the goddess patching the sky(nǚ wā bǔ tiān)

the goddess patching the sky

Nuwa mending the sky is one of the ancient Chinese myths and legends.

The story of Nuwa mending the sky, like the story of Nuwa making man, is well-known by Chinese people. It is said that in ancient times, the earth collapsed and the world fell into a great disaster. Nu Wa couldn't bear the disaster, so she smelted five colored stones to make up the sky, broke the feet of God turtle to support the four poles, leveled the flood, killed the beasts, connected Yin and yang to eliminate the adverse Qi, and all spirits were able to live in peace.

Nu Wa is the mother of the Chinese nation, the pioneer of the Chinese nation's humanities, and the God of blessing the country. She kneaded earth to make man, and transformed all things to make heaven and earth no longer silent. She is the Great Mother God handed down from ancient times.

Mythological interpretation

historical background

The related legends of Nuwa's mending the sky are recorded in Huainanzi lanmingxun and Liezi Tangwen. In the early days, there was no intersection between Nuwa and Gonggong. There were not only no keywords such as Gonggong, zhurong and buzhoushan, but also no explicit records about the causes of the earth collapse and disasters. There is no mention of Nuwa's smelting stone to mend the sky caused by Gonggong and Buzhou mountain. It can be seen that in the pre Qin and ancient times, "Nuwa's smelting stone to mend the sky" and "Gonggong's angry touch on Buzhou mountain" are two completely independent stories, which were welded together by Wang Chong, a scholar of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the early Qin and Han Dynasties, Nuwa mending the sky and Gonggong touching the mountain were two independent fairy tales. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wang Chong used "Gonggong angrily touching Buzhou mountain" as the background reason to perfect the plot and explain the reason why the heaven collapsed and the earth collapsed and the disaster occurred in "Nuwa mending the sky". So far, Nuwa mending the sky and Gonggong touching the mountain merged into a salvation God Words. according to the historical records of Bu Sanhuang, the God of water revolted against Zhu Rong, the God of fire. Gonggong was defeated by Zhu Rong. He was so angry that he hit Zhoushan, the pillar of the world, with his head. As a result, heaven and earth collapsed, and the water of Tianhe poured into the world. Nu Wa couldn't bear the disaster, so she refined five colored stones to make up the sky, broke the feet of the turtle to support the four poles, and killed the beasts in the flood, so that all souls could live in peace. Huainanzi tiantianxun records the war between Gonggong and Zhuanxu; Huainanzi Yuandao records the war between Gonggong and Gaoxin; diaoyuji Zhuangli records the war between Gonggong and Shennong; Lushi taiwuji records the war between Gonggong and Nuwa. Nuwa mending the sky is a famous legend. In the first chapter of a dream of Red Mansions, one of the four famous works, this myth is quoted. In order to make up for the sky, Nu Wa refined 36501 stones, used 36500, and left one unused, reincarnated and incarnated as Jia Baoyu.

Ancient records

The sources of the myths and legends about Nuwa's mending the sky are as follows: "Huainanzi · lanmingxun": in ancient times, the four poles were abandoned, the nine states were split, the sky was not covered, and the earth was not recorded. The fire will not be extinguished, the water will not stop. Beasts eat Zhuan people, birds grab the old and the weak. So Nu Wa smelted five colored stones to fill the sky, cut off the Ao enough to set up the four poles, killed the black dragon to aid Jizhou, and accumulated reed ash to stop the water. The sky is mended, the four poles are upright, the water is dried up, Jizhou is flat, cunning insects are dead, and Zhuan Minsheng is well-off. Back to Fangzhou, embrace Yuantian. In spring, Yang, and summer, in autumn, and in winter, when you are lying on your bed, you will be able to make sense of the obstruction of yin and Yang; in those who are rebellious against Qi and evil things and hurt people, you will never stop it. At this time, lying in a horse, Xing Kuo, one thinks of a horse, the other thinks of a cow, the other thinks of a horse, the other thinks of a cow, the other thinks of a horse, the other thinks of a cow, the other thinks of a horse, the other thinks of a cow, the other thinks of a horse, the other thinks of a horse, the other thinks of a cow, the other thinks of a horse, the other thinks of a cow. At this time, all animals and Agkistrodon halys hide their claws and teeth, hide their stings, and have no desire to grab and bite. On the basis of his merits and deeds, he went up to Jiutian and down to Huanglong. He was famous and valued by later generations. Take a thunder chariot, ride a dragon, take a green Qiu, aid Jue Rui, Xi luotu, Huang Yunluo, Bai Jue in front, run a snake in the back, float and shake, pass ghosts and gods, ascend the nine heavens, court the emperor at the gate of spirit, and MI muxiu under Taizu. However, if we do not show their merits and voice, we should conceal the way of the real people, so as to follow the principle of heaven and earth. What is it? Morally, wisdom is eliminated. "Heaven and earth are also things. In the past, Nu Wa smelted five colored stones to make up for the lack of things, and the broken Ao was enough to set up four poles. After that, Gonggong and Zhuan Xu fought for the title of emperor. They were so angry that they could not touch the mountains of Zhou. They broke the pillars of heaven and defended the Jedi. As a result, the heaven fell to the northwest, and the sun, the moon and the stars were there. As a result, the earth was dissatisfied with the southeast, so all the rivers and waters were scattered. " In Lun Heng Tan Tian Pian: "Gonggong and Zhuan Xu fought for the son of heaven. They were so angry that they touched the mountain that they couldn't understand. They broke the pillars of heaven and destroyed the earth. Nu Wa smelted five colored stones to fill the sky, and the broken Ao was enough to set up four poles. The sky is not enough in the northwest, so the sun, moon and stars move, and the earth is not enough in the southeast. According to Sima Zhen's supplement to the three emperors' chronicles in historical records, "when it was the last year of Nuwa, the princes had Gonggong surnames. They were able to be wise and powerful, but not the king. They fought against Zhu Rong with water instead of wood. They were too angry, but they could not touch their heads. The mountains collapsed, the pillars of heaven broke, and the earth was lacking." According to the book of mountains and seas, it is said that "the place of the earth, between the six harmonies, within the four seas, according to the sun and the moon, according to the stars, according to the four seasons, it should be born of Taisui and gods, whose things are heteromorphic, or heaven or longevity, only saints can understand the Tao.". However, from my point of view, there are few sages who can understand the Tao. The road to heaven is long, the stars and the moon are dim, and ordinary people can't get through. "Zuo's biography" says: "meteorite, star also". Meteorites and all living beings in the world are just as cheap as the Loess in the Central Plains. However, they and saints are visitors from outside the sky, bridges to heaven, and messengers to God. I have devoted all my life's financial and material resources to the collection of meteorites from all over the world. However, the world is large, the universe is wide, and the years are endless. Meteorites in the world are beyond human power. Although the collection is small, but often play, like a treasure, like a treasure. Whoo! Happy, happy! Years are merciless. After all, Lianpo is old. This is the record of what I heard, saw and collected all my life to pass on to later generations: Rizhao meteorite: shipenshan, 40 Li south of Rizhao County, Yizhou Prefecture. There are still horseshoe shaped craters on the top of the mountain, and meteorites are scattered among them. At the foot of the mountain, there are meteorites standing outside the South Gate of taoluo. According to the local legend, Pangu created the world, the sun, the moon and the stars performed their respective duties, unified the four seas, and enjoyed themselves. However, the sun burst and the meteorite fell, and the earth was shocked. "The quadrupole was abandoned, and the Kyushu split," and the people were in dire need of living. Fortunately, Nuwa mended the sky on the top of the mountain, Xihe bathed the sun on the shore of the East China Sea, and saved all living beings. The old mother temple was built at the foot of the mountain to worship Nuwa Xihe, and meteorites were piled on the high platform to worship the sun god. Its temple has been destroyed, its stele still exists; its platform has gone, meteorite can be seen. Shouguang meteorite: 50 Li west of Shouguang County, Qingzhou Prefecture. According to the book of the Song Dynasty, Yihai, the first month of the third year of Qinglong reign of Emperor Ming of the Wei Dynasty, was a meteorite in Shouguang. There is Luoxing village in naidi. Beside the village, there is a meteorite shaped mortar, also known as xingluoshijiu, which is one of the eight scenes of Shouguang. Li Zhenyao said: "the name of Haiyu village is Luoxing. You choose to stay here. Who holds the jade pestle to return to the celestial phenomena is like exposing the spirit of the earth with the help of high Chung.

Matrilineal mapping

The myth of "Nuwa mending the sky" is a fable to save the clan from extinction by means of reproduction and mass reproduction. Ancient scholars such as Luo Bi's Shi Yi, Hu Hong's Wu Feng Ji, Luo Mi's Lu Shi, Chen Shufang's Ying Chuan Xiao Yu Cong Kao, Zhao Yi's Xin Yu Cong Kao, Yu Zhengxie's GUI Si Cun manuscript, Tian Tongzhi's Xi Pu Cong Bian, Chu Renhuo's Jian Hu Guang Ji, Qian Yong's Lu Yuan Cong Hua, etc. have all talked a lot about Tian Bu and their reasons. Modern scholars also say that Nuwa mends the sky to resist earthquakes, or that the Nuwa mending the sky and the Nuwa who created human beings are not the same person, but ignore the fact that the key to Nuwa's "mending the sky" lies in "creating human beings", and the significance of Nuwa's myth lies here. In the worship of Nuwa and its various legends and customs, it can be clearly seen that the worship of Nuwa does not lie in the pleasure that the entity of Nuwa brings to the individual, but in its function of creating life. This kind of worship is the embodiment of a strong desire for reproduction. The myth of mending heaven is the interpretation and praise of the great significance of reproduction. in the early days of mankind, the most terrible disaster came from nature. With the improvement of productivity, the formation of clan tribes, the frequent rise of tribal wars, more devastating disasters come from human beings. It's hard for people to see the "heaven and earth fall apart", but devastating disasters happen from time to time. So people's experience changed. As a result, the original legend of "Heaven falling apart" became a symbol of great disaster or change. As far as the primitive clan tribe is concerned, the destruction of the clan is different from the collapse of heaven and earth. In the frequent clan and tribal wars, the extermination of the clan is so common. This is a great threat to every clan as a whole. Therefore, although "tianxie" is a myth of nature, "Butian" has social significance. Even the myth of "collapse of heaven and earth" itself is full of the smoke of tribal war. The most superficial and direct meaning of the so-called "Gonggong and Zhuanxu fighting for the emperor" and "Tianzhu broken, Diwei Jue" is war disaster. In Lu Shi Fa FA, Luo Mi said: the so-called "poor touch of Gonggong, the extreme dimension of the earth and the broken pillar of heaven" are the causes of great chaos. The so-called "Nuwa mending the sky" refers to the chaos of pinggonggong. Although it oversimplifies the problem, neglects the transformation of mythology from natural content to social content, and ignores the concentration, collection, symbolic features and multi-level significance of mythology, it finds the connection between "Tianzhu Jiedi weijue" and primitive tribal war. This is very noteworthy. the so-called "mending heaven" is a fable to calm down the disaster and save the clan from extinction. Xin Qiji's Ci said: "the sleeves are full of precious and colorful lights, which can make up the northwest of the sky in his years." It is the symbol of "mending the sky" that calms down the national disaster. The allusion of "mending the sky" in a dream of Red Mansions clearly expresses the significance of saving the decline. This is not the ingenuity of Xin Qiji and Cao Xueqin, but a myth of its own

Chinese PinYin : nǚ wā bǔ tiān