Friday, Apr. 22, 2011
Nu Gua
She had a human head but the body of snake. Or a fish. In Chinese mythology, Nu Gua (in one story Nu and Gua were considered the first human beings on earth) was the patroness of matchmakers, meaning she established the norms for marriage and developed the rules of conduct between the sexes. But she did much more than that. Pillars of heaven need refurbishing? Nu Gua fixed them. Corners of the earth broken? Nu Gua brought her tool kit of a tortoise and melted-down stones. She even built a palace made with material prepared by mountain spirits.