AXEMAN

According to legends, at the very beginning, the sky and the land were not separated.  The entire universe was like a big egg; everything was very blurry, everything was black; it was hard to tell right from left or north south east west.  However, inside the egg, there was a hero in the making, this person opened the sky and broke ground.  His name is and was

.  We will call him AXEMAN in English because this translator does not like spelling out sounds and have trouble remembering Chinese names that are (phonetically) spelled out.  Besides this translator (or future readers) may pronounce his name incorrectly. Therefore, our hero requires a nickname, being AXEMAN.

AXEMAN was in development in the egg for a total of eighteen thousand (18,000) years and finally awoke from his deep slumber.  He opened his eyes; felt everything was black and foggy, and an unbearable heat rendering him incapable of breathing. He wanted to stand but his body was so tightly enclosed by the egg's shell that he could not even stretch his hands or legs.

AXEMAN became angry, he took the axe that he was born with, swung it with strength and heard a big bang which shook and deafened his ears; the egg suddenly cracked open, the light and clear thing floated to the top while the heavy and dirty stuff fell to the bottom.  The unclear universe, after taking a swing from AXEMAN's big axe, was different from that moment on.  The top became the sky and the bottom became land. Immediately, everything felt a lot clearer and fresher.

AXEMAN divided the sky and the ground, he was extremely delighted; however, he was scared that the sky and land will return to its original state and so he used his head to support the clear sky and his feet to step on the dirty ground. His god-like power was beginning to show and, with it, each day came nine changes.  Each day, he grew taller by one elephant*, his growth elevated the sky upwards by one elephant and caused the land to become thicker by one elephant.  This lasted continuously for eighteen thousand (18,000) years.  The sky elevated, higher and higher, to an unreachable height while the land reached, deeper and deeper, to an unimaginable depth.  AXEMAN became a giant holding the sky and grounding the land, his body was ninety thousand (90,000) you** in length.

He stood there by himself handling the great task of supporting the sky and acting as the pillar of the land.  He would not give up until the sky and the land was stable and solid.  He stood like that for another many tens of thousands of years until, finally, the sky was stable, the land was solid and will no longer return to its original state.  However, this sky opening groundbreaking hero was exhausted from his efforts, he looked at the separation he has created with heavy emotions, feeling a limitless amount of gratitude, he laid down and closed his eyes.  He needed rest, an eternal rest.

The hero's sudden passing created a chaotic change:  his left eye became the Sun, his right eye became the moon, his last breath became the winds and the clouds, his hair became star lights, his hands, legs and body became four wonders and five hells, his blood became rivers and streams, his vessels became paths, his muscles became soil, his skin and bodily hair became plants, his teeth and bones became rocks, his marrow became pearl and jade, even his sweat became rain and mist.  AXEMAN's power separated the sky and land, his body created a beautiful world, he was the first hero in China's ancient myths.

*Elephant is this translator's substitute for a Chinese term of a measurement in length or height.  One elephant is the equivalent of one hundred (100) Chinese inches.

**You is this translator's substitute for a Chinese term of a measurement in distance.  One you is the equivalent of seven (7) strokes.

Edit One - January 3, 2018 - Substituted the word ground with land in some instances only.

Edit Two - January 15, 2018 - Made a few grammatical changes and changed the sentence regarding the growing of the land slightly. Reaching deep instead of becoming deep.  Depth as opposed to thickness. Also added the word phonetically.