Nü Wa

女媧
Nüwa or Nügua is the mother goddess of Chinese mythology, the sister and wife of Fuxi, the
emperor-god. She is credited with creating mankind and repairing the Pillar of Heaven.[1] Her
reverential name is Wahuang (Chinese: 媧皇; literally: "Empress Wa").

The Huainanzi relates Nüwa to the time when Heaven and Earth were in disruption:

Going back to more ancient times, the four pillars were broken; the nine
“ provinces were in tatters. Heaven did not completely cover [the earth]; Earth did
not hold up [Heaven] all the way around [its circumference]. Fires blazed out of
control and could not be extinguished; water flooded in great expanses and would
not recede. Ferocious animals ate blameless people; predatory birds snatched the
elderly and the weak. Thereupon, Nüwa smelted together five-colored stones in
order to patch up the azure sky, cut off the legs of the great turtle to set them up
as the four pillars, killed the black dragon to provide relief for Ji Province, and
piled up reeds and cinders to stop the surging waters. The azure sky was patched;
the four pillars were set up; the surging waters were drained; the province of Ji
was tranquil; crafty vermin died off; blameless people [preserved their] lives.[3][a] ”
The catastrophes were supposedly caused by the battle between the deities Gonggong and
Zhuanxu (an event that was mentioned earlier in the Huainanzi),[b] the five-colored stones
symbolize the five Chinese elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water), the black dragon
was the essence of water and thus cause of the floods, Ji Province serves metonymically for
the central regions (the Sinitic world).[6] Following this, the Huainanzi tells about how the
sage-rulers Nüwa and Fuxi set order over the realm by following the Way (道) and its potency
(德).[3]

Nüwa and Fuxi on the murals (rubbing depicted) of the Wu Liang shrines, Han dynasty (206
BC – 220 AD)
Nüwa as depicted on one of the Mawangdui silk banners, Han dynasty

The Classic of Mountains and Seas, dated between the Warring States period and the Han
Dynasty, describes Nüwa's intestines as being scattered into ten spirits.[7][non-primary source needed]

In Liezi (c. 475 - 221 BC), Chapter 5 "Questions of Tang" (Chinese: 卷第五 湯問篇), author
Lie Yukou describes Nüwa repairing the original imperfect heaven using five-colored stones,
and cutting the legs off a tortoise to use as struts to hold up the sky.[citation needed]

In Songs of Chu (c. 340 - 278 BC), Chapter 3 "Asking Heaven" (Chinese: 问天), author Qu
Yuan writes that Nüwa molded figures from the yellow earth, giving them life and the ability
to bear children. After demons fought and broke the pillars of the heavens, Nüwa worked
unceasingly to repair the damage, melting down the five-coloured stones to mend the heavens.
[citation needed]

In Shuowen Jiezi (c. 58 - 147 AD), China's earliest dictionary, under the entry for Nüwa
author Xu Shen describes her as being both the sister and the wife of Fuxi. Nüwa and Fuxi
were pictured as having snake-like tails interlocked in an Eastern Han Dynasty mural in the
Wuliang Temple in Jiaxiang county, Shandong province.[citation needed]

In Duyi Zhi (Chinese: 獨異志; c. 846 - 874 AD), Volume 3, author Li Rong gives this
description.

Long ago, when the world first began, there were two people, Nü Kua and her
“ older brother. They lived on Mount K'un-lun. And there were not yet any
ordinary people in the world. They talked about becoming husband and wife, but
they felt ashamed. So the brother at once went with his sister up Mount K'un-lun
and made this prayer: "Oh Heaven, if Thou wouldst send us two forth as man and
wife, then make all the misty vapor gather. If not, then make all the misty vapor
disperse." At this, the misty vapor immediately gathered. When the sister became
intimate with her brother, they plaited some grass to make a fan to screen their
faces. Even today, when a man takes a wife, they hold a fan, which is a symbol of
what happened long ago.[8] ”
In Yuchuan Ziji (Chinese: 玉川子集 c. 618 - 907 AD), Chapter 3 (Chinese: "與馬異結交詩"
也稱 "女媧本是伏羲婦"), author Lu Tong describes Nüwa as the wife of Fuxi.[citation needed]

In Siku Quanshu, Sima Zhen (679–732) provides commentary on the prologue chapter to
Sima Qian's Shiji, "Supplemental to the Historic Record: History of the Three August Ones,"
wherein it is found that the Three August Ones are Nüwa, Fuxi, and Shennong; Fuxi and
Nüwa have the same last name, Feng (Chinese: 風; Hmong: Faj).[c]

In the collection Four Great Books of Song (c. 960 - 1279 AD), compiled by Li Fang and
others, Volume 78 of the book Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era contains a chapter
"Customs by Yingshao of the Han Dynasty" in which it is stated that there were no men when
the sky and the earth were separated. Thus Nüwa used yellow clay to make people. But the
clay was not strong enough so she put ropes into the clay to make the bodies erect. It is also
said that she prayed to gods to let her be the goddess of marital affairs. Variations of this story
exist.[citation needed]
Appearance in Fengshen Yanyi
Relief of Nuwa at the Ping Sien Si Temple in Perak, Malaysia

Nüwa is featured within the famed Ming dynasty novel Fengshen Bang. As featured within
this novel, Nüwa is very highly respected since the time of the Xia Dynasty for being the
daughter of the Jade Emperor; Nüwa is also regularly called the "Snake Goddess". After the
Shang Dynasty had been created, Nüwa created the five-colored stones to protect the dynasty
with occasional seasonal rains and other enhancing qualities. Thus in time, Shang Rong asked
King Zhou of Shang to pay her a visit as a sign of deep respect. After Zhou was completely
overcome with lust at the very sight of the beautiful ancient goddess Nüwa (who had been
sitting behind a light curtain), he would write a small poem on a neighboring wall and take his
leave. When Nüwa later returned to her temple after visiting the Yellow Emperor, Nüwa
would see the foulness of Zhou's words. In her anger, she swore that the Shang Dynasty
would end in payment for his foulness. In her rage, Nüwa would personally ascend to the
palace in an attempt to kill the king, but was suddenly struck back by two large beams of red
light.

After Nüwa realized that King Zhou was already destined to rule the kingdom for twenty-six
more years, Nüwa would summon her three subordinates—the Thousand-Year Vixen (later
becoming Daji), the Jade Pipa, and the Nine-Headed Pheasant. With these words, Nüwa
would bring destined chaos to the Shang Dynasty, "The luck Cheng Tang won six hundred
years ago is dimming. I speak to you of a new mandate of heaven which sets the destiny for
all. You three are to enter King Zhou's palace, where you are to bewitch him. Whatever you
do, do not harm anyone else. If you do my bidding, and do it well, you will be permitted to
reincarnate as human beings." Thus, with these words, Nüwa would never be heard of again,
but would still be a major indirect factor towards the Shang Dynasty's fall.

Nuwa the human creator

The Huainanzi tells an ancient story about how the four pillars that support the sky crumbled
inexplicably. Other sources have tried to explain the cause, i.e. the battle between Gong Gong
and Zhuanxu or Zhu Rong. Unable to accept his defeat, Gong Gong deliberately banged his
head onto Mount Buzhou (不周山) which was one of the four pillars. Half of the sky fell
which created a gaping hole and the earth itself was cracked; the earth's axis mundi was tilted
into the southeast while the sky rose into the northwest. This is said to be the reason why the
western region of China is higher than the eastern and that most of its rivers flow towards the
southeast. This same explanation is applied to the sun, moon, and stars which moved into the
northwest. A wildfire burnt the forests and led the wild animals to run amok and attack the
innocent peoples, while the water which was coming out from the earth's crack didn't seem to
be slowing down.[4]

Nüwa, pitied the humans she had made and attempted to repair the sky. She gathered five
colored-stones (red, yellow, blue, black, and white) from the riverbed, melted them and used
them to patch up the sky: since then the sky (clouds) have been colorful. She then killed a
giant turtle (or tortoise), some version named the tortoise as Ao, cut off the four legs of the
creature to use as new pillars to support the sky. But Nüwa didn't do it perfectly because the
unequal length of the legs made the sky tilt. After the job was done, she killed the black
dragon which was causing the flood (some versions name the dragon as Xiangliu), drove
away the wild animals, extinguished the fire, and controlled the flood with a huge amount of
ashes from the burning reeds. The world became as peaceful as it was before.[4][5]

Nu Wa became lonely and decided to make copies of herself from mud in a pool. The figures
she created came to life and wandered off to populate the earth. After a while, Nu Wa realized
that it would take too long to fill the earth with people if she made each one by hand. So she
took a rope, dipped it into the mud, and flung the drops of mud in all directions. Each drop
became a separate human being. The people Nu Wa created by hand became the rich and
powerful people in the world; those she flung as drops from the rope became the poor and the
weak.

Another popular story recounts how Nu Wa saved the earth. The water god Gong Gong had
tried to overthrow the fire god Zhu Rong. When Gong Gong failed, he became angry and
rammed Imperfect Mountain with his head. The mountain, which supported the heavens,
crumbled, tearing a hole in the sky and causing the ends of the earth to give way. The disorder
that followed included fires and floods. Selecting several stones from a river, Nu Wa shaped
them to repair the hole in the sky. She also slew a giant tortoise and used its legs to support
the heavens. Nu Wa's actions restored the order of the universe and saved the world from
destruction.