Nu Wa Myth - Chinese Myth And Legends Essays - Mythology

Nu Wa Myth - Chinese Myth and Legends Nu Wa Myth - Chinese Myth and Legends In every culture there is a god/goddess who stands out above the others. In Chinese legends the deity that stands out above the rest is the goddess Nu Wa. In all readings it is only good things that being written about this goddess. She is credited not only with the creation of man, but also restoring order between the heavens and earth. She is not only the most humble and caring of all deities but also one of the most important in Chinese mythology. Maybe the best way to describe Nu Wa is to simply call her a mother figure. What other title would be better for the one who took yellow clay and mud and brought them to life, bringing forth humans and all other living things. Or would it be more appropriate to call her mother Nu Wa because it was Fu Xi and her whom were the first couple to be wedded and later with the consent of the gods given the right to create other people. This is why in the second month of every lunar year, thousands of people pray and offer sacrifices to her in search of love and fertility. Nu Wa is also the goddess that young newly wedded couples go to in order to ask for a daughter or a son. Even with all her great accomplishments Nu Wa is still a humble figure. There was a time when the four pillars had collapsed and the Nine Regions were divided. During this period fire and water had a war; fires rushed throughout the land without cease and oceans rose and flooded everything else. Not only this, but beasts and dragons also were devouring the people of Chuan. Seeing all of her children in such pain Nu Wa decided something had to be done. Making mortar out of rocks and pebbles she had gathered Nu Wa then went to patch up the falling heavens. To make sure that they wouldn't fall again she went and cut of the legs of a giant turtle and placed them as heavenly pillars to prop up the four corners of the sky. With this settled, she then went to slay the dragon and beasts who had been terrorizing her children. Nu Wa repaired the damaged and saved the world from extinction. Even doing all of this Nu Wa was still a humble character. After she was done saving the planet, "Then, without displaying her achievements, without spreading her fame, she hold the secret of the Way of the True Person and follows the eternal nature of Heaven and earth." (Huai-nan Tzu, Lan ming, SPPY 6.7b-8a) After saving the world from extinction not much else was ever heard about Nu Wa again. No historian is quite sure exactly what did happen to Nu Wa. Some believed that she died and morphed into thousands of little fairies. While others say that she had just road off to heaven and never spoke of the earth again. Whatever did happen to Nu Wa, she will always be credited for the creation of humans and the savor of the world from extinction. This is why in Chinese mythology "She bears the emblem of the Fortune of Life and Death." (Birrell, Anne. Chinese Mythology. Pg. 71)