This ancient symbol represents the opposing forces of the universe, known as yin and yang. The ancient religon called Taoism (pronounced dow-ism) teaches that harmony in the universe comes from balancing opposites such as good and evil, warm and cold, male and female, and darkness and light. This story, from the Chinese, tells how that balance happened.
THE EGG
In the beginning of time, there was only chaos, fighting and churning inside an enormous egg. One day the egg broke and a giant called Pan Ku appeared. With him came the two basic forces: Yin and Yang.
Yin, the dark energy, sank down and became the Earth. Yang, the light energy, floated up and became Heaven. Yin and Yang, being complete opposites, wanted to fight with each other.
But Pan Ku would not let them—he stood between them and pushed them apart.
Every year Pan Ku grew taller and stronger, and Heaven and Earth were pushed farther and farther apart. At last, after 18,000 years, Pan Ku had grown so large and Heaven and Earth were so far apart that they could no longer hurt each other.
THE EARTH
When Pan Ku’s work was finally finished, he was very, very old and very tired. So the giant lay down upon the Earth and prepared to die. As he died, a miracle happened: Pan Ku’s hands and feet became the four quarters of the globe. His head turned into the mountains that rise up from the Earth. His right eye became the sun and his left eye, the moon.
First known architect: Imhotep. He built a pyramid at Saqqara, Egypt, in 2660 B.C.
A thousand different plants and trees grew from his skin and hair. Pan Ku’s blood made the rivers and the sea. His teeth, bones, and marrow became the metals, rocks, and precious stones within the Earth. From his breath came the winds and from his booming voice came thunder.
Last of all came the people. They were created from the fleas and lice that crept all over Pan Ku’s hairy body.
And that is how the world began.
Picasso created about 13,500 works of art in his 78-year career. (That’s one every other day.)