Nu Wa Essay, Research Paper

“Creator of Man-Kind”

In the beginning, the earth was nothing but a huge, dark, and empty piece of rock. Then an egg cracked, out came the God that separated the earth from heaven. From the “God” (Pan Ku), came lots of other deities that helped create earth as a whole. One of the deities was Nu Wa. Nu Wa’s life was told in three stories; “Nu Wa Creates Humanity”, “The Marriage of Nu Wa and Fu Xi”, and “Nu Wa Mends the Sky.” From the readings, Nu Wa plays different roles. All this roles leads to one responsibility, and that is to create and serve the people.

In Chinese mythology, there were three versions of Nu Wa. The first version portrayed Nu Wa as the creator of humanity. It is said that there were no men when the sky and the earth were separated. It was Nu Wa who made men by molding yellow clay. “First she wet the earth. Then she squeezed it through her fingers. Then her hands moulded a little creature like herself, and when she placed it down beside the spring it began to laugh”. (Yuan 5) She began to make more and more until the work was so tiring that her strength was not equal to it. So she dipped a rope into the mud and then lifted it. The mud that dripped from the rope also became man. Those made by molding yellow clay were rich and noble, while those made by lifting the rope were poor and low. This story tells how Nu Wa created human-beings and into for the continuonce of these human life, “She thought and thought and then she made some more men and women, and these she taught to love each other and raise children. And so it was that Nu Wa was the first match maker”. (Yuan 5) She was also known as the goddess of marriage.

2.In ancient times, the four corners of the sky collapsed. The sky could not cover all the things under it, nor could the earth carry all the things on it. A great flood raced about and could not be stopped. Savage beasts devoured innocent people; vicious birds preyed on the weak and old. Then Nu Wa melted rocks of five colors and used them to mend the cracks in the sky. She supported the four corners of the sky with the legs she had cut off from a giant turtle. She killed the black dragon to save her “children”, and blocked the flood with the ashes of reeds. Thus the sky was mended, its four corners lifted, the flood tamed, and harmful birds and beasts killed, and the innocent people were able to live on the earth under the protection of heaven.

3.In the top of Mount Kunlun lived only a sister and brother, Nu Wa and Fu Xi. They were very lonely and decided to they wanted other human beings on earth too. With the god’s permission, they did the impossible by getting married. That was how the first human beings were created.

The three version of Nu Wa leads to one thing and only one thing, the creation of mankind. Nu Wa was just another god that had her own responsibilities. Just like the god of fire or the god of water. Both had the power to create what they were meant to be. Even her name “Nu”, symbolized the word woman. In our world, woman is the ones that really create human life by childbirth and this is Nu Wa role in Chinese mythology.