like a swooping eagle will from some one have received the name of
'Eagle Mountain,' whilst by its side another shaped like a couchant
lion will have a name to match. There is no lack of poetry among the
people, and most striking objects claim a poetic name, and not a few
of them are associated with curious legends. It is, however, to their
national history that the story-teller goes for his most interesting
subjects, and as the so-called history of China imperceptibly passes
into the legendary period, and this again fades into the mythical,
and as all this is assuredly believed by the masses of the people,
it is obvious that in the national life of China there is no dearth
of heroes whose deeds of prowess will command the rapt attention of
the crowds who listen." [2]

The soul in China is everywhere in evidence, and if myths have "first
and foremost to do with the life of the soul" it would appear strange
that the Chinese, having spiritualized everything from a stone to the
sky, have not been creative of myth. Why they have not the foregoing
considerations show us clearly enough. We must take them and their
myths as we find them. Let us, then, note briefly the result of their
mental workings as reacted on by their environment.


Phases of Chinese Myth

We cannot identify the earliest mythology of the Chinese with that of
any primitive race. The myths, if any, of their place of origin may
have faded and been forgotten in their slow migration eastward. We
cannot say that when they came from the West (which they probably
did) they brought their myths with them, for in spite of certain
conjectural derivations from Babylon we do not find them possessed