The Cosmos as Creative Mind: Spontaneous Arising, Generating, and Creating in the Heng Xian

One of the key concepts in the Heng Xian is the concept of creation, as expressed through a process of spontaneous arising and spontaneous generation. This article analyzes the mechanics of spontaneous creation in terms of the cosmogony that is prominent in the text. I also show how psychomorphic descriptions of the cosmos-associated with the process of cosmogenesis-provide an explanation for change and movement in the cosmos as well as a template for idealized human action in the world. Lastly, I suggest a possible cultural context in which such descriptions of creation became prominent in the late Warring States period.