The Forgotten Legend Behind Every Chinese Character

Chinese writing didn’t begin with an alphabet. According to legend, it began with a four-eyed historian, a mysterious footprint dropped by a phoenix, ghosts crying in the night—and grain raining from the sky.

In this episode of Learn Chinese Now, Jared tells the legendary story of Cāngjié 倉頡, the man said to have invented Chinese characters. But his story is only one chapter in the mythological birth of Chinese civilization.

We’ll travel from the cosmic egg of Pángǔ 盤古 to Nǚwā 女媧 creating humanity, Suìrén 燧人 discovering fire, Fúxī 伏羲 teaching people how to live, Shénnóng 神農 discovering agriculture and Chinese medicine, and the Yellow Emperor Huángdì 黃帝 guiding early civilization.

Then we’ll discover how the footprint of a legendary Píxiū 貔貅 may have inspired Cāngjié to create the world’s oldest continuously used writing system.

Which legendary figure should we cover next? Tell us in the comments!

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