Ancient Myths: Nuwa makes men and mends the sky
It
is said that there were no men when the sky and the earth were separated.
It was Nuwa who made men by moulding yellow clay. NThe work was
so taxing that her strength was not equal to it. So she dipped a
rope into the mud and then lifted it. The mud that dripped from
the rope also became men. Those made by moulding yellow clay were
rich and noble, while those made by lifting the rope were poor and
low.
In a ancient times, the four corners
of the sky collapsed and the world with its nine regions split
open. The sky could not cover all the things under it, nor could the
earth carry all the things on it. A great fire raged and would not
die out; a fierce flood raced about and could not be checked. Savage
beasts devoured innocent people; vicious birds preyed on the weak
and old.
Then Nuwa melted rocks of five colours and used them to mend the cracks
in the sky. She supported the four corners of the sky with the legs
she had cut off from a giant turtle. She killed the black dragon to
save the people of J1zhou(1), and blocked the flood with the ashes
of reeds.
Thus the sky was mended, its four corners lifted, the flood tamed,
Jizhou pacified, and harmful birds and beasts killed, and the innocent
people were able to live on the square earth under the dome of the
sky. It was a time when birds, beasts, insects and snakes no longer
used their claws or teeth or poisonous stings, for they did not want
to catch or eat weaker things.
Nuwa's deeds benefited the heavens above and the earth below. Her
name was remembered by later generations and her light shone on every
creation. Now she was traveling on a thunder-chariot drawn by a two-winged
dragon and two green hornless dragons, with auspicious objects in
her hands and a special mattress underneath, surrounded by golden
clouds, a white dragon leading the way and a flying snake following
behind. Floating freely over the clouds, she took ghosts and gods
to the ninth heaven and had an audience with the Heavenly Emperor
at Lin Men(2) where she rested in peace and dignity under the emperor.
She never boasted of her achievements, nor did she try to win any
renown; she wanted to conceal her virtues, in line with the ways of
the universe.