炼石补天 — “Refine stones to mend the sky”

According to ancient Chinese mythology, after Pangu separated heaven and earth, Goddess Nüwa ruled over her children, who lived peacefully on Earth.

However, this peace was shattered when Gonggong, the Water God, challenged Nüwa's authority. Enraged, Nüwa sent Zhurong, the Fire God, to confront Gonggong. A devastating war between fire and water ensued for tens of thousands of years, causing immense destruction.

Defeated and furious, Gonggong smashed Buzhou Mountain, one of the pillars supporting the sky. This catastrophic event caused the sky to collapse, leaving a giant hole, the earth to crack, forests to burn, and floods to surge, unleashing monstrous beasts upon humanity.

Witnessing her people's suffering, Nüwa was deeply pained. She resolved to end the calamity. She tirelessly traveled across mountains, collecting colorful stones, which she then refined in a furnace for eighty-one days, creating a massive five-colored stone. Over four years, she refined a total of 36,501 such stones.

With the help of immortals and generals, Nüwa spent nine days and nine nights mending the sky. Once the sky was repaired, she gathered reed ash to fill the cracks and gullies on the earth. Finally, to ensure the heavens remained stable, she captured a giant turtle from the East Sea, severed its four legs, and used them as new pillars to support the four corners of the world.