In the primordial chaos, when heaven and earth were yet undivided, an ancient and moving myth circulated across the land of China – Nüwa Mends the Sky. This story is not only a crucial part of the Chinese creation myth but also intricately linked to our ancestors' reverence and understanding of jade. It is not merely a tale of disaster and salvation, but an epic inscribed with the divinity of jade.
Legend has it that Gonggong and Zhuanxu contended for supremacy, and in his rage, Gonggong struck Mount Buzhou, causing the pillars of heaven to break and the bonds of earth to rupture. The sky tilted to the northwest, and the earth sank to the southeast. Floods raged, fires spread, and all living beings suffered. Faced with this catastrophe, Nüwa, the ancestral mother of humanity, was deeply grieved. She did not stand idly by but resolutely embarked on the great task of saving all sentient beings. She melted five-colored stones to mend the sky, cut off the legs of a giant turtle to support the four cardinal points, slew a black dragon to save Jizhou, and piled up reeds and ashes to stop the floods. Among these acts, "melting five-colored stones to mend the sky" is the most closely related to jade culture.
What exactly were these "five-colored stones"? The Huainanzi, in the chapter "Lan Ming Xun," records: "Thereupon Nüwa melted five-colored stones to mend the azure sky, cut off the legs of a giant turtle to establish the four cardinal points, slew a black dragon to save Jizhou, and piled up reeds and ashes to stop the overflowing waters." Although the ancient texts do not explicitly state that the five-colored stones were jade, considering the widespread reverence for jade in prehistoric civilizations and the natural diversity of jade's colors, we have reason to believe that Nüwa's "five-colored stones" likely included various beautiful jades accessible to ancient people. In the eyes of ancient ancestors, jade was not merely a hard, warm, and lustrous substance; it was also endowed with mysterious properties for communicating with heaven and earth, warding off evil, and carrying divine power. Red agate, yellow Hetian jade, green jadeite, white mutton-fat jade, and even celadon Xiuyan jade – these naturally vibrant colors were undoubtedly the materials that, in the eyes of the ancients, best represented the essence of heaven and earth and possessed sacred power. Nüwa using these "five-colored stones," which gathered the spiritual essence of heaven and earth, to repair the broken sky is the best interpretation of jade's sacred status.
Archaeological discoveries, such as those from the late Neolithic Hongshan culture and Liangzhu culture, have unearthed a large number of exquisite jade artifacts. These jade objects were not only ornaments but also ritual vessels and divine instruments, embodying primitive religious beliefs and cosmic views. For example, the jade dragons of the Hongshan culture and the jade cong of the Liangzhu culture, with their unique shapes and exquisite carvings, are considered important mediums for communicating with heaven and earth and offering sacrifices to deities. The existence of these prehistoric jade artifacts confirms that jade already held extraordinary cultural significance and sacred status in the early stages of Chinese civilization. The myth of Nüwa mending the sky is precisely the sublimation and concretization of this primitive jade worship within the mythological system.
Nüwa mending the sky is more than just a myth; it symbolizes the Chinese nation's spirit of self-reliance and struggle against nature. And jade, as the core material for Nüwa's mending, has thus been endowed with deeper cultural significance. It is no longer merely a beautiful stone but a sacred object carrying the merit of creation and the virtue of salvation. The resilience of jade symbolizes the nation's perseverance, its warmth symbolizes the nation's inclusivity, and its vibrant colors symbolize the diversity and brilliance of Chinese civilization. Later literati and poets often used jade as a metaphor for people, praising the virtues of a gentleman, which precisely continued this reverence for jade's divinity and character.
To this day, the story of Nüwa mending the sky continues to be widely circulated across China. Whenever we see a warm piece of jade and feel its delicate texture, we seem to perceive the immense power of saving all beings from the ancient primeval era. Jade, as a unique carrier of Chinese civilization, has not only witnessed the birth of myths but has also, throughout the long river of history, integrated with the spiritual character of the Chinese nation. It is not only material but also spiritual; it is not only historical but also eternal. The myth of Nüwa mending the sky, intertwined with the cultural significance of jade, together constructs a profound and brilliant chapter of Chinese civilization, inspiring generations of Chinese descendants, when facing difficulties, to create their own glory, just as Nüwa mended the sky.