Mending Heaven

Mending Heaven is based on the Chinese mythical character, Nüwa, and tells the story of how she rescued the earth and realigned the heavens. According to the myth, there once was a battle between the water and fire god, ending in the former’s defeat. Unable to accept his loss, the water god bashed his head against a mountain, one of the pillars of heaven, causing its collapse and tearing a hole in the sky. Seeing the earth crumbling, Nüwa sought help from the sky turtle who gave her his legs to replace the pillars of heaven, and melting stones of five colors, she also patched the tear in the sky. Thus, heaven and earth were rescued from disaster; however, from then on, they hung at a slight tilt, for although she tried her best, Nüwa could not restore all to how it once was due to the unequal length of the sky turtle’s feet. It is said that this is why the western regions lie higher than the eastern in China and the rivers run in a Southeastern direction.