it is said that there were no men when the sky and the earth were separated. it was nuwa who made men by moulding yellow clay. nthe work was so taxing that her strength was not equal to it. so she dipped a rope into the mud and then lifted it. the mud that dripped from the rope also became men. those made by moulding yellow clay were rich and noble, while those made by lifting the rope were poor and low.

in a ancient times, the four corners of the sky collapsed and the world with its nine regions split open. the sky could not cover all the things under it, nor could the earth carry all the things on it. a great fire raged and would not die out; a fierce flood raced about and could not be checked. savage beasts devoured innocent people; vicious birds preyed on the weak and old.

then nuwa melted rocks of five colours and used them to mend the cracks in the sky. she supported the four corners of the sky with the legs she had cut off from a giant turtle. she killed the black dragon to save the people of j1zhou(1), and blocked the flood with the ashes of reeds.
thus the sky was mended, its four corners lifted, the flood tamed, jizhou pacified, and harmful birds and beasts killed, and the innocent people were able to live on the square earth under the dome of the sky. it was a time when birds, beasts, insects and snakes no longer used their claws or teeth or poisonous stings, for they did not want to catch or eat weaker things.

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