| Nvwa Mended the Firmament | ||||||
Nvwa is the ancestor of mankind in the mythology of ancient China.
As legend goes, she smelted the five-colored stones to mend the firmament (sky), cut off the feet of
the great turtle to support the four pillars of the universe, controlled the flood, and drove away fierce beasts
so as to let the people live in peace. Another legend says, she made persons with yellow clay,
and married her brother, Emperor Fuxi, turning a relationship of brother and sister into a marriage,
and multiplying mankind. Thus, later generations adored her as a goddess of marriage and reproduction,
especially in charge of matters of copulation between men and women. Learners of cultural history
regard her as a goddess that came into being in the era of worship of the female genital organ.
The popular story of "Nvwa Mended the Sky" was noted in "Huainanzi," written in Western Han
(206 B.C. - 24). It says, "In remote antiquity, the four poles of the universe collapsed,
the sky cracked open, the earth was no longer able to support everything, fire ran wild
everywhere without ceasing, and flood overflowed out of control. Fierce beasts ate common
people, and ferocious birds attacked the old and the weak. Hence, Nvwa smelted the five-colored stones
to mend the sky, cut off the feet of the great turtle to support the four poles,
killed the black dragon to help the earth, and gathered the ash of reed to stop the flood."
According to "Taiping Yulan," a set of encyclopedias compiled in the Song Dynasty (960-1279),
at the beginning of the universe, there were no human beings.
Nvwa molded figures from yellow clay to create people. As the clay was not strong enough,
she put ropes into the clay to make the bodies erect. There was also such a saying, "Nvwa prayed
to gods to let her be the goddess to take charge of marital affairs. As a result of her going-between,
men and women lived in harmony, and she was worshiped as the goddess of marriage."
According to "Duyi Zhi" by Li Rong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), at the opening of the universe, there
were a brother and a sister called Nvwa, living in Kunlun Mountain, and there were no ordinary
people at that time. They wished to become husband and wife, yet, felt shy about it.
Thus, the brother took his younger sister to the top of the mountain and swore:
"If Heaven allows us to be husband and wife, please let the clouds gather; if not, please
let the clouds scatter." Then, the clouds gathered together. The younger sister came to live with
her brother. She made a fan with grass to hide her face. The present custom of women taking
a fan in their hands originated from that story.
Written by Liu Guangdi and Jun Shan.
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