmer's festival in the plain of the Yellow River to honour the gods FuXi and NuWa.
They are are said to have created the first people from the yellow mud of the Yellow River.
He learns that the Chinese creation myth is surprisingly very similar to the Christian story of Adam and Eve.
This short film is from the BBC series, The Story of China. A series exploring the stories, people and landscapes that have helped create China's distinctive character over four thousand years.
Teacher Notes
You could ask your pupils to describe how the festival is celebrated and what it would be like being there along with one million people.
You could also ask them to recount the myth. What is the significance of the 'yellow mud' from the Yellow River?
Finally, you could compare the Chinese creation myth with the Christian version - that of Adam and Eve - or any other creation myths they have come across. What do they have in common? How are they different?
Curriculum Notes
This short film is relevant for teaching history at Key Stage 2 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and at Second Level in Scotland.
More from The Story of China
How Humans Got Fire. video
Michael Wood climbs the Hill of Shang and visits a temple to the Gods of Fire and Water. He tells how one of the king's sons, Ebo, stole fire by tricking the gods.
How the Shang Invented Writing. video
Michael Wood describes the discovery of Shang tombs in Anyang, where archaeologists discovered cow and turtle bones with writing on, the first writing known in China.
How King Yu Controlled the Flood. video
Michael Wood describes the importance of the Yellow River, and how every year it flooded and brought death and destruction to this part of China.
How the Early Chinese Made Bronzes. video
Michael Wood visits a state of the art science laboratory in Nanjing. He investigates a beautiful bronze bowl, over 2,500 years old.
How We Know About the Shang. video
Michael Wood explains how we know about the Shang dynasty and gives a survey of the evidence that tells us the Shang really existed.
The Rise and Fall of the Shang. video
Michael Wood explores the reasons behind the rise and fall of the Shang dynasty.
