Nu Wa Made Human Beings 女娲造人

In the West, creation refers to making something from nothing. But for the Chinese, the world and human beings are never created as such. In the beginning, according to the Chinese mythology, there was nothing in the universe but a formless mass. It was Pan Gu who separated the earth from the sky. When Pan Gu died, the various parts of his bodies were transformed into myriad things in the world.
There are also many other deities in the Chinese mythology that helped make earth as a whole. In any case, there was no concept of creation in the Chinese mind. Instead, the myriad things were transformed from, produced or given birth by some other things.
One of the deities was Nu Wa, who made the human beings. Nu Wa was also the first match maker and known as the goddess of marriage. The story below comes from ‘The Comprehensive Meaning of Customs and Habits’ (Fengsu Tongyi), a book written in about 250 AD, by author Ying Shao, who lived during the Eastern Han period.
It is said that there were no men when the sky and the earth were separated and it was Nu Wa who made men by moulding yellow clay. She began to make more and more human beings until she was so tired that she had no strength to continue. 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 moulding yellow clay were rich and noble, while those made by lifting the rope were poor and low in status. Wu Wa then prayed in the temple of Heaven to allow her to match make and thereby set up a system of marriage.
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在西方，‘创造’指从无到有。但是，对华人而言，世界与人类并不是被创造的。在中国神话里，开始时，天地浑沌如鸡子；那是盘古把天地分开。盘古死后，他身体的各部分变成了万物。
在中国神话中，还有其他很多的神帮助制造这个世界。无论如何，华人心中没有‘创造’的概念。反之，世界万物是由其他物质转变、产生或生产的。
女娲就是众神之一。她造了人。女娲也是第一个媒人，设置婚姻制度。以下是东汉应劭大约写于250年的《风俗通义》中的描述。
‘俗说开天辟辟，未有人民，女娲抟黄土做人。剧务，力不暇供，乃引绳于泥中，举以为人。故富贵者，黄土人；贫贱者，引縆（绳）人也。
女娲祷神祠祈而为女媒，因置婚姻。’