Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 3, 2024

Creators and Anti-Myths—Rereading “Butian”

(Abstract)

Wang Hui

In “Butian”(“Mending Heaven”), Nüwa is neither a tribal deity nor an idol of national worship. Instead, she is an imperfect creator and reconstructor who was exiled by the myth of “origin.” Nüwa’s actions set off a series of beginnings: of space, of time, of humanity, and the beginning of human behaviors such as laughing and crying. The beginning of possession marks a turning point, as human history embarks on a journey of jealousy, enmity, begging, conspiracy, deceit, and war, culminating in the establishment of a moral order to legitimize this chaotic process. Humans not only create their own history but also “recognize” their gods from their own history. By naming the “origins” of human beings “God,” humans begin their own history. The story of Nüwa mending the heavens is not only a creation story but also a story of the salvation of civilization from “civilizational history”—Nüwa’s re-establishment amidst disorder is not a new stage of the end of the “Five Virtues,” but rather a new world that cannot be covered by the appearance of cycles. This reinterpretation of the image of Nüwa responds to various discourses in Chinese and Western academia regarding creation myths and world order.