3 Video Views·Dec 19, 2025
Journey into the ancient world of Chinese mythology as this documentary explores the dawning of China’s mightiest gods and the myths that shaped early Chinese civilization. Through legendary creation stories, celestial battles, and divine hierarchies, the film reveals how ancient people understood the universe, nature, and human destiny.
Featuring stories of primordial beings such as Pangu, Nüwa, the Jade Emperor, and other powerful deities, the documentary connects mythological narratives with ancient Chinese culture, ritual practices, and antiques, including bronzes, jades, temple carvings, and early inscriptions. These artifacts provide rare insight into how gods were worshipped and represented in antiquity.
With expert commentary, historical context, and visual references to archaeological discoveries, this episode offers a deeper understanding of how mythology influenced Chinese art, religion, and civilization over thousands of years.
Ideal for viewers interested in Chinese history, mythology, archaeology, and ancient art, this film sheds light on the divine origins of one of the world’s oldest continuous cultures.
Saw the bamboo and bone structure of this place
My half of the bamboo frame
This is one branch of our Qinghan
Our workshop isn't always making that bad stuff
It has been around for four hundred
years It's probably been around for over four hundred years The board wasn't used as a tool anymore
This board wasn't for sale I've had it these few months
They passed away It wasn't about this
board When it was hard to go home after he died we
bought a coffin for him
Bought with this hard board
the spider rope - called
Shinoyama - that day Tatsuya
- that big one also called
Higashiyama - and the three big ones also called
Yonoyama - all bought with this bamboo board
in our land
This is printed with a plate
Printed with a hard plate
This Kangshenghe New Year Picture Studio
Has been in operation for twenty-six generations in the Han family
The name of Han Jianfeng's ancestors
They all wrote on the family's Christian Bible
The Christian Bible is
the region of Huaxia County's ancestral prayers
What is development I
myself do not develop I
only exist in protection
and inheritance I keep it
The things outside are
thrown away by others I don 't know what's in their house I organize it well
Show it to everyone again
I will finish the person
The Han family's photo business reflects the history of the Han
market This bridge in the ancient
Han city was once the Great Bay Tour
built by the Han people in
the 7th century Affordable public
transportation has endowed it with
a rich national culture Therefore
This Hong Kong tour deal carries
on the tradition of the Chinese
New Year pictures across
the country take a look at a few of them
This is the kind of
place where locals
used to make things
by hand those old
workshops there was no one there then
they made it into pickled vegetables
I'm moving out
Let's make some soup
Are you going to buy it or not
Buy it or not
I'm talking about the taste of the soup
I like this one
I'll pay for it
These were all rented out a few years ago
You rent it out now
That gives me I'll take
The first one gives me Rent is all expensive
Although the boss
no longer sells wood
this big bay tour has
a silver design take
a look see if it's
valuable this is very
old that's just scraped off I say look
The piece is not falling off is it It
basically doesn't
fall off It's mainly
embroidered fabric
This should be Aoki
This is called Tenchin
Shennong is this
I said you can give me a few
embroidered ones I'
m lending
you these two boards I'm lending you Did you
borrow Where In the middle building
Shennong or Tianzhu is the origin
of China's earliest agricultural
design and the strong cultivation located
in the large Tianzhu
areas of central China Huaxian
County which was traditionally the largest
producer of seeds in Henan Province at that time
Almost everyone owns
an image of Shen Nong
This is it It
won't come down for a hundred years
The color is
gone This should be a purple bubble
The bubble has lost its color
This red one is still fresh
I now think this painting is
The color looked green when seen
This painting should have been green at the time
It should have been green when it was painted
You see this part here
And this part here
The intestines here
Are also wearing green
It is still consistent The green
bubbles will burn Flower branches It should
be flower branches and small
trees They are all
regular green bubbles
Although the deity on the
land has religious origins
over time it became the
farmers' prayer hoping
for various bountiful harvests and the living
beings formed the New Year
image of Huaxian County
Seventy-two deities from diverse cultural backgrounds
including the Lord of the
Chen religion Buddhism's Buddha
historical figures and legendary
characters the New Year
images are not merely reliant
on religion but represe
People's expectations for life
They represent
The spiritual world of the Chinese people especially many farmers
Hello
Hello
Is he just back from abroad
Yes yes
He has returned from abroad
He is currently in quarantine in Guangzhou
Because of the deputy village head
Han-ryeong is busy with the New
Year but every
minute is for recovery
Stick together and
press flat the old
image begins to
appear the old glory
But there is still a long way to go
Hello the village officer will
be in Chenglin after Chenglin
Oh I have a painting
Use a knife
Before the image was sealed Han
Yeong had to create a copy It is important that the original
similarity must
be preserved in the
image The standard painting is
traditional and has been preserved
until now Basically they are
more exaggerated in proportion
You compare the head arms and legs
then the clothing of it
is not exaggerated in appearance
Hello
When will the
feet appear Where to
record All need to be opened
Chinese New Year picture
Contains black lines and colors
Therefore to highlight
The overall meaning of the picture
Artists must
understand how
to create and how to print
The image "Land of God"
has been restored but to truly survive it must
be born in
people's homes
come out from home come
to your house you should
come as soon as possible
I'll give you a message
You farm well
Our film producer
Will help you get more grain
History can never be changed
The ancient civilizations
of China have all relied
on faith Although
our current faith is different from the past it is actually the history of life From the
style of writing
A harmonious relationship in accordance with heaven and ear
In the image of "Land of
God " besides God there
are also dragonflies and
damselflies in the world
This is a New Year picture
One of the special charms The spiritual world Carelessly
Has daily religious
activities
People's wishes and desires
The main varieties are
Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot
and Pinot Noir which
have been aging for about 16 to 18 months depending
on the vintage with
nearly 100% new oak since the start of winter
Yin Qi has been traveling
to hotels across China
to find the right liquor license for his design
Over the past six years Yin Qi
has bought a bottle of fresh wine
for the New Year Each bottle
contained a picture of the Wealth
God The Wealth God's words are "
Congratulations on Wealth" which
is beloved by
everyone in China and has no sense of distance
It seems no one likes it Sorry Wealth God I don't like it
This bottle's new theme
It is a popular photo in
Chinese New Year celebrations
This is from the Shandong transportation area
which is the area around Pingdu and Gaomi
then Shandong people especially love the God of Wealth so there are especially
a lot of Gods of Wealth there
and they are all big ones
It's a large Guishen painting So big a painting Then if you
say operate with woodblock
printing you can't print
it all at once Because
it's too big So when
printing such a line board
If it's such a large piece it's printed half first and then
half again then combined
Back in Beijing Yan
Qi must quickly choose
the correct photo If
this bottle of wine
The New Year's time is about to be released Actually the true meaning of the Wealth God is that
the Wealth God is there to help
others Masters great virtuous ones
junior masters and small virtuous ones
Sometimes having virtue means being virtuous at all times
Doing good deeds and
helping others in fact
Yan Qi is not
a merchant
or a wine seller he
is first and foremost
a collector who gathers
New Year's photos since
2007 he has collected
More than one thousand types
New Year photos from all over China These
photos of the God of Wealth
Are his favorites
This part is from Sichuan democracy
I say this must be for Spain
Look at his movements
Doesn't he look like he 's dancing the Flamenco
Later when we made
Italian wine I said
Italy must be Guan
Yu which perfectly
matches Italian opera so I said
Guan Yu must have been left for Italy
Doesn't it sound like opera
There are many photos
about the god of wealth in
New Year pictures for example the god
of wealth of
Spain the military god of
wealth Zhao
Guangming Marx 's
Fan Li Ye Ouhai etc They
not only represent wealth
They also
represented faith justice
and evaluated
a man's morality in
obtaining wealth through
the right
means but Zhao Guangming still
could
not decide which one
fit this year's wine
The "God of Wealth" series of
wines is not Zhao Guangming 's first attempt to incorporate
New Year photo elements
In fact Zhao Guangming has been releasing limited
edition New Year designs
for several decades
Everyone thinks red envelopes are red
Of course our thinking is
Red envelopes are not just red
Red envelopes can be colorful
Then the most important thing
Where Actually when you give it to children
When getting red
envelopes kids get
red envelopes wow
so beautiful that 's
actually our culture it's passed
on no need to say
too much about it
Whether it's Zhao Guangming's New
Year products his New Year wine
or anything else Zhao Guangming
does all are the
beauty of tradition
Zhao Guangming finally decided
that the welfare improvements he
hopes for Zhao Guangming can bring
to people during the pandemic
We are the carriers of traditional culture because
we have always emphasized
that we are design without
design and the patterns we use are all left by our ancestors and these patterns
are already very beautiful
By using some simple
techniques such as cutting
out images repeating
patterns and changing
colors through some
simple design methods it 's
just presented After
two weeks of struggle
Zhao Guangming's New Year
photo welcomed a new style
The New Year is coming
Zhao Guangming's New Year limited edition
is being printed
The good news is
Zhao Guangming's wine
has finally left the wine shop
Zhao Guangming is about to go to the wine shop
How come you're not coming out That's great
Wow That's great
Actually we just said
to show our culture
to others
that's all
to do our best
to create some small things
so that people can see the beauty of our traditional culture
If that's the case
It's like a
shadow allowing people
to see these
things and then think
about them and apply them
Now the wine is ready
Zhao Guangming hopes traditional culture
in the New Year photos
will be attractive and
will last a long time
But wine is just a specialty
in the New Year photo the
kitchen god
protects family
safety the bee fairy brings
marital happiness
the door
gods the
longevity god the
wisdom god each is the protector of
life all can be
This special New Year photo
When is the rainy
season Where is it
Above is the place
Hurry and pay homage
This is a clip from the movie "Panic in Heaven"
Not common is
the photo of this photo
Actually from
traditional New Year's photos
Wu's Folding Code
The term "Zhemai" refers to ancient
ritual offering fireworks for worship
and is the oldest type of New Year's
photo It contains
the image of a deity
Good morning
Tao Xiaomeng works as an agent and a
financial officer for
a family business Her
other name is the irreversible
tradition
of Wu's folding code
Hello Teacher Fang
Because of the pandemic we can't come
to Hangzhou to visit you anymore Then the last time we
met the birthday person and
the Queen Mother from
the Wu family's Zhemas
Can you send me
the two scanned
pages Then let
me make a backup
of our
Wushi folding code archive
Okay Alright thank
you very much
The National Museum has a collection
which is the Wú family's folding code
it should be theirs
collected in 1956
when I saw it
I said this is our family's
this is definitely our family's
It was exactly the
same as my grandfather's
hand-drawn sketch I almost
told the teacher then
and there that I was about to cry it was so
touching because it was
so similar Then I just felt
I want to restore
Tao Xiaomeng was born in Wushi ancient city
where the tradition of
Wushi Zhemas has been
passed down for over
60 years Her grandfather
ran the last Wushi
Zhemas studio in the city
It was closed in 1958
The code began to be integrated into history
This is the old house where Grandpa used
to live At Grandpa's house
What are you doing
Cleaning my grandmother's house
This is an old photo of Grandpa when he used to paint
His hair is always blown up high
Then there is usually an interview person He would first
say to me Come and take a look
How is my hair
He really pays attention to his
that is his appearance
He's an old man who
must look very stylish and well-groomed He's very cute
In 2002 Tao Kuijun the grandfather of Tao Xiaomeng began
systematically restoring the
folding code At that
time there was no wood
available so he had to draw it from memory
This is a sketch that
Grandpa drew before Look this is very
similar It is about half as
similar as the one collected
by the National Art Museum of
China from five or six years
ago The similarity can reach over 85% Like her clothes
Hello everyone
I'll introduce myself first My
name is Tao Xiaomeng I am the inheritor of the Fei Yin tradition of Wuxi Zhi Ma
I think it's been over ten years now
and I graduated from Jiangda Community College
He just graduated
He has just graduated
She plans to finish the coding and
some students in the design school
They are the two of them
The image used by the grandfather is
the image of our longevity palace
She is the representative of the grandfather's longevity
the representative of the grandmother's longevity
is our Queen Mother of Heaven
Then the two of them are a couple
the symbol of longevity meaning that
in order to remake the
picture Tao Xiaomeng first asked the students
for the willingness to
provide a discount code
To promote it in modern society
and some technical
obstacles traditional paper horse images
are made with woodblock prints
and color decorations
is a very complex process
this is our Wuxi paper horse
The most powerful aspect is that it's a small
chapter on the five senses then it can be
freely combined this is
the eyebrows which are
raised eyebrows then this
is its facial features
Wuxi folding code images
do not include facial
details these details should
be printed and shaped by the artist and these details
allow for more space to
be freely combined which
will create more obstacles
To achieve original desig
My grandfather passed away in 2016 I was really
sad at the time There was nothing I could do
to control my emotions It felt like because I
had a very good relationship
with my grandfather
They are the kind of
people who can talk
about anything He is also an
up-to-date old man Then he often asks me about the
things that young people like these days
Our temple of the God
of Wealth is mainly
dedicated to our Golden
Holy Wealth God This is the
image of the Wealth God
Everyone can take a look
Our Wealth God looking
at his clothes and his hat
They are actually quite similar just like his
original Our version of
the Wealth God's image So
our version When Wuxi Sesame was shaping the
character's image there
was evidence to support it
Our God of Wealth Temple
has now become a tourist
attraction In a way it's somewhat
similar to our Wuxi Sesame
Because Wuxi Sesame is in a pretty bleak
situation now I think In the entire
city of Wuxi there's only our company
left I think at least
from my perspective
I can't cut it off from my area Let'
s stick to the
original route We will
go that way Then
another route That 's the innovative way
That is to say
This is how young people today
including those born in the 90s
00s and possibly even the 10s
will accept new things that are old
Why is this one damaged
Because it's very old
We are restoring this history
Can it be restored This is the red edition right
Tao's Sesame Workshop is still
ongoing at the School of Design at
Jiangnan University using modern
Wuxi sesame printing to create prints
The collaborative efforts of Tao and his students
The printing of "The Eternal God" and "The Queen Mother"
was finally reprinted
but Tao's efforts will not stop
because I am 35 years old
I have children my
parents are also getting
older I must take responsibility for
my children and my
parents' future lives
so I must work therefore
in my spare time
I think I should let more
people know about Wuxi Sesame
I can attend classes I can
promote it I can organize events I
can let children experience it I can go to
schools To reach people of
the current younger generation
Let them know there is such a thing I think
everyone should have a wish Just like our
Wuxi sesame It's only
when there's a wish that
it comes true Yes keep working at it slowly
The answer lies
in everything When
everything has a spirit every New
Year people become their gods for
the comfort of spirit and peace
Today's ethnic faith has become
a traditional cultural
heritage The gods in the
New Year photos overflow from people's
hopes and wishes and now have new life
Thank you to artisans artists and promoters