Pangu · Creation of the World

01The story

The Pangu creation narrative is commonly traced back to Sanwu Liji, attributed to Xu Zheng of the Three Kingdoms Wu period. The original work is lost, and surviving fragments were preserved through quotations in encyclopedias such as Yiwen Leiju and Taiping Yulan. In the story, heaven and earth begin as an undifferentiated mass like an egg, with Pangu inside. After long ages, the clear and luminous rises to become heaven while the heavy and turbid settles as earth, giving the world its first vertical order. This theme does not reproduce any painted image of Pangu. Its core is the act of separation itself: a creation line, an orb not yet fully dispersed, and first-light gold in the rift.

02Where the colours come from

Moon white and jade green-blue imagine the rising clear breath and settling turbid earth. Deep ink carries the ground and body text, creation blue carries primary interface actions, and first-light gold is restricted to the small accent of the opening moment. Public museum resources such as Henan Museum help frame early material culture; the SVG is an original abstraction and does not copy a museum object as a portrait of Pangu.

03How the palette was built

The light ground keeps the warmth of an eggshell, while a slightly jade surface separates the two primordial layers without heavy shadows. Body text is a low-saturation dark ink, the primary accent is a grounded blue-green, and gold remains a small signal. The code palette derives deeper blue, antique gold, mineral green and clay red from the same materials, giving syntax clear hierarchy without turning the theme neon.

04Sources and references

• ClassicSanwu Liji (三五历纪)Attributed to Xu Zheng, Three Kingdoms Wu; lost work surviving in encyclopedic quotationsKey source for the Pangu creation, cosmic egg and clear/turbid division; quotations should be identified as reconstructed fragments.
• ClassicChinese Mythology (中国神话)Yuan Ke, People’s Literature Publishing HouseA modern scholarly survey of Pangu traditions and their variants.
• LinkHenan Museum↗Public museum portalA gateway to early Central Plains material culture; no specific object is claimed or reproduced as a Pangu image.
• ClassicTaiping Yulan (太平御览)Compiled by Li Fang and others, Song dynastyPreserves fragments of lost works including Sanwu Liji; quotations should be checked against a reconstruction.

05Credits and licence

Palette

Theme Atlas editorial team

Text

Theme Atlas editorial team

Graphics

Theme Atlas (original SVG)

Data licence

Palette data released under CC BY 4.0

Illustration licence

All illustrations are original SVGs; no third-party imagery is used.