What is the story of Nüwa Mends the Sky?

A hole opens in the sky, rain pours through and the land floods. The goddess Nüwa, who made the people, promises a frightened little girl that she will mend it. She gathers stones of five colours, melts them in a great fire and fills the hole bit by bit. A giant turtle holds up the four corners of the sky with its legs, the sun comes out, and the mended place shines as the first rainbow.

Nüwa (女娲, Nǚwā) is one of the oldest goddesses in Chinese myth. In a later text she makes the first people out of yellow clay, which is why the girl in the story calls her Mother Nüwa. Mending the sky is her most famous deed. She is not the same as 女娃 (Nǚwá), the girl in the story of Jingwei.

Where does the myth of Nüwa mending the sky come from?

From the Huainanzi, a Western Han book from the 2nd century BC. The passage is only a few lines long: the pillars of the sky fell, so Nüwa smelted five-coloured stones to mend the sky and used a giant turtle's legs as new pillars. Our page shows the original lines with a translation.

Is there a Chinese version of Nüwa Mends the Sky?

Yes. It is called 女娲补天 (Nǚ wā bǔ tiān), “Nüwa mends the sky.” This page has our Chinese retelling with Mandarin narration, and the original passage from the Huainanzi.

Nüwa Mends the Sky Story

Ages 3–7
English audio 2 min
Mandarin audio 2 min

Nüwa Mends the Sky is a classic story from Chinese Myths and Legends for Kids, for children aged 3–7. This page has the English story with a native English narration (about 2 min), plus the Chinese version with Mandarin narration (about 2 min). Free to read and listen, no sign-up.

When a hole opens in the sky and water floods the land, the goddess Nüwa melts stones of five colours to mend it, and a giant turtle holds up the four corners. The Chinese creation myth in simple English with narration, plus the Chinese version.

0:001:07

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A narrator, and a voice of its own for each character: Nüwa, the Little Girl, the Giant Turtle

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Read Nüwa Mends the Sky

Long ago, a big hole opened in the sky. Rain poured through it, and water covered the land. People were cold and afraid.

Nüwa, the goddess who had made the people, loved them. A little girl held her robe and cried, "Mother Nüwa, the sky is falling! We are so scared."

Nüwa patted her head and said, "Don't be afraid. I will mend the sky."

She picked up stones of five colours: red, yellow, blue, white and black. She melted them in a great fire. Then she flew up and filled the hole, bit by bit.

But the sky still wobbled. A giant turtle swam up. "Nüwa, my four legs are strong. Let me hold up the sky!" it said. It pushed its legs against the four corners, and the sky held still.

The rain stopped and the sun came out. The mended place shone with seven colours. Nüwa smiled. "The stones left a mark. Let's call it a rainbow." "Thank you, Mother Nüwa!" said the little girl.

The Chinese version: 女娲补天

很久很久以前，有一天，天空忽然裂开了一个大洞。雨水从洞里哗哗地灌下来，地上到处都是大水。人们又冷又怕，不知道该怎么办。

女娲是造出人的女神，最疼爱人们。一个小女孩拉着她的衣角哭：“女娲妈妈，天要掉下来了，我们好害怕。”

女娲摸摸她的头：“别怕，我去把天补好。”

女娲走遍大江大河，捡来红的、黄的、蓝的、白的、黑的五色石头。她在高山上点起大火，炼了九天九夜，把石头炼成亮晶晶的石浆。她捧着石浆飞上天，一点一点把大洞补好了。

可是天补好了，还晃晃悠悠的。海里一只大乌龟游过来说：“女娲，我的四条腿又粗又壮，让我来撑住天吧！”大乌龟站在大地中间，把四条腿伸得长长的，顶住天的四个角。天就稳稳的，再也不晃了。

雨停了，水退了，太阳重新照在大地上。小女孩抬头一看，补过的地方闪着七彩的光。女娲笑着说：“那是五色石留下的印子，就叫它彩虹吧。”小女孩拍着手说：“谢谢女娲妈妈！”

Nüwa Mends the Sky Story: the moral of the story

When something frightening happens, the first thing Nüwa says is “don't be afraid,” and the next thing she does is get to work, one stone at a time. Big problems are mended bit by bit.

The original Chinese text of Nüwa Mends the Sky

往古之时，四极废，九州裂，天不兼覆，地不周载……于是女娲炼五色石以补苍天，断鳌足以立四极。

— 《淮南子·览冥训》

Our translation

In ancient times, the four pillars of the sky fell and the nine regions split apart. The sky no longer covered everything, and the earth no longer held everything up. ... So Nüwa smelted stones of five colours to mend the blue sky, and cut the legs off a giant turtle to set up the four pillars.

— Huainanzi, “Lanming” (2nd century BC)

Chinese words in Nüwa Mends the Sky

Play the Chinese narration and listen for these words. The pinyin shows the tones.

女娲nǚ wā
Nüwa
天tiān
sky
洞dòng
hole
五色石wǔ sè shí
five-coloured stones
补bǔ
mend
乌龟wū guī
turtle
彩虹cǎi hóng
rainbow
害怕hài pà
afraid

For families learning Mandarin

Mandarin learning pack

Print the story, read it together, then listen and say it back. Made for heritage families and children learning Mandarin.

A printable PDF (3 pages): the Chinese story with pinyin over every character, the words to know, the English version, questions to talk about, and character writing practice.
Slow Mandarin audio (4 min): every sentence at a gentler pace, followed by a pause long enough to say it back.

Buy once, download again any time. The story itself stays free to read and hear. Try the free sample pack (The Tortoise and the Hare) first.

Page one of the Nüwa Mends the Sky learning pack: the Chinese story with pinyin over every character

Bedtime storytelling tips

Make the little girl's voice small and shaky, and Nüwa's slow and low. Children settle down with her “don't be afraid.”
Count the five colours together, red, yellow, blue, white, black, holding up one finger for each. In Chinese the five-coloured stones are 五色石 (wǔ sè shí).
When the turtle holds up the sky, let your child stretch both arms up to push the sky into place, then let them drop back onto the pillow.

Things to talk about afterwards

What happened on the land after the sky cracked?
What did Nüwa use to mend the sky? How did the turtle help?
If you saw the rainbow, what would you say to Nüwa?

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Nüwa Mends the Sky Story: common questions

What is the story of Nüwa Mends the Sky?: A hole opens in the sky, rain pours through and the land floods. The goddess Nüwa, who made the people, promises a frightened little girl that she will mend it. She gathers stones of five colours, melts them in a great fire and fills the hole bit by bit. A giant turtle holds up the four corners of the sky with its legs, the sun comes out, and the mended place shines as the first rainbow.
Who is Nüwa?: Nüwa (女娲, Nǚwā) is one of the oldest goddesses in Chinese myth. In a later text she makes the first people out of yellow clay, which is why the girl in the story calls her Mother Nüwa. Mending the sky is her most famous deed. She is not the same as 女娃 (Nǚwá), the girl in the story of Jingwei.
Where does the myth of Nüwa mending the sky come from?: From the Huainanzi, a Western Han book from the 2nd century BC. The passage is only a few lines long: the pillars of the sky fell, so Nüwa smelted five-coloured stones to mend the sky and used a giant turtle's legs as new pillars. Our page shows the original lines with a translation.
Is there a Chinese version of Nüwa Mends the Sky?: Yes. It is called 女娲补天 (Nǚ wā bǔ tiān), “Nüwa mends the sky.” This page has our Chinese retelling with Mandarin narration, and the original passage from the Huainanzi.

Source and how we retold it

From the Huainanzi, chapter “Lanming” (览冥训), a Western Han text from the 2nd century BC, in the public domain. The original says that in ancient times the four pillars of the sky fell and the earth split, fire and flood raged and wild beasts preyed on people, so Nüwa smelted stones of five colours to mend the sky and cut off the legs of a giant turtle to set up the four pillars. For bedtime we keep the hole in the sky and the rain and leave out the fire and the beasts; the turtle offers its legs itself instead of losing them. The little girl and the rainbow at the end are our additions.

The narration on this page is AI-generated: the English is read by our narrator and the Chinese by our narrator. The audio files are labeled as AI-generated.

If you liked Nüwa Mends the Sky Story, there are more stories in Chinese Myths and Legends for Kids. You can also read this one to your child in your own voice.