This is the rejuvenation of the world told of in so many legends.

And these annals tell us further of the “Ten Stems,” being the stages of the earth’s primeval history.

“At Wu—­the Sixth Stem—­the Darkness and the Light unite with injurious effects—­all things become solid,” (frozen?), “and the Darkness destroys the growth of all things.

[1.  Compendium of Wong-shi-Shing 1526-1590,” Crawford, p. 3.

2.  Ibid.

3.  Ibid., p. 2.

4.  Ibid., p. 3.]

{p. 211}

“At Kung—­the Seventh Stem—­the Darkness nips all things.”

But the Darkness is passing away: 

“At Jin—­the Ninth Stem—­the Light begins to nourish all things in the recesses below.

“Lastly, at Tsze, all things begin to germinate."[1]

The same story is told in the “Twelve Branches.”

“1. K’wun-tun stands for the period of chaos, the cold midnight darkness.  It is said that with it all things began to germinate in the hidden recesses of the under-world.”

In the 2d—­Ch’i-fun-yoh—­“light and heat become active, and all things begin to rise in obedience to its nature.”  In the 3d—­Sheh-ti-kuh—­the stars and sun probably appear, as from this point the calendar begins.  In the 5th—­Chi-shii—­all things in a torpid state begin to come forth.  In the 8th—­Hëen-hia—­all things harmonize, and the present order of things is established; that is to say, the effects of the catastrophe have largely passed away.[2]

The kings who governed before the Drift were called the Rulers of heaven and earth; those who came after were the Rulers of man.

“Cheu Ching-huen says:  ’The Rulers of man succeeded to the Rulers of heaven and the Rulers of earth in the government; that then the atmosphere gradually cleared away, and all things sprang up together; that the order of time was gradually settled, and the usages of society gradually became correct and respectful."[3]

And then we read that “the day and night had not yet been divided,” but, after a time, “day and night were distinguished from each other."[4]

Here we have the history of some event which changed

[1.  “Compendium of Wong-shi-Shing 1526-1590,” Crawford, pp. 4, 5.

2.  Ibid., p. 8.

3.  Ibid.

4.  Ibid., p. 7.]

{p. 212}

the dynasties of the world:  the heavenly kingdom was succeeded by a merely human one; there were chaos, cold, and darkness, and death to vegetation; then the light increases, and vegetation begins once more to germinate; the atmosphere is thick; the heavens rest on the earth; day and night can not be distinguished from one another, and mankind dwell in caves, and live on raw meat and blood.

Surely all this accords wonderfully with our theory.