原始时代，生产力水平十分低下，人们对自然界的认识是极其有限的。面对难以捉摸、无法控制的大自然，人们显得无能为力、束手无策，因此会产生一种神秘和敬畏的感觉。但人们又需要认识自然，战胜自然，并对自然做出解释。于是，就把无法解释的一切都归因于神，幻想出世界上存在着种种超自然的神灵和魔力。因而，大自然中的一切都被拟人化了，被神化了，被赋予了灵性，神话也就由此产生了。所以，神话是一个国家、一个民族特定历史时期的产物，它们反映了古代人们对世界的一种初始的、幼稚的认识。
In ancient times, the level of productivity was very low, and people’s understanding of nature was extremely limited. Faced with the mysterious and uncontrollable forces of nature, people felt helpless and powerless, leading to feelings of awe and mystery. However, they needed to understand and conquer nature, and thus created explanations for natural phenomena. Everything that could not be explained was attributed to gods, leading to the fantasy of various supernatural beings and powers existing in the world. As a result, everything in nature was anthropomorphized, deified, and imbued with spirituality, giving birth to myths. Myths are products of a specific historical period for a particular country or people, reflecting the initial and naive understanding of the world by ancient humans.
神话虽然出于幻想，但它们是基于现实生活的，是古代人民在同自然做斗争的过程中创造出来的。并非古代人民毫无根据的推想，但也不是现实生活的科学反映。神话以些许荒诞的表现方式用神的体型展现了古代人类对自然的认识，解读世界，展现了不同历史时期人们认识自然、改造自然的过程，表现了古代人民与自然的斗争和对理想的追求。
Although myths are based on fantasy, they are rooted in real life, created by ancient people in their struggle with nature. They are not baseless speculations, nor are they scientific reflections of real life. Myths express the ancient people’s understanding of nature in slightly absurd ways, using the form of gods to depict their views of the world. They reveal the process of human understanding and transformation of nature throughout different historical periods, showing the struggle of ancient people with nature and their pursuit of ideals.
虽然不同地区的神话故事会展现出不同的风格，但它们之间也存在共性。一方面，它们生动地记录了劳动生活，歌颂了劳动精神。神话故事中的许多人物行为都与劳动有关，反映了当时人们不屈服于命运的积极生活态度和征服自然的想法。比如炼石补天的女娲、射日的后羿。
Although myths from different regions may exhibit different styles, they share certain common characteristics. On one hand, they vividly record labor life and praise the spirit of labor. Many characters in mythological stories are associated with labor, reflecting people’s positive attitude toward life and their desire to conquer nature, refusing to succumb to fate. For example, the story of Nuwa repairing the sky with stones and Hou Yi shooting down the suns.
神话故事中的英雄人物为了实现理想勇敢奋斗，不怕牺牲，他们有着大无畏的精神。另一方面，神话故事体现了中华民族的伟大精神，如精卫填海、夸父追日。这些行为表现出为了摆脱自然灾害的困扰或为了帮助百姓，他们的行为具有崇高的民族意义。
The heroic figures in myths fight bravely to achieve their ideals and are not afraid of sacrifice, embodying a spirit of fearlessness. On the other hand, these stories also reflect the great spirit of the Chinese nation, such as Jingwei filling the sea and Kua Fu chasing the sun. These actions demonstrate a noble national significance, whether to overcome natural disasters or to help the people.