Before
heaven and
earth had taken form all was
vague and
amorphous. Therefore it was called
the Great Beginning. The Great Beginning produced
emptiness and emptiness produced the
universe. The universe produced
material-
force which had
limits. That which was
clear and
light drifted up to become
heaven, while that which was
heavy and
turbid solidified to become
earth. It was very easy for the
pure,
fine material to come together but extremely difficult for the heavy, turbid material to first solidify. Therefore heaven was completed first and earth assumed shape after. The combined
essences of heaven and earth became the
yin and
yang, the concentrated essences of
yin and yang became the four
seasons, and the scattered essences of the four seasons became the
myriad creatures of the
world. After a long time the hot force of the accumulated yang produced
fire and the essence of the fire force became the
sun; the cold force of the accumulated yin became
water and the essence of the water force became the
moon. The essence of the
excess force from the sun and moon became the
stars and
planets. Heaven received the sun, moon, and stars while earth received water and soil. . . .
When heaven and earth were joined in emptiness and all was unwrought simplicity, then without having been created, things came into being. This was the Great Oneness. All things issued from this oness but all became different, being divided into the various species of fish, birds, and beasts. . . .Therefore while a thing moves it is called living, and when it dies it is said to be exhausted. All are creatures. They are not the uncreated creator of things, for the creator of things is not among things. If we examine the Great Beginning of antiquity we find that man was born out of nonbeing to assume form in being. Having form, he is governed by things. But who can return to that from which he was born and become as though formless is called a "true man." The true man is he who has never becomed separated from the Great Oncess.
From Huai-nan Tzu