1. Reference Essay 1
The story 'God Pillar' belongs to the genre of mythology, exploring the origin of the universe and all creatures, also known as the myth of cosmic genesis, compiled by the author Nguyen Dong Chi. The narrative is considered a work with distinctive features in both theme and artistic form.
'God Pillar' tells the tale of the god God Pillar with extraordinary power that divided the sky and the earth, using soil and stones to create mountains, islands, and more. Through this, the story creatively explains the origin of the formation of natural phenomena.
Opening the story, the folk author unfolds a primitive universe space, 'a chaotic, dark, cold' space, and an undefined time, 'No universe, no myriad of creatures and humans.' In that dark and obscure moment, God Pillar appeared with a gigantic figure, 'God's legs are indescribably long.' Each step of the god 'can cross from one area to another, or from one mountain peak to another.' Thanks to that extraordinary power, the god dug the soil and smashed stones to create a towering stone column to support the sky. The higher the column, the wider the sky. Not long after, the God Pillar pushed the sky vault towards the blue clouds, clearly dividing the space between the sky and the earth. After completing the sky pillar, the god broke the stone column and used soil and stones to throw everywhere, creating mountains, high hills, and more. Borrowing images from nature, the folk author creatively explains the process of creating the world. From here, the story's theme becomes intimate and appealing to readers.
The theme and art of literary works always go hand in hand and complement each other. 'God Pillar' is no exception, where artistic form innovations in the plot and characters contribute to the success of highlighting the story's theme. As a mythological story, the plot of 'God Pillar' is constructed to be simple and familiar, revolving around the God Pillar god's task of dividing the land and sky and creating various natural landscapes. Based on human imagination and mythical elements, the story explains the process of creating the universe and the natural world. Through this, we also see the curiosity and exploration desire of humans in the early stages. The outstanding artistry is also demonstrated in building characters combined with the use of exaggeration and fictional details. The image of God Pillar is 'gigantic' with broad steps, possessing extraordinary strength, helping readers vividly imagine a god in mythology.
'God Pillar,' with its distinctive theme and artistic form, brings readers an interesting story explaining the origin of natural phenomena. At the same time, the story also reflects the desire and longing for exploration of humans in the early stages. Hopefully, the work will leave a lasting impression on readers who love the folklore of the people.
2. Reference Essay 3
'A tree grows new branches with new roots,
Water from a new source forms a deep river.
People trace their origins,
From ancestors before, then themselves.'
God Pillar is a folk tale passed down orally among ancient Vietnamese. The work is curated by the folk culture researcher Nguyen Dong Chi. Through mythology, ancient Vietnamese people aim to explain the origins of natural phenomena such as the existence of the sky and earth...
Through these mythological stories explaining the origins of natural phenomena, we sense the innocence and dreams of ancient people wishing to explain the natural world around them. They created gods to explain the phenomena around them. The image of God Pillar has appeared with extraordinary qualities, and the story has personified the universe into a god.
The first action when the god God Pillar appears is to 'stretch, stand up, raise the head to the sky, stomp the feet on the ground...' That action is very similar to other gods in different countries. In China, Mr. Ban Co also had a similar action, but instead of building a sky pillar like God Pillar, he stomped on an egg, splitting it in half with the upper part being the sky and the lower part being the earth.
We can see that from the beginning, with limited resources, ancient Vietnamese people, like other ethnic groups worldwide, constantly innovated and contributed to a more diverse literary culture. The exaggeration in the arts allows mythical characters to survive over time.
The story of God Pillar tells us about the formation of the sky, earth, rivers, mountains, etc., and shows us the creativity of ancient Vietnamese people. Alongside the mythical elements, we feel the pioneering effort and nation-building of the ancients.
3. Reference Essay 2
Since ancient times, before the development of science, people often constructed exaggerated stories to explain natural phenomena, and these stories are called myths. To explain the separation of heaven and earth, there is the myth of the 'God Pillar' by the author Nguyen Dong Chi.
The 'God Pillar' takes readers back to the past, to prehistoric times when Earth had not witnessed the presence of humans. At the beginning of the story, the author paints a picture with just two colors, gray and black. The obscurity makes it impossible to clearly determine the time; at that time, the Earth was just a dark space. The God Pillar appears with a gigantic figure, indescribably long legs. The appearance of the God Pillar is the first sign of life, and the silent god emphasizes the loneliness. With his extraordinary strength, the god 'rises, raises his head to the sky,' striking the stones and piling up the earth alone to create a colossal pillar supporting the sky, a pillar with the power to lift the sky away from the ground. At that moment, the sky is distant and profound, the ground is flat, and the intersection is the horizon. Then the god breaks the stone pillar, creating lowlands and high hills. At this point, these familiar images help us better imagine the scene.
The image of the god God Pillar appears as the only human in the vast space, truly magnificent. That god also feels loneliness like humans. But that very emotion enhances boundless power, mastering nature.
The story uses many unique artistic techniques, seamlessly combined with the content. The picture in the story is not distant, and the colors in the story are very simple. It is imaginative, with fantastical elements built realistically; besides, we also see some contrasting images. The image of humans in a vast space, small before nature, but the power of humans has mastered nature.
The 'God Pillar' story uses many artistic techniques, typical of the mythology genre. Through it, readers feel the majestic and mysterious features of the early days.
4. Reference Essay 5
The tale of 'God Pillar' belongs to the mythology genre, exploring the origin of the universe and all creatures, also known as mythology, collected by author Nguyen Dong Chi. The story is considered a work with unique elements in both theme and artistic form.
'God Pillar' narrates the story of the God Pillar with extraordinary power that divided the heavens and the earth, using soil and rocks to create mountains, seas, and islands. Through this, the story explains the origin of creative elements in nature.
At the beginning of the story, the folklorist opens up a vast, desolate universe, 'a chaotic region, dark, and cold,' and an indistinct time, 'No universe, no myriad creatures, and no humans.' In that dark moment, the God Pillar appears in the sky with a gigantic figure, 'long divine legs beyond description.' Each step of the god 'can travel from one area to another, or from this mountain peak to that mountain peak.' With that extraordinary power, the god personally dug the soil, smashed rocks to create a tall and large stone pillar to support the sky. The higher the pillar, the wider the sky opens. Soon after, the God Pillar pushed the sky up to the blue clouds, clearly dividing the space between the sky and the earth. After completing the pillar, the god destroyed the stone pillar, using soil and rocks to scatter everywhere, forming mountains, high hills, and more. Borrowing the images of nature, the folklorist creatively explains the process of creating the world. From here, the theme of the story becomes intimate and captivating for readers.
5. Reference Essay 4
From ancient times, primitive observations of natural phenomena were essential for human survival and labor. At that time, human development did not allow a proper understanding of these phenomena. With their rich imagination, they created stories to explain the emergence of these phenomena. 'God Pillar' is a mythical story passed down from ancient times to explain the birth of the sea, rivers, and mountains...
The character in the story is a god named God Pillar. In ancient times, people called gods 'Ong,' each god was associated with specific phenomena such as 'Ong dem cat' (God counts sand), 'ong tat be' (God slaps the beach)... In folk stories, gods were imagined as real people with extraordinary powers, capable of animating nature. The descriptions of God Pillar in the stories depict radiant circles with the extraordinary characteristics of mythical figures.
The time when God Pillar appeared is an indeterminate period, a long time ago, when there was no sky, no earth, no creatures, and no humans. With the surrounding space dark and chaotic, that time and space make the prehistoric world mysterious and mystical.
The image of God Pillar appearing with colossal proportions, the grandeur of nature cannot be compared: 'God, tall beyond measure, long legs indescribable, each step is like crossing from one area to another, surpassing from this mountain peak to that mountain peak.' Describing a series of extraordinary details expresses admiration; they believed that to conquer nature, humans' stature must also be colossal.
The god's job is to lift the sky, create a tall column to support it, and then destroy it, creating mountains, rivers, and seas. These are acts of celestial creation and earthly establishment. The god appears as a diligent worker with familiar tasks of humans. Their hardworking labor creates marvelous miracles.
God Pillar is a wild story, but it explains the formation of the sky, earth, mountains, and rivers. They believed that these phenomena were created by divine spirits. Besides, the story praises the beauty of diligent labor.
The storyline, though simple, is extremely enticing and captivating for readers. At the same time, it reflects the ancient people's desire to conquer nature and explore the world.
6. Reference Essay 7
God Pillar is a folklore passed down orally by ancient Vietnamese people. The work was compiled by folk writer Nguyễn Đổng Chi. Through mythology, ancient Vietnamese sought to explain the origins of natural phenomena such as why there is sky and earth...
Through these mythical stories explaining the origins of natural phenomena, we feel the innocence and dreaminess of ancient people as they tried to explain the natural world around them. They created gods to explain the phenomena around them. The image of God appears with extraordinary qualities, and the story personifies the universe into a deity.
The first action when the sky god appears is to 'stretch, stand up, lift the head to the sky, and place both feet on the ground...'. This action is very similar to other gods in different countries. In China, there is Mr. Ban Co who does the same, but instead of erecting a sky pillar like God Pillar, Mr. Ban Co throws an egg and splits it in half, dividing the upper half into the sky and the lower half resembling the earth.
It can be seen that from the primitive era, ancient Vietnamese people, like other ethnic groups worldwide, have constantly innovated, contributing to an increasingly rich literary culture. The exaggeration in the mythology characters gives them vitality over time.
The story of God Pillar not only tells us about the formation of the sky, earth, rivers, and mountains but also shows us the creativity of ancient Vietnamese people. Alongside the mythical elements, we can sense the pioneering efforts and nation-building of the ancients.
7. Reference Essay 6
From ancient times, when science had not yet developed, to explain natural phenomena, people often constructed stories with exaggeration, and these stories are called myths. To explain the division of the sky and earth, there is the work 'God Pillar' by author Nguyễn Đổng Chi.
'God Pillar' takes readers back to the past, to prehistoric times when the Earth had not seen the appearance of humans. At the beginning of the story, the author sketches a picture with only two colors, gray and black. That obscurity makes it impossible for us to clearly determine the time, back then the Earth was just a dark void. God Pillar appears with a massive body and indescribably long legs. The appearance of God Pillar is the first seed of life, and the silent god details emphasize the loneliness. With extraordinary strength, he single-handedly hits the stone, covers the earth, creating a gigantic sky pillar with the power to lift the sky off the ground. At that time, the sky was high, the land was flat, and the meeting point was the horizon, then the god breaks the stone pillar, creating low areas, high hills, and here, those familiar images help us visualize the landscape.
The image of the sky pillar appearing alone in the vast space is truly magnificent. That god also feels lonely like humans. But that very emotion elevates infinite power and the ability to control nature.
The story uses many unique artistic techniques seamlessly combined with the content. The images in the story are not far away, the colors are simple. It is a wild imagination, fantastic elements are realistically constructed, and alongside that, we also see some contrasting images. The image of humans in the vast space is small before nature, but the power of humans has mastered nature.
The story of the God Pillar uses many artistic techniques, typical of the mythological genre. Through it, readers can feel the grandeur and mystery of the early days.