Jingwei carries twigs to fill the sea. Kuafu chases the sun to his death. Xingtian dances without a head. These stories survived two thousand years not because they're "correct," but because that refusal to quit is simply too fierce to die.
"Jingwei carries a tiny branch, hoping to fill the vast sea. Xingtian dances with shield and axe — his fierce will endures forever."
精卫填海
"The girl Nüwa drowned in the Eastern Sea and never returned. She became Jingwei, forever carrying branches and stones from the western mountains to fill the Eastern Sea."
炎帝的女儿在东海玩耍，淹死了，化成一只叫精卫的鸟。她每天从西山衔来树枝和石头，想把东海填平。听起来很傻对吧？但两千多年来，中国人一直把这个故事讲给孩子听——不是因为它励志，而是因为那种"明知不可能还要做"的劲头，本身就是一种美。
夸父逐日
"Kuafu raced the sun and caught it. Thirsty, he drank from the Yellow River and the Wei River. When they were not enough, he turned north toward the great lake. But he collapsed from thirst before he arrived. His staff, cast aside, turned into a peach forest."
夸父是个巨人，大到觉得自己能跑赢太阳。他追了上去，喝干了黄河渭水，还是渴。倒下的时候，手杖插进土里，长成了一片桃林。有时候最美的东西，恰恰是从失败里长出来的。中国人种桃树纪念他，已经种了两千多年。
女娲补天
"In ancient times, the four poles collapsed, the nine provinces split open. The sky could not cover all, the earth could not bear all. So Nüwa smelted five-colored stones to mend the azure sky."
天塌了。不是比喻，是字面意思——天裂开，火从裂缝里掉下来，洪水猛兽一起涌向人间。女娲，一个蛇身人面的女神，炼了五色石把天补好，又砍了大乌龟的腿撑住四角。她做这些不是因为有人求她，而是因为总得有人做。这就是创世者的定义。
后羿射日
"Emperor Jun gave Hou Yi a red bow and white arrows, to support the nations below. Hou Yi then began to relieve the people of all their hardships."
十个太阳同时升起，大地烤焦，河流干涸。后羿爬上高山，一箭一个射下九个太阳，留下一个正常照耀人间。他救了所有人——然后被他服务的帝王流放了。英雄和感恩，在这些老故事里从来不是一对。
刑天舞干戚
"Xingtian fought the Emperor for supremacy. The Emperor cut off his head and buried it at Mount Changyang. So Xingtian used his nipples as eyes, his navel as mouth, and danced with shield and axe."
刑天跟天帝争神位，被砍了头。按说故事该结束了——但他没有倒下。他把两个乳头变成眼睛，肚脐变成嘴巴，一手举盾一手挥斧，继续跳那支永远跳不完的战舞。陶渊明读到这段，写下"刑天舞干戚，猛志固常在"。两千年后我们还在传颂，因为那种"头都没了还不认输"的劲儿，太狠了。
大禹治水
"Yu divided the land, followed the mountains to mark paths with trees, and established the great rivers and high mountains."
洪水泛滥，舜派鲧去治，鲧用堵的办法，九年没成功，被杀了。他儿子禹换了思路——挖渠疏导，让水往海里流。十三年治水，三次路过家门都没进去。第一次听到老婆生孩子，第二次儿子会叫爸爸了，第三次儿子冲他跑过来，他摸了摸头又走了。最后洪水治好了，禹成了夏朝的开国之君。
These myths come from the Shan Hai Jing, the Huainanzi, and other pre-Qin texts. We kept the originals close and the commentary honest — no academic hedging, no fortune-cookie wisdom.