Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction Comparative Flood Myths Chinese Flood Myths 1. Flood Taming and Cosmogony Cosmogonies and Social Divisions Social Divisions and the Flood The Flood and the Human-Animal Divide The Flood and Human Nature The Flood and Local Cultures Conclusion 2. Flood Taming and Criminality Criminality and the Collapse of Social Divisions Gong Gong as a Criminal Gun as a Criminal Criminality and Flood in the Shan hai jing Criminality, Floods, and the Exile of Sons Conclusion 3. Flood Taming and Lineages The Sages as Bad Fathers and Sons The Demon Child Fathers, Sons, and the Collapse of Social Divisions Conclusion 4. Flood Taming, Couples, and the Body The Mythology of Nu Gua and the Flood The Mythology of Nu Gua and Fu Xi The Iconography of Nu Gua and Fu Xi Yu, Marriage, and the Body Conclusion Conclusion Notes Works Cited Index

About the Author

Mark Edward Lewis is Kwoh-ting Li Professor of Chinese Culture at Stanford University and the author of Writing and Authority in Early China and The Construction of Space in Early China, both published by SUNY Press.

Reviews

"This is a well-documented study of the Chinese flood myths that came to be written down during the Warring States and especially the Han period … For anyone who has a serious interest in Chinese flood myths per se, this is the best place to begin." — History of Religions

"…distinctive in being the first English language, Western monograph providing a comprehensive study of Han flood myths." — Journal of Folklore Research

"This is a superb example of the best of contemporary studies of early China. Every page in every chapter of this book is a feast. The scholarship is impeccable, the sense of order deft, and the narrative argument compelling." — John H. Berthrong, author of Concerning Creativity: A Comparison of Chu Hsi, Whitehead, and Neville