女娲补天

nǚ wā bǔ tiān

  • Meaning

    Literal

    [The goddess] Nǚ Wā patches the sky

    Usage

    Describes strength and spirit that can transform the world

  • Connotation

    Neutral

  • Usage Examples

    我的决心可赛过女娲补天时的毅力 | Wǒ de juéxīn kě sàiguò nǚwābǔtiān shí de yìlì
    My determination is stronger than that of Nǚ Wa's when she was repairing the heavens
    [Source]

    原来女娲补天的故事就发生在这里 | Yuánlái nǚwābǔtiān de gùshì jiù fāshēng zài zhèlǐ
    The events of the story of Nǚ Wā mending the sky happened right here
    [Source]

  • Equivalents

    English

    None

    Chinese

    None

  • Entry Notes

    None

  • Origin

    《淮南子》(Huái Nán Zi), a piece written in the western Hàn (西汉, Xī Hàn) dynasty (206 BC - 8 AD)

  • Story

    According to Chinese legend, the goddess 女娲 (Nǚ Wá) created humanity from her own image, and she cared for humans immensely.

    One day, 共工 (Gòng Gōng), the god of water, and 祝融 (Zhù Róng), the god of fire, started battling. Their battle extended from the heavens all the way to Earth, striking the now-mythical 不周山 (Bù Zhōu Shān | Buzhou Mountain). The mountain buckled under the onslaught, and one of its great pillars that supported the heavens collapsed. Immediately, a great hole opened in the heavens, and quickly after, a deep ravine cracked the earth, the forest caught fire, and flood waters burst out of nowhere. Humans, barely able to withstand the sudden catastrophes, suddenly found themselves on the verge of widespread death and disaster.

    女娲 saw all of this occur and felt immense sorrow for humanity. She vowed to put a stop to the chaos, and she set out finding as many rocks as she could. In the end, she found countless rocks of many different colors, and after melting them all down, she used them to mend the hole in the heavens and stop the calamity down on Earth.

    Nowadays, when people see multi-colored clouds in the sky, they know that they are looking at the place where 女娲 patched the heavens

  • Citations and Helpful Resources

    • 汉语成语小词典 (hànyǔ chéngyǔ xiǎo cídiǎn)
    • 现代汉语规范词典 (xiàndài hànyǔ guīfàn cídiǎn)
    • 多功能成语词典 (duō gōngnéng chéngyǔ cídiǎn)
    • 汉语大词典 (hànyǔ dà cídiǎn)
    • ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary
    • Pleco Basic Chinese-English Dictionary
    • 故事365[x]
    • 七故事网[x]
    • 汉语大词典[x]
    • 瑞文网[x]
    • 百度百科[x]