Pangu is a creator figure in a Chinese cosmogonic story that became widely known, but he does not appear in the earliest surviving Chinese classics. The first clear written accounts are attributed to Xu Zheng in the third century CE, and later texts expand the story.
Separating heaven and earth
In the familiar account, the cosmos begins in an undifferentiated state often compared with an egg. Pangu grows within it and separates clear, light matter into heaven from heavy matter that forms earth. He continues growing so that the two do not collapse together.
The body becomes the world
After Pangu dies, parts of his body become features of the cosmos: breath becomes wind, voice becomes thunder, eyes become sun and moon, blood becomes rivers, and bones become mountains or minerals. Lists differ, and some additions appear only in later retellings.
A late but important tradition
The story shares motifs with other transformation myths, yet simple claims of borrowing are difficult to prove. Pangu became important in popular religion, art, and regional traditions despite late attestation. He should not be called the one original Chinese creator when other cosmogonies exist.