Chapter One Hundred and Two: Jingwei Fills the Sea

As for the child of Emperor Yan, he might have said to you with a certain proudness, “Look at the beauty, and come to my home.” It was nothing more than a boastful way of speaking, meant to prove the loveliness of his daughter.

Nuwa, as the sacred mother of humankind and also one of the sovereigns of the human race, naturally became the object of women’s devotion. She was a great woman, worthy of the respect of all people. Yet Emperor Yan’s daughter, from the very moment she was born, cried out, “Nuwa, Nuwa.”

This gave Emperor Yan quite a fright. How could this be allowed? It was a direct violation of a taboo. He immediately wanted to give the child another name, but the little girl kept crying, “Nuwa, Nuwa, Nuwa.”

At that moment, Ting Yao, who had only just given birth, said to Emperor Yan, “Your Majesty, why not fulfill your daughter’s wish?”

“How can that be? Nuwa is not only the sacred mother of humankind, but also one of the Two Sovereigns. More than that, she is my elder brother’s wife. If my elder sister-in-law were to learn of this, the consequences would be grave.” At this point Emperor Yan made clear, in no uncertain terms, Nuwa’s identity and his relationship to her.

“‘Nuwa’ represents the glorious greatness of women. We should carry Nuwa’s spirit forward. Why can she not bear her name? Besides, we can simply use a homophone. She is still only a child. There is no need to quarrel with her.” The considerate Ting Yao was not truly trying to argue with Emperor Yan. If they did quarrel, then the child would only have to be given another name.

Emperor Yan understood what Ting Yao meant, but if he truly gave the child that name, it would indeed court taboo. Yet just then, he suddenly received a divine message from Nuwa herself: “Let this child be called Nüwa, with the girl radical for the first syllable and the child radical for the second.”

With his elder sister-in-law’s consent, Emperor Yan immediately struck the table and said, “Then let her be called Nüwa.”

Little Nüwa lived freely and happily on the Sacred Mountain. When she had nothing to do, she would play with her brother, Yanju. But as time passed, Nüwa gradually grew up, and life became much more monotonous.

Tap, tap, tap—little Nüwa trotted all the way into the palace. Emperor Yan was handling state affairs in the great hall when he looked up and saw that it was his daughter. “Father, Father, I want to go out!” The little girl, now as delicate as a tiny jasmine blossom, clung to Emperor Yan’s arms and acted spoiled, which left him in a difficult position.

Because Emperor Yan did not want his child to be any different from others, he had Nüwa call him by the same title ordinary people used for their fathers.

“All right, all right, child. Why do you want to go out? Is it not good here?” Emperor Yan’s kindly gaze rested on the little girl, showing no concern at all for her present rudeness.

At this time, all the officials had already withdrawn, and no one was reporting state matters to Emperor Yan. In the vast and empty hall, he was the only one working at his desk, looking especially lonely.

And so, in order to fulfill her father’s wishes, little Nüwa deliberately fetched a dessert she had made by hand from the inner palace to win him over.

“I want to see the place where the sun rises.” As she said this, the little girl lowered her smiling head, afraid that her father would refuse.

“This—” Emperor Yan showed a troubled expression. The golden crow in the sky lived on the Fusang tree on an island in the Eastern Sea. If one drew too near, one would be burned to death. Had not the tale of Kuafu chasing the sun already shown how terrible the sun could be? Besides, his own power was only at the Taiyi Golden Immortal stage. How much time would the round trip take? And he still had so many affairs of state to handle. How could he leave the great burden of humankind behind just to accompany his daughter in watching the sunrise?

Seeing her father hesitate, little Nüwa understood that this was not the time to act spoiled. The moment she did, the matter would come to nothing. She had clearly inherited her mother’s wisdom. “Father, is there some difficulty? Let us overcome it together.”

How could a father lose his footing at a time like this? Moreover, even if he could not go, he should at least find an excuse to brush it off.

Just then, a attendant presented Emperor Yan with a memorial. Emperor Yan set the little girl down from his arms, opened the memorial, and when he saw its contents, a smile spread across his face.

It was a request from a tribe on the shore of the Eastern Sea, neighboring the Huaxu clan, inviting him to come and view their local customs.

What a timely salvation.

Emperor Yan readily agreed to little Nüwa’s request, and not long after, they set out for the tribe on the coast of the Eastern Sea. With the flying vessel invented by the Holy Father, it still took three months to reach the shore, a testament to just how vast the primordial world was.

Along the way, little Nüwa truly had her eyes opened. Every kind of beast and monster in the sky could be seen clearly from the flying vessel, while Emperor Yan served as her guide and commentator at her side. The little girl was overjoyed.

The flying vessel landed safely outside the tribe, and the tribal chief held a grand reception ceremony, which delighted little Nüwa all over again. Once inside the tribe, all she could see were fish she had never seen before. Since Nüwa had always loved fish, she immediately clamored to eat some, and of course Emperor Yan indulged his little princess’s wish.

The next day, Emperor Yan brought Nüwa to the seashore so she could watch the entire process of sunrise, which delighted her once again.

Although there were no great mountains around the human race’s sacred mountain, and one could still see the sunrise there, Nüwa had never truly witnessed one before, and so she was filled with curiosity about everything new.

Emperor Yan then returned alone to the tribe to discuss some matters with the chief, leaving several people to watch over Nüwa. After all, she was still only a child; Emperor Yan remained cautious. His precious jewel could not suffer even the slightest mishap.

From morning until noon, little Nüwa played by the seashore. She did not fear the biting sea wind at all, and on the sandy beach she played with the girls of the tribe, stamping and leaving footprints in the sand.

As noon approached, the sea water was no longer very cold, and Nüwa played in it with several others. Just then, she spotted a shimmering golden fish. After a brief discussion, they took up a fishing net and carefully scooped the fish up.

“Let me go quickly! I am the Third Prince of the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace. Let me go!” The golden fish suddenly spoke, startling them all. Their hands loosened, and the fish was accidentally thrown to the ground.

“Ow, that hurt! I’m going to teach you a lesson!” The golden fish suddenly transformed into a golden dragon, roared with rage, and plunged headlong into the sea.

“I thought it was something impressive. It was only a filthy little loach.” Nüwa paid no heed to her own safety and walked toward the shore. The women around her hastily tried to stop her, refusing to let her go any farther. She was the child of the Human Sovereign; if anything happened to her, how could they explain themselves to him?

“Don’t stop me.” No one knew where this sudden divine strength came from, but with a sweep of her sleeve she flung the others onto the shore. Nüwa herself remained unaware of what was happening and walked alone toward the depths of the sea.

The golden dragon was now acting recklessly as well. In a moment of impulse, he had committed an immense calamity. The seawater, stirred by the dragon, rose into monstrous waves and swallowed the advancing Nüwa in one gulp. Only a cry of “Ah!” was heard, and her soul unexpectedly transformed into a bird. This was truly a strange wonder of the primordial world.

It should be known that when people die, they all have souls, which normally enter the underworld and pass through the cycle of reincarnation. Yet Nüwa directly transformed into an animal, and beings who continue living on the primordial earth in this form of soul-body are exceedingly rare. Only an extremely powerful resentment can keep a soul from dispersing, allowing it to transform into a spirit creature and survive in this world in an unusual shape. One can see just how profound Nüwa’s sorrow and resentment were at that moment.

Note:

More than two hundred li north, there is Mount Fajiu, where many mulberry trees grow. There is a bird there, shaped like a crow, with patterned head, white beak, and red feet. It is called the Essence Guardian, and it calls its own name in song. This bird was the youngest daughter of Emperor Yan, named Nüwa. Nüwa went traveling in the Eastern Sea, drowned, and did not return, so she became the Essence Guardian, forever carrying stones and twigs from the Western Mountains to fill in the Eastern Sea. From there the Zhang River emerges and flows east into the Yellow River.

The Classic of Mountains and Seas, Northern Mountains Classic.