Doesn’t it seem like humankind has a collective memory of some prehistoric natural disaster built into our DNA? So many cultures have ancient myths about close calls with total destruction, be it Noah’s Ark, or the story of Atlantis, or in China’s case, “Nvwa Mends the Heavens” (女娲补天).
传说当人类繁衍起来后，忽然水神共工和火神祝融打起仗来，他们从天上一直打到地下，闹得到处不宁，结果祝融打胜了，但败了的共工不服，一怒之下，把头撞向不周山。
不周山崩裂了，撑支天地之间的大柱断折了，天倒下了半边，出现了一个大窟窿，地也陷成一道道大裂纹，山林烧起了大火，洪水从地底下喷涌出来，龙蛇猛兽也出来吞食人民。
人类面临着空前大灾难。女娲目睹人类遭到如此奇祸，感到无比痛苦，于是决心补天，以终止这场灾难。她选用各种各样的五色石子，架起火将它们熔化成浆，用这种石浆将残缺的天窟窿填好，随后又斩下一只大龟的四脚，当作四根柱子把倒塌的半边天支起来。
女娲还擒杀了残害人民的黑龙，刹住了龙蛇的嚣张气焰。最后为了堵住洪水不再漫流，女娲还收集了大量芦草，把它们烧成灰，埋塞向四处铺开的洪流。
经过女娲一番辛劳整治，苍天总算补上了，地填平了，水止住了，龙蛇猛兽佥欠迹了，人民又重新过着安乐的生活。但是这场特大的灾祸毕竟留下了痕迹。从此天还是有些向西北倾斜，因此太阳、月亮和众星晨都很自然地归向西方，又因为地向东南倾斜，所以一切江河都往那里汇流。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 传 | chuān | to pass on; to transmit; to transfer; to conduct (electricity) |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 当 | dāng | (onom.) dong; ding dong (bell); to be; to act as; manage; withstand; when; during; ought; should; match equally; equal; same; obstruct; just at (a time or place); on the spot; right; just at |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 类 | lěi | kind; type; class; category; (bound form) to resemble; to be similar to |
| 繁衍 | fán yǎn | to multiply; to reproduce; to increase gradually in number or quantity |
| 起 | qǐ | to rise; to raise; to get up; to set out; to start; to appear; to launch; to initiate (action); to draft; to establish; to get (from a depot or counter); verb suffix, to start; sta… |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 忽然 | hū rán | suddenly; all of a sudden |
| 水神 | shuǐ shén | river God |
| 共工 | Gòng gōng | God of Water |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 火神 | huǒ shén | god of fire |
| 祝融 | Zhù róng | Zhurong, god of fire in Chinese mythology (sometimes used allusively, as in 毀於祝融|毁于祝融[hui3 yu2 Zhu4 rong2] "destroyed by fire") |
| 打 | dá | (loanword) dozen; Taiwan pr. [da3] |
| 仗 | zhǎng | weaponry; to wield; to depend on; battle |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 天上 | tiān shàng | the sky; the heavens |
| 一直 | yī zhí | straight (in a straight line); continuously; always; all the way through |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 地下 | dì xià | underground; subterranean; covert |
| 闹 | nào | variant of 鬧|闹[nao4]; noisy; cacophonous; to make noise; to disturb; to vent (feelings); to fall ill; to have an attack (of sickness); to go in (for some activity); to joke |
| 得到 | dé dào | to get; to obtain; to receive |
| 处 | chǔ | to reside; to live; to dwell; to be in; to be situated at; to stay; to get along with; to be in a position of; to deal with; to discipline; to punish |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 宁 | nīng | peaceful; tranquil |
| 结 | jiē | (of a plant) to produce (fruit or seeds); Taiwan pr. [jie2] |
| 果 | guǒ | fruit; result; resolute; indeed; if really |
| 胜 | shèng | victory; success; to beat; to defeat; to surpass; victorious; superior to; to get the better of; better than; surpassing; superb (of vista); beautiful (scenery); wonderful (view); … |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 败 | bǎi | to defeat; to lose (to an opponent); to wither |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 不服 | bù fú | not to accept sth; to want to have sth overruled or changed; to refuse to obey or comply; to refuse to accept as final; to remain unconvinced by; not to give in to |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 怒 | Nù | Nu ethnic group |
| 之下 | zhī xià | under; beneath; less than |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 撞 | zhuǎng | to knock against; to run into |
| 向 | Xiàng | surname Xiang; to tend toward; to guide; variant of 向[xiang4]; variant of 向[xiang4]; direction; orientation; to face; to turn toward; to; towards; shortly before; formerly |
| 不周山 | Bù zhōu Shān | Buzhou Mountain, a mountain from Chinese legend |
| 崩 | bēng | to collapse; to fall into ruins; death of king or emperor; demise |
| 裂 | liě | to split; to break open |
| 撑 | cheng | to support; to push or move with a pole; to open or unfurl; brace; support |
| 支 | Zhī | surname Zhi |
| 天地 | tiān dì | heaven and earth; world; scope; field of activity |
| 之间 | zhī jiān | (after a noun) between; among; amid; (used after certain bisyllabic words to form expressions indicating a short period of time, e.g. 彈指之間|弹指之间[tan2 zhi3 zhi1 jian1]) |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]); greatly; freely; fully; (dialect) father; (dialect) uncle (father's brother) |
| 柱 | zhǔ | pillar |
| 断 | duàn | to break; to snap; to cut off; to give up or abstain from sth; to judge; (usu. used in the negative) absolutely; definitely; decidedly |
| 折 | zhē | to snap; (bound form) to sustain a loss (in business) |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 倒 | dǎo | to fall; to collapse; to lie horizontally; to fail; to go bankrupt; to overthrow; to change (trains or buses); to move around; to resell at a profit |
| 下 | xià | down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency … |
| 半边 | bàn biān | half of sth; one side of sth |
| 出现 | chū xiàn | to appear; to arise; to emerge; to show up |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 窟 | kū | cave; hole |
| 窿 | ||
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 陷 | xiàn | pitfall; trap; to get stuck; to sink; to cave in; to frame (false charge); to capture (a city in battle); to fall (to the enemy); defect |
| 成 | Chéng | surname Cheng; short name for Chengdu 成都[Cheng2 du1] |
| 一道 | yī dào | together |
| 道 | dào | road; path (CL:條|条[tiao2],股[gu3]); (bound form) way; reason; principle; (bound form) a skill; an art; a specialization; (Daoism) the Way; the Dao; to say (introducing a direct quot… |
| 纹 | wén | line; trace; mark; pattern; grain (of wood etc); to tattoo |
| 山林 | shān lín | wooded mountain; mountain forest |
| 烧 | shāo | to burn; to set on fire; to heat (over a fire); to boil (water, tea etc); to braise; to cook; to prepare food; to run a fever; fever; (coll.) to become full of oneself; to get carr… |
| 大火 | dà huǒ | conflagration; large fire; CL:場|场[chang2] |
| 洪 | hōng | flood; vast; big; great; surname Hong |
| 水 | Shuǐ | surname Shui; Shui ethnic group |
| 底 | dí | (equivalent to 的 as possessive particle) |
| 喷 | pen | to spout; to spurt; to spray; to puff |
| 涌 | yóng | (used in place names) |
| 出 | chū | to go out; to come out; to arise; to occur; to produce; to yield; to go beyond; to exceed; (used after a verb to indicate an outward direction or a positive result); classifier for…; variant of 出[chu1] (classifier for plays or chapters of classical novels) |
| 龙 | Lóng | surname Long |
| 蛇 | shé | variant of 蛇[she2]; snake; serpent; CL:條|条[tiao2] |
| 猛 | měng | ferocious; fierce; violent; brave; suddenly; abrupt; (slang) awesome |
| 兽 | shǒu | beast; beastly |
| 吞 | tun | to swallow |
| 食人 | shí rén | man-eating (beast); to eat people; fig. to oppress the people |
| 民 | Mín | surname Min |
| 面临 | miàn lín | to face sth; to be confronted with |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 空前 | kōng qián | unprecedented |
| 大灾 | dà zāi | calamity; catastrophe |
| 难 | nán | difficult (to...); problem; difficulty; difficult; not good |
| 女 | nu:3 | female; woman; daughter |
| 娲 | ||
| 目 | mù | eye; (literary) to look; to regard; eye (of a net); mesh; mesh size; grit size (abbr. for 目數|目数[mu4 shu4]); item; section; list; catalogue; (taxonomy) order; name; title |
| 睹 | dú | to observe |
| 遭到 | zāo dào | to suffer; to meet with (sth unfortunate) |
| 如此 | rú cǐ | like this; so; such |
| 奇 | jī | odd (number) |
| 祸 | huǒ | disaster; misfortune; trouble |
| 感 | gǎn | to feel; to move; to touch; to affect; feeling; emotion; (suffix) sense of ~ |
| 无比 | wú bǐ | incomparable; matchless |
| 痛 | tòng | ache; pain; sorrow; deeply; thoroughly |
| 苦 | kǔ | bitter; hardship; pain; to suffer; to bring suffering to; painstakingly |
| 于是 | yú shì | thereupon; as a result; consequently; thus; hence |
| 决心 | jué xīn | determination; resolution; determined; firm and resolute; to make up one's mind; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 补 | bǔ | to repair; to patch; to mend; to make up for; to fill (a vacancy); to supplement |
| 以 | yǐ | old variant of 以[yi3]; abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4] |
| 终 | zhong | end |
| 止 | zhǐ | to stop; to prohibit; until; only |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 场 | cháng | threshing floor; classifier for events and happenings: spell, episode, bout; variant of 場|场[chang2] |
| 灾难 | zāi nàn | disaster; catastrophe |
| 她 | tā | she |
| 选 | xuán | to choose; to select |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility; (bound form) expense; outlay; (courte… |
| 各种 | gè zhǒng | every kind of; all kinds of; various |
| 各 | gè | each; every |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 五色 | wǔ sè | multicolored; the rainbow; garish |
| 石子 | shí zǐ | small stone; gravel |
| 架 | jiǎ | to support; rack; classifier for planes, large vehicles, radios etc |
| 起火 | qǐ huǒ | to catch fire; to cook; to get angry |
| 将 | jiāng | will; shall; to use; to take; to checkmate; just a short while ago; (introduces object of main verb, used in the same way as 把[ba3]) |
| 它 | tā | it; it (pronoun for an animal) |
| 熔 | ||
| 化 | huā | variant of 花[hua1] |
| 浆 | ||
| 这种 | zhè zhǒng | this kind of |
| 石 | Shí | surname Shi; abbr. for Shijiazhuang 石家莊|石家庄[Shi2 jia1 zhuang1], the capital of Hebei |
| 残缺 | cán quē | badly damaged; shattered |
| 填 | tiān | to fill or stuff |
| 好 | hǎo | good; appropriate; proper; all right!; (before a verb) easy to; (before a verb) good to; (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so; (verb complement indicating completion); (… |
| 随 | Suí | surname Sui |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 斩 | zhǎn | to behead (as form of capital punishment); to chop |
| 只 | zhī | variant of 隻|只[zhi1]; variant of 只[zhi3]; grain that has begun to ripen; classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc |
| 龟 | guī | tortoise; turtle; (coll.) cuckold |
| 四 | sì | four; 4 |
| 脚 | jiǎo | foot; leg (of an animal or an object); base (of an object); CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1]; classifier for kicks |
| 当作 | dàng zuò | to treat as; to regard as |
| 根 | gēn | root; basis; classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings; CL:條|条[tiao2]; radical (chemistry) |
| 子 | zǐ | son; child; seed; egg; small thing; 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat; viscount, fourth of five orders o… |
| 塌 | ta | to collapse; to settle down |
| 半边天 | bàn biān tiān | half the sky; women of the new society; womenfolk |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 擒 | ||
| 杀 | shā | to kill; to slay; to murder; to attack; to weaken; to reduce; (dialect) to smart; (used after a verb) extremely |
| 残害 | cán hài | to injure; to devastate; to slaughter |
| 人民 | rén mín | the people |
| 黑 | Hēi | short name for Heilongjiang 黑龍江|黑龙江[Hei1 long2 jiang1] |
| 刹 | sha | Buddhist monastery, temple or shrine (abbr. for 剎多羅|刹多罗[cha4 duo1 luo2], Sanskrit "ksetra") |
| 住 | zhù | to live; to reside; to stay; to stop; to cease; (result complement indicating firmness or a stable achieved state) |
| 嚣 | ||
| 张 | Zhāng | surname Zhang |
| 气 | qì | gas; air; smell; weather; to make angry; to annoy; to get angry; vital energy; qi |
| 焰 | ||
| 最 | zuì | variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") |
| 为了 | wèi le | for; for the purpose of; in order to |
| 堵 | dú | to block up (a road, pipe etc); (fig.) (of a person) choked up with anxiety or stress; (classifier for walls) |
| 再 | zài | again; once more; re-; further; beyond this point of time; (before an adjective) more; then (after sth, and not until then); no matter how ... (followed by an adjective or verb, an… |
| 漫 | mǎn | free; to inundate |
| 流 | líu | to flow; to disseminate; to circulate or spread; to move or drift; to degenerate; to banish or send into exile; stream of water or sth resembling one; class, rate or grade |
| 收集 | shōu jí | to gather; to collect |
| 大量 | dà liàng | great amount; large quantity; bulk; numerous; generous; magnanimous |
| 芦 | lū | rush; Phragmites communis |
| 草 | cǎo | variant of 草[cao3]; grass; straw; manuscript; draft (of a document); careless; rough; CL:棵[ke1],撮[zuo3],株[zhu1],根[gen1] |
| 灰 | huī | ash; dust; lime; gray; discouraged; dejected |
| 埋 | mái | to bury |
| 塞 | sai | to plug; to stop up; to stuff in |
| 四处 | sì chù | all over the place; everywhere and all directions |
| 铺 | pǔ | to spread; to pave (pu1); a shop; a bed (pu4) |
| 开 | kāi | to open (transitive or intransitive); (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start; to turn on; to put in operation; to operate; to run; to boil; to write out (a prescription, check, … |
| 经过 | jīng guò | to pass; to go through; process; course; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 番 | Pān | surname Pan |
| 辛劳 | xīn láo | laborious |
| 整 | zhěng | (bound form) whole; complete; entire; (before a measure word) whole; (before or after number + measure word) exactly; (bound form) in good order; tidy; neat; (bound form) to put in… |
| 治 | zhì | to rule; to govern; to manage; to control; to harness (a river); to treat (a disease); to wipe out (a pest); to punish; to research |
| 苍 | cang | dark green; grey; pale; the heavens; grey-haired |
| 总 | zǒng | (bound form) general; overall; to sum up; in every case; always; invariably; anyway; after all; eventually; sooner or later; surely; (after a person's name) abbr. for 總經理|总经理[zong3… |
| 算 | suàn | to calculate; to figure out; to include; to count in; to count; to be valid; to carry weight; to regard as; to consider (to be ...) |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 平 | Píng | surname Ping |
| 佥 | ||
| 欠 | qiàn | to owe; to lack; (literary) to be deficient in; (bound form) yawn; to raise slightly (a part of one's body) |
| 迹 | jǐ | (bound form) trace; mark; vestige; clue |
| 重新 | chóng xīn | again; once more; re- |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 安 | An | surname An |
| 乐 | Lè | surname Le |
| 生 | shēng | to grow; to give birth; to produce; to be born; to arise; to occur; to light (a fire); to live; to be alive; life; raw; uncooked; unprocessed; unfamiliar; strange; (bound form) stu… |
| 活 | huó | to live; alive; living; work; workmanship |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 特大 | tè dà | exceptionally big |
| 灾 | zāi | disaster; calamity; variant of 災|灾[zai1]; old variant of 災|灾[zai1] |
| 毕 | Bì | surname Bi |
| 竟 | jǐng | unexpectedly; to go so far as to |
| 留下 | líu xià | to leave behind; to stay behind; to remain; to keep; not to let (sb) go |
| 痕 | hēn | scar |
| 从此 | cóng cǐ | from now on; since then; henceforth |
| 还是 | hái shi | still (as before); had better; unexpectedly; or |
| 有些 | yǒu xiē | some; somewhat; rather; a bit |
| 西北 | Xī běi | Northwest China (Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang) |
| 倾 | qing | to overturn; to lean; to incline |
| 斜 | xié | inclined; slanting; oblique; tilting |
| 因此 | yīn cǐ | thus; consequently; as a result |
| 太阳 | tài yang | sun; sunlight; sunshine; temple (on the side of the human head) (abbr. for 太陽穴|太阳穴[tai4 yang2 xue2]) |
| 月亮 | yuè liang | the moon |
| 众 | Zhòng | abbr. for 眾議院|众议院[Zhong4 yi4 yuan4], House of Representatives; variant of 眾|众[zhong4] |
| 星 | xīng | star; heavenly body; satellite; small amount |
| 晨 | chén | morning; dawn; daybreak |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 自然 | zì rán | nature; natural; naturally |
| 归向 | guī xiàng | to turn toward |
| 西方 | Xī fāng | the West; the Occident; Western countries |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 东 | Dōng | surname Dong |
| 南 | Nán | surname Nan |
| 所以 | suǒ yǐ | therefore; as a result; so; the reason why |
| 一切 | yī qiè | everything; every; all |
| 江河 | Jiāng Hé | Yangtze and Yellow rivers |
| 往 | wǎng | to go (in a direction); to; towards; (of a train) bound for; past; previous; old variant of 往[wang3] |
| 那里 | nà li | there; that place |
| 汇 | huǐ | to remit; to exchange |
Legend has it that when humans had just begun to multiply [upon the earth], a great battle suddenly broke out between the water god Gonggong and the fire god Zhurong, disrupting tranquility in every quarter. In the end, Zhurong was victorious, but Gonggong would not accept his defeat, and in a fit of anger, smashed his head against Buzhou Mountain.
Buzhou Mountain split apart, the giant pillars that held up the heavens were broken, and half of the sky caved in, leaving a large hole. Great cracks also appeared in the earth, the mountain forests went up in flame, floodwaters spurted forth from under the ground, and dragons and monsters came out and began devouring the people.
Mankind was facing an unprecedented catastrophe. When Nvwa witnessed the unexpected disaster that befell humanity, she was terribly agonized, and so she decided to patch up the sky, in order to put an end to the present calamity. She chose to use a selection of multi-colored stones, set a great fire to smelt them into a slurry, and used the smelted rock to paste over the hole in the firmament. Then she chopped the four feet off a giant tortoise, and used them as the four pillars to prop up half the heavens.
Nvwa also captured and slayed a great black dragon that was cruelly slaughtering human beings, putting a stop to the dragon’s arrogance. Finally, in order to stem the floodwaters, Nvwa collected many reeds and grasses, burned them into ash, and stopped up the streams that were spreading in all directions.
After Nvwa had toiled through the repairs, the sky was mended, the earth was even, the waters had been stopped, no trace remained of the dragons and monsters, and the people once again lived in peace and happiness. But of course, some vestiges of this huge calamity remained. From then on, the sky was slightly tilted to the northwest, and because of this the sun, moon and stars all naturally return to the west each morning, and also because the earth is tilted to the southeast, all of the rivers flow in that direction.