To mend the sky (like the goddess Nüwa), symbolizing a heroic and monumental effort to repair a great disaster or to accomplish a seemingly impossible task with immense courage and determination; to demonstrate a grand spirit of transforming the world.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Synonym:
Story:
Legend has it that Pangu created the world and supported the heavens and earth with four gigantic pillars, the Buzhou Mountains.
Later, during a fierce battle for the imperial throne, Gonggong, in a fit of rage after his defeat by Zhuanxu, crashed into the Buzhou Mountain, causing it to collapse. This left a huge rift in the sky, and the earth became unstable.
Seeing the catastrophic disaster, the goddess Nüwa climbed a high mountain, kindled a divine fire, and spent countless days refining 36,501 colorful stones to mend the gaping crack in the sky.
She then cut off the four legs of a giant tortoise and used them as new pillars to support the four corners of the sky.
From that time on, the heavens and earth were permanently stable and secure.