China's narrow sense of ancient mythology refers to the myths and legends from Xia Dynasty to ancient times in China, while the broad sense of ancient mythology includes the myths from Xia Dynasty to Han Dynasty. Because there was no direct written record at that time in ancient times, the events or figures that happened at that time could not be directly verified.
Ancient myths are created by primitive ancestors in social practice, and their contents involve all aspects of natural environment and social life, including the origin of the world and the fate of mankind, and strive to show people "educational images of nature and human destiny".
Extended data:
Mythical thinking is closely related to the mental ability of primitive ancestors. The mental development level of primitive ancestors is still at a relatively low stage, and the subject and object of thinking can not be clearly distinguished. There is an interpenetrating relationship between man and the outside world.
In the eyes of primitive ancestors, everything in nature, like itself, has vivid soul, will and emotion, and can communicate mysteriously with people. Therefore, the world in the eyes of primitive ancestors is a world full of strange colors and vitality.
This way of feeling and understanding the world is the soil for the birth of myth, which restricts the characteristics of ancient myth thinking to a great extent.