In the beginning, there was nothing but a giant egg. Inside the egg was a dark, dense swirling mass of chaos. As the chaos subsided, a form began to take shape, growing into a dwarflike creature called Panku. Gradually, Panku began to breathe, and his body tingled all over – he was alive. He opened his eyes and stretched – and found himself trapped in an egg, surrounded by dark, writhing forces. Panku struck out at the shell and burst the egg open. All the light contents, called Yin, rose over Panku and became the Sky. All the heavy contents called Yang, sank under Panku and became the earth.
As Panku tried to stand on the earth, he found that the sky was too low for him to straighten up. He set his hands against the sky above him and planted his feet on the earth beneath him. Then Panku pushed and strained with all his might until he forced the sky higher. At last, he could stretch out his body.
Panku realized that he would have to support the sky forever, or else it would fall and crush him. Day after day, he ate only mist. Night after night, he did not sleep. Each week Panku grew seventy feet, pushing the sky and the earth further away from each other. After eighteen thousand years, the sky and the earth were very far apart – so far apart that Panku thought it must surely be safe to lie down for a rest. He was extremely tired. At long last, Panku lowered his aching arms. He settled his stiff body on the earth, shut his weary eyelids, and fell fast asleep.
Unfortunately, Panku never woke up. He died in his sleep, and his body became the world. His head and feet formed the sacred mountains of the east and west, his left and right arms formed the sacred mountains of the north and south, and his body formed the sacred mountain of the centre. Each sacred mountain towered out of the earth and acted as a mighty pillar to hold up the heavens. The hair on Panku's head became the planets and stars. His left eye became the sun, and his right eye became the moon. Panku's flesh became the earth's soil, while his bones and teeth became precious gems, minerals, and metals. The hair on his body formed trees, plants, and flowers. The fleas and fungi living on Panku's body developed into animals, birds, insects, and fish. Oceans, rivers, and streams were made from Panku's blood. Panku's breath became clouds and the wind, and his sweat became rain. Finally, Panku's voice formed lightning and thunder.
A goddess called Nuwa caught sight of the wonderful world that had sprung from Panku's remains. She admired all its beauties, but she marvelled most at the creatures. She loved watching them feed and grow, living together in their communities.
Nuwa decided to make her own miraculous creatures. She wanted hers to be better than any other living thing and searched long and hard for materials to use. Swooping down from the sky, she scoured the golden shore. She tried using sand, but the figures crumbled. Then she tried rock, but it was too difficult to carve. Suddenly, her eyes spotted the thick mud of the Yellow River – perfect modelling clay. Scooping up handfuls of wet clay, the great goddess began patting, rolling, kneading, and pinching them into shape.
After many abandoned efforts, Nuwa came up with a shape that pleased her. She made more and more of the tiny figures and thought up a name for them – people. She gave all her people different heights and weights, but there were two basic types. One type, she breathed Yang into, and they became men. The other type, she breathed Yin into, and they became women. Nuwa clapped her hands with delight as the people began walking, talking, and exploring their surroundings. The great goddess set about making more people at once. Excited and impatient, she began wondering if there was a faster way to produce her children.
Nuwa's eyes fell on a length of rope laying nearby. Grabbing the rope, she dangled it into the Yellow River mud. She rolled it around and around, until the end was covered with thick, sticky clay. Lifting it high, she shook it vigorously. Every drop that fell off became a new person. Nuwa was thrilled. These people weren't as well formed as the ones she had made by hand – they were uglier and clumsier, and didn't have the same abilities and skills. However, Nuwa didn't mind. It was a much faster method! Besides, she watched the two groups get to know each other, and they seemed to get on quite well. The modelled people took charge of everyone and had good ideas, while the others were excellent workers and seemed quite comfortable being led. Everyone was happy...
The people built villages, dug wells, ploughed farmland, and generally made comfortable, ordered lives for themselves. Until one day, their activities disturbed a monster called Gong-gong who was asleep under the earth. Gong-gong awoke in a bad temper. He burst from the ground, leaving a river of fire pouring out of a vast crack in the earth. Throwing his head back, he roared and shook the soil from his shoulders. In a fit of rage, he reared up on his hind legs, headbutting one of the mountains that supported the sky. It crumbled and fell, tearing a great hole in the heavens. Waters gushed from the skies down on the earth.
Nuwa watched in horror as her people screamed and ran for their lives. Their homes were ablaze or washed away in torrents of water. The goddess acted quickly. Firstly, she set fire to the reeds that grew beside the Yellow River. Then she stuffed the ashes into the crack in the earth to stop the river of fire. She chose different coloured stones from the riverbed and used them to patch up the tear in the sky. With the fires dampened and the water washed away, the people began to return. Nuwa smiled. Finally, her people were safe once more.