1. Description

Nvwa is the ancestor of mankind in the mythology of ancient China. As legend goes, she smelted the five-colored stones to mend the firmament (sky), cut off the feet of the great turtle to support the four pillars of the universe, controlled the flood, and drove away fierce beasts so as to let the people live in peace.

The popular story of “Nvwa Mended the Sky” was noted in “Huainanzi,” written in Western Han (206 B.C. - 24). It says, “In remote antiquity, the four poles of the universe collapsed, the sky cracked open, the earth was no longer able to support everything, fire ran wild everywhere without ceasing, and flood overflowed out of control. Fierce beasts ate common people, and ferocious birds attacked the old and the weak. Hence, Nvwa smelted the five-colored stones to mend the sky, cut off the feet of the great turtle to support the four poles, killed the black dragon to help the earth, and gathered the ash of reed to stop the flood.”

According to “Taiping Yulan,” a set of encyclopedias compiled in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), at the beginning of the universe, there were no human beings. Nvwa molded figures from yellow clay to create people. As the clay was not strong enough, she put ropes into the clay to make the bodies erect. There was also such a saying, “Nvwa prayed to gods to let her be the goddess to take charge of marital affairs. As a result of her going-between, men and women lived in harmony, and she was worshiped as the goddess of marriage.”

2. Details

• Title: Nvwa Mended the Firmament     By   ---   (2006)
• Edition: Original hand painted
• Medium: Water ink and colour on rice paper
• Technique: Freehand style
• Dimensions: 92.0 x 94.0 cm= 36.2 x 37 inch
• US$ 3570 : Buy It Now! 
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