Nuwa Creates People
Nuwa (also known as Nugua), the goddess of humanity, is one of the most well-known figures in ancient Chinese mythology. According to legend, Nuwa created humanity and repaired the pillar of heaven and the broken corners of the earth that Gong Gong had destroyed in a fit of rage.
The idea that people were made of clay, however, is a much more widely held misconception. As the one who starts the creation process, Nuwa is the main figure in this tale, with Fuxi typically acting as her assistant. According to the tale, lonely Nuwa decided to make mud monsters to keep her company.
One version of the tale claims that Nuwa produced a different animal each day for six days in a row, including the chicken, dog, boar, sheep, cow, and horse. Humans were the seventh day's creation by her. The festival of "Human Day," which occurs on the seventh day of the Chinese New Year, is based on this myth.
Nuwa's creation of human beings is also used to explain (and possibly justify) the existence of a hierarchy in Chinese society. In one version of the myth, Nuwa began creating humans by hand-forming clay figures. Her hands, however, began to hurt after a while. As a result, she dipped a rope in mud and swung it around her head. As a result, sticky mud blobs formed around her. According to Chinese legend, the clay figures created by Nuwa's hands became the nobility, while the blobs of mud became the common people.
The tale states that a fierce conflict took place between the fire and water gods Gonggong and Zhurong. Gonggong was infuriated and hit his head on the fabled Buzhou Mountain when he realized he was losing the battle. Being one of the four pillars that supported the skies, this mountain was not your typical mountain. Gonggong's action caused the mountain to crumble and torn a hole in the sky. This resulted in the earth shaking and splitting open as half the sky fell on it. Furious animals appeared from the earth, forests were burned, and the world was flooded. A large number of victims were burned, drowned, and eaten.
Nuwa was heartbroken when she saw her children in pain and immediately took action to save them. First, she melted five different colored stones. Nuwa patched the sky with the molten mixture. She then approached Ao, the sky turtle, and asked for his assistance. The turtle agreed to help Nuwa and agreed to let her cut off its four legs. These were used to replace the pillar that Gonggong had previously destroyed. Following that, Nuwa captured and killed a dragon, which scared the other creatures that emerged from the earth, preventing them from attacking humans further. Finally, she set fire to a large number of reeds and used the ashes to stop the floods. According to one version of the story, the work sapped Nuwa's strength, and she died of exhaustion after lying down to rest. In another version, Nuwa realized she didn't have enough stone to cover the sky patch. As a result, she chose to sacrifice herself and fill the remaining void with her own body.
