China's Cosmological Prehistory

An examination of the earliest creation traditions and symbols of China and their similarities to those of other ancient cultures.

China's Cosmological Prehistory reveals the deep parallels between early Chinese words and those of other ancient creation traditions such as the hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt.

Exploring the eight stages of creation in Taoism and the cosmological origins of Chinese ancestor worship, the zodiac, the mandala, and the I Ching, Scranton provides further evidence that the cosmology of all ancient cultures arose from a single now-lost source.

Building on his extensive research into the sacred symbols and creation myths of the Dogon of Africa and those of ancient Egypt, India, and Tibet, Laird Scranton investigates the myths, symbols, and traditions of prehistoric China. He explores the fundamental similarities between the language that defined ancient Chinese cosmology and that of other creation traditions, revealing connections between the phonetic structure of the words, their glyphs, and their use.

Scranton demonstrates striking parallels between the earliest systems of writing in China and the hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt. He examines the eight levels of creation in Taoism and the cosmological origins of Chinese ancestor worship, mythical emperors, the zodiac, the mandala, and the I Ching.

He details the fundamental principles of land use in ancient China in relation to the symbolism of a Buddhist stupa and the Dogon granary, ritual shrines that are also central symbols of other creation traditions. Understanding these symbol complexes reveals the sophisticated scientific understanding of these ancient cultures, correlating creation symbols with our modern understanding of atoms and the energetic makeup of matter.

In exploring Chinese cosmological traditions, Scranton sheds new light on the contention that the sacred knowledge of the ancients is the legacy of an earlier culture who provided primitive humanity with the tools needed to birth the first known civilisations.