King’s story Earth Driver in The Truth About Stories is about a pregnant lady, Charm that falls from the sky. She has twins and together they make the world and create the earth. The twin daughter is a left handed girl who creates the mountains and the valleys. The twin brother is right handed and he has created the wind, rivers and flowers. He also creates things that are moving.
One of the most famous Chinese creation stories is about Nu Wa. She is the mother goddess and she created humans and repaired heaven. There are a lot of different versions of the story. However, I remember from when I was a kid, I used to hear it from my parents for bedtime stories. Nu Wa created humans and she teaches humans the meaning of marriage and how to have kids. She created humans with soil and she shapes them into boys and girls. Nu wa is kind and generous. When the humans fight and make a hole in the sky, she repairs it and fixes heaven.
Nu Wa is still an important figure in Chinese culture and mythology. I remember as a kid, the story was told to me many times, and it was culturally important that we learn this creation story. Today, the story is even popularized and shared overseas. For example, the famous (and very controversial!) performing arts group Shen Yun published about Nu wa in their resources about Chinese culture, and the story of Nu wa is sometimes performed. In this post, Nu wa is discussed and it is highlighted how important her story is in connection to balance in society, creativity and family.
Both creation stories (Earth Driver and Nu wa) have made women the creator of the world and they have both created men and women. This is different from Western creation stories like Genesis, where the almighty God is male, and where Eve is born from Adam’s rib. Earth Driver and the story of Nu Wa portray the creation of the world as a peaceful and happy environment. I guess the reason that they use mother figures is that they are kind and generous. In this post about Nu Wa, she is described as a “badass goddess”- a strong and important female figure in mythology!
While both stories portray the world as peaceful, harmonious, happy and beautiful, King’s creation story highlights more the idea of collaboration and balance. The twins have different characteristics and thus create different aspects of the world, that together complete it. The twins work with their mother and with the earth to create the world, rather than a single authority creating the world single handedly. Meanwhile in Nu Wa, the ideas of creativity and wisdom is more emphasized, with Nu Wa crafting humans out of soil, fixing heaven, and teaching humans about living. However, balance is also emphasised because when the humans fight too much, they create a hole in the sky that Nu Wa must fix, showing how the world is in a delicate balance. In this post, the importance of harmony and balance in connection to Nuwa is explore further.
Both these stories are written in a more gentle manner than say the Genesis story, which is very authoritarian. This involves the reader more and gives less of a prescriptive tone to the stories, further emphasizing the ideas of balance, collectivism and sharing rather than authoritarianism, rules and facts. In Nu Wa, the humans are not punished for fighting, rather Nu Wa works to help restore the sky and teach humans how to live better in harmony. In Earth Driver, there is also no punishment of the characters, compared to in Genesis, when Eve is punished.
I think it is interesting how creation stories shed light on the values that are emphasized in different cultures. In Earth Driver, an indigenous creation story, collaboration and harmony with the Earth are highlighted as important values. Meanwhile in Nu Wa, an Asian creation story, the values of family, social unity and collectivism are presented. In Genesis, the values of authority, truth, order and individualism are more emphasized.
I think we can find many similarities and differences across creation stories, and finding these can help us better understand our values, worldviews, and help us situate ourselves in our cultural contexts.
References
Chan, Monica. “Nuwa: a Chinese Creation Myth”. Re(orient)ing. December 7 2017. Retrieved from https://medium.com/reorienting/nuwa-a-chinese-creation-myth-b7722eeb15ac
Goldberg, Carey. “East and West: Seeing the world through Differerent lenses”. New York Times. March 4 2008. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/health/04iht-6sncult.1.10695876.html
Indigenous Peoples Worldviews vs Western Worldviews. Indigenous Coprorate Training Inc. January 26 2016 Retieved from https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/indigenous-peoples-worldviews-vs-western-worldviews
King, Thomas, “The Truth about Stories: A Native Narrative.” CBC Massey Lectures. House of Anansi Press, 2003.
Nu Wa, Creator of humans 女娲補天. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://storykingdom.org/nu-wa-creator-of-humans/
Shen Yun Performing Arts. “Mighty Mom of Mythistory”. May 1st 2017. Retrieved from https://www.shenyunperformingarts.org/explore/view/article/e/pbzszw3x17w/mythistory-nuwa
The Myth of Nu Gua Chinese Snake Goddess. January 19 2013. Acutonics Institute of Integrative Medicine. Retrieved from https://acutonics.com/news/the-myth-of-nue-gua-chinese-snake-goddess/