The Story of Chang E Hou Yi, a hero in Chinese mythology, got an elixir from the Queen Mother of the west, a powerful goddess. Then he let Chang E, his lover to keep it. A man named Peng Meng wanted to steal the elixir to become a god. But Chang E stopped him. Peng Meng was so angry that he wanted to kill Chang E. To keep the elixir from Peng Meng, Chang E had no choice but to eat the elixir herself, which maked her a goddess. A goddess must live in the heaven. But Chang E didn’t want to be too far from Hou Yi. So she stayed in the moon and was not willing to go further. Guanghan Palace was the place Chang E lived, but there nothing interested Chang E. So she had Wu Gang cut the cassia trees and the Jade Rabbit pound medicine, expecting the medicine could help her to go back to earth.

The Story of Gong Gong In ancient China, it was believed that the heaven, which was round and likes an umbrella, covered the squared earth. The heaven was supported by eight heaven pillars and the earth was suspended on four ropes. One for each corner. Once upon a time, Gong Gong fighted for the throne against Zhuan Xu, but he failed. He was so angry that he collided on the Mt Buzhou, which was a heaven pillar to keep the heaven stable. Due to his collision, Mt Buzhou was broken as well as the earth rope in the southeast corner of the earth. Thus, the heaven leaned in the northwest direction, so the sun, the moon and stars moves gradually to the northwest. And the southeast corner of the earth was collapsed, so the rivers flow to the Southwest.

A Story of Caocao Caocao, the King of Wei, is going to meet with the Huns ambassador. But he thinks himself too ugly to get respect from the remote country. So Caocao has Cui Jigui to pretend to be him. He, instead, stands at the bedside with a sword. After the meeting is over, Caocao tells a spy to ask the ambassador what he thinks of the King of Wei. The ambassador replies :“Of course, the King of Wei is of extraordinary temperament. While the man is a real hero who stands at the bedside and carries a sword.” Hearing of that, Caocao commands soldiers to chase the ambassador and kills him.

Cui Zhu Killed His Monarch Cui Zhu, a viscount in Qi Kingdom, killed his monarch, Duke of Qi. He commanded the office historian, Taishi Bo, to write in historical book that’ Duke of Qi died of malaria.’ Bo didn’t obey Cui Zhu, writing in the bamboo slips that “Cui Zhu killed his monarch in May in the summer.” Seeing that, Cui Zhu was so angry that he killed Bo. Taishi Bo has three brothers, namely Zhong, Shu, and Ji. Zhong wrote in bamboo slips the same as Bo. Cui Zhu killed Zhong similarly. Then, Shu also wrote that and was also killed. As the successor, Ji wrote that the same. With Ji’s bamboo slips in hand, Cui Zhu asked Ji that “Your three brothers all died from writing that. Why don’t you cherish your life. You are not going to be killed if you change what you have written down.” Ji replied “Recoding the fact in the historical book is the historian’s duty. It’s preferred to die than to live with the dereliction of duty. And even if I don’t write that down, there is sure to be someone else who will do that. Therefore, my dereliction doesn’t make what you did unknown, only means a laughing stock. So my life is not worth cherishing too much. It’s hoped that you could think it about.” Cui Zhu sighed and gave the bamboos back to Ji. Ji get out to his office, carrying his slips. Just before he got there, Ji saw Nanshi, another historian and asked about the intention of his coming. Nanshi said “It’s heard that all you brothers had been killed. Being afraid there is not someone who record what happened in May in the summer. I came here with my bamboo slips.” Finally Nanshi left with satisfaction, after Ji showed him what he wrote “Cui Zhu killed his monarch in May in the summer.”

Four Heavenly Kings in Buddhism In the Buddhism faith ,a mountain named Semeru ,namely “须弥山” in Chinese，locates in the center of the world we live , which is surrounded by salty ocean . In the ocean, there are four big islets or continents and eight small islets. The four big islets are respectly Purvavideha(东胜神州) in the east, Jambudvipa(南瞻部洲) in the south, Aparogodaniya(西牛贺州) in the west and Uttarakuru(北俱卢洲) in the north. Each islet is protected by one heavenly king. The east , Purvavideha, is protected by Dhrita-ratra, whose name is “持国天王” in China.He lives in the east part of Semeru Mountain , where the land is made of gold. With a white armature , he has a pipa which is an instrument and use it to teach people the true meaning of Buddhism. The south, Jambudvipa, is protected by Vidradhaka, known as “增长天王” in China. He lives in the south part of Semeru Mountain ,where the land is glass. With a cyan armature ,he has a sword and use it to protect the dhama, which seems like the Tao in Taoism, meaning the truth or principle. The west , Aparogodaniya, is protected by Virapaksa or “广目天王”. He lives in the west part of Semeru Mountain , where the land is silver . With a red armature , he has a snake and use it to catch those who violate the dhama. The north, Uttarakaru, is protected by Varsravana ,namely “多闻天王”. He lives in the north part of Semeru Mountain ,where the land is crystal . Wearing a green armature and with a mouse in his left hand , he has an umbrella to protect people’s heart and mind free from the pollution of evil.

Whether is human born good or bad? Whether a man is born good or bad is an issue debated by pilosophers in Eastern and Western for centuries . Mencius，a Chinese philosopher living about 2000 years ago , hold the opinion that everyone is born good ,for the fact that everyone has sympathy and commiseration ,which is shared by Adam Smith .We feel delighted when we see everyone around us is happy ,and we become sad by seeing others suffering .As Confucius and Mencius influenced China more than any other philosopher ,thus in the ancient ,Chinese government saw more value in “教化” ，which means teaching and instilling moral ideas to the public rather than clarifying the laws and cultivating their legal conception . The Buddhism ,spreads in China with constant change to be compatible with Confucianism .A principle held by Chan masters is known in China that is “佛无不可渡化之人”, which means every can realize the true meaning of life and then be saved through our saving .Jean-Jacques Rousseau thinks similarly with Lao-zi ,another Chinese philosopher ,that when human beings are still in primitive society ,everyone has nothing and they are born pure ,kind ,and born with freedom and consciousness. In the contrast ,the above opinion is accompanied by another opinion that is everyone is born bad .Xuncius ,who is a prentice of Mencius ,holds a totally different opinion from Mencius .He thinks human ,similar to animals ,is born to care his own benefit .If not limited ,human will behave badly by following their inherent idea .Han Fei ,one of Xuncius’s prentices ,then maintain that human’s behaviors should be limited by government through strict laws and heavy punishments ,which is adopted partly by later Chinese dynasties . In Christian ,people are born with sins ,and can only be saved through God’s forgiveness .And Tomas Hobbes ,an English political philosopher ,think human is like a beast ,which puts himself in the center of the world ,born with anti-society and destructive greed ,and the society should be a tool ,constraining the beast .These opinions are shared by Machiavelli , Schopenhauer and Hegel . In my opinion , human is not born good nor bad ,who has both the instinct to pursuit his interest by defeating the competitor and the tendency to cooperate with each other .So even the best man has defections and selfishness ,and the worst man may sometimes show his mercy and kindness .No man is an angel and no man is a devil ,he is just a man.