The Crane Lifting up the Sky

The Crane Lifting up the Sky (Xian He Ding Tian in Chinese) is the genesis myth of the Daur ethnic minority.

The Daur is the ethnic minority living in the north of Inner Mongolia,Heilongjiang province,and other places in China.The Crane Lifting up the Sky describes the genesis myth as the following:

Long long ago,heaven and earth were initially glued together.Heaven was like a cauldron clasped on the square earth.A crane with long neck lifted up the sky.From then on,heaven and earth were separated.(https://www.daowen.com)

The crane stood in the middle of heaven and earth.It supported the earth with one foot and changed the feet every three years.Each time it changed its feet,the earth would shake.That is the earthquake.

After tens of thousands of years,floods flooded the earth.All life on the earth were extinct.After the catastrophe,mankind and all creatures were born and prospered.

Most of the creation myths occurred during the budding period of human civilization.At that time,people used more primitive ways to explain everything.These forms of creation myths are diverse,reflecting the ideology of the ancestors who knew the universe and their longing for good things.