宇宙：开始，一片空虚混乱 Universe: The Beginning is Chaos

开始，一片空虚混乱。混乱存在于万物，天和地之前。

可是，宇宙有‘开始’吗？人们为此一直争论到十九，二十世纪。今天，看起来，有证据显示，宇宙并非永久存在，它是有个开始的，大概是在150亿年前吧。

可是，还不能肯定的是，宇宙会不会终止。

混乱就是无限黑暗，永无秩序。混乱令我们想到的是胡乱的景象，无秩序，无政府状态。那是个又脏又乱的房间，乱民上街，和一群乱飞的蜜蜂。

可是，宇宙开始时，真的是混乱的吗？

华人可不这么想。华人相信宇宙之始时混沌而不是混乱。

如果你受希腊神话影响，那就是自然而然的了。

希腊神话中，hesiod 的开天辟地广为一般人所接受。开始一片混乱，是个空虚裂口，然后产生了大地，黑暗的地府，最后才产生了爱神。

我们都知道，希腊神话对西方文明中的文化，艺术和文学的影响深厚，至今还是西方语言和遗产的一部分。出自希腊神话“宇宙开始，一片空虚混乱”的这个概念，也在西方思维模式中扮演了重要的角色。我们以后再谈这个课题。

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The Beginning is Chaos. Chaos exists before anything, before the sky or earth.

But is there a Beginning for the Universe? The argument about whether or not the universe had a beginning, persisted into the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, all the evidence seems to indicate that the universe has not existed forever, and that it had a beginning, about 15 billion years ago. However, it is not yet certain whether the universe will have an end.

Chaos is defined by infinite darkness, eternal disorder. Chaos brings to mind images of complete randomness, of disorder and anarchy. It is a messy room, a mob rushing down a city street and a swarm of bees.

But, is The Beginning Chaos?

No, if you are a typical Chinese. Chinese believes The Beginning is Formless Mass (混沌).

Yes, if you are influenced by the Greek myths.

The most widely accepted account of beginning of things as reported by Hesiod's Theogony, starts with Chaos, a yawning nothingness. According to Hesiod, Chaos was out there first, then Earth, Tartarus - a sunless abyss in the depth of Earth -, and last of all Eros (Love).

We all know that Greek mythology has had extensive influence on the culture, the arts and the literature of Western civilization and remains part of Western heritage and language. Such notion as 'The Beginning is Chaos' from the Greek mythology plays an important part in developing the Western Rational Thinking model. We shall talk about this another time.