Chye Hpa Ma and Chye Mi Ma (English-Chinese Edition): An Achang Epic of Creation, Flood & the Defeat of Demons

Why should you spend time on this book?

Most creation myths have been told a thousand times — Greek, Norse, Egyptian. But the Achang people of southwestern China have carried a creation epic sung only by their priests, the Huopao, for over a thousand years. Only recently has it been fully transcribed and presented to the world in a bilingual edition. This is Zhepama & Zhemima.

What’s the story?

Long ago, there was no sky and no earth. The Sky Father Zhepama wove the heavens from five-colored clouds. The Earth Mother Zhemima wove the land from her own sinews and bones. Together they created humanity — then saved a surviving brother and sister from a great flood, who became the ancestors of the Achang people. Later, the demon king Lahong forged a false sun that scorched the earth. Zhepama shot it down, tore Lahong apart, and restored order to the world.

This is not an “academic book.” It is the most romantic and honest answer a people gave when they looked up at the sky for the first time.

Why this edition?

• Bilingual, readable original: Chinese translation and English translation presented side by side. English-speaking readers can access the epic directly; Chinese readers can feel the rhythm through the English rendering.

• National-level endorsement: Part of the Yunnan Ethnic Minority Classics English Translation Library, supported by China‘s 13th Five-Year National Key Publication Plan and the National Publication Foundation. The Achang creation epic was inscribed in China’s first National Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2006.-28-49

• A rescue record of an endangered culture: Only three Huopao priests could once fully chant this epic — and even fewer remain today. The Achang language is rapidly fading. This book is a living fossil of a people‘s memory.-35-50

• Hardcover collector’s quality: 164 pages, 22cm format — ideal for your own shelf or as a gift for anyone curious about China‘s ethnic minority cultures.-28

What you get

A book that will spark conversations when friends spot it on your shelf. At 164 pages, it‘s an afternoon read. But after finishing it, your understanding of what “China” means will have grown by one more layer — the Achang layer.