Hello and welcome to Chinese Folk Tales.
This is Beibei.
This is our 10th episode and so far we've been sharing myths and legends about human progress with happy endings.
Today's story, however, will be a bit sad.
Do you still remember Shen Nong, the god of agriculture and Chinese herbal medicine?
In fact, he was also known as Yan Di, who was one of the mythical emperors who ruled southern China in the ancient times.
Legend has it that he had a daughter named Nuwa.
I know, the name sounds almost the same as Nuwa, the goddess who created humans in the beginning.
It's the Chinese tones.
Nu Wa, Yan Di's daughter.
Wa, that's the second tone.
And it means little kids.
And Nu Wa, Wa, that's the first tone.
I know, it's a little confusing.
Anyway, Nu Wa, Yan Di's daughter, was a brave and happy child who loved nature.
Every day, she ran wild in the, well, wild, chasing clouds and listening to the singing birds.
Life was good.
Yan Di doted upon his daughter.
And one time, he gave her a boat as a gift.
Nuwa loved it and learned to sail it on the sea.
Now she started to chase the waves and listened to the sound of splashing water.
One day, Nuwa went sailing again.
The water was calm and the sky clear.
Small waves danced on the surface, as if inviting Nuwa to go further into the sea.
What a wonderful day for sailing, she thought.
Her little boat floated on and Niua felt a bit tired after a while.
She lied down in her boat and the gentle waves rocked her to sleep.
The sun was on her face and the breeze caressed her hair.
If only life could continue just like this.
But the weather changed without a notice.
The sun hid behind heavy clouds, and wind came from nowhere.
Nuwa woke up from the rocking of the boat and saw that the blue sea had turned into an endless puddle of rolling ink.
Nuwa had never seen anything looking so ominous, and she quickly set sail for shore, but the sea had already turned into a monster that didn't want to let go of her prey.
Dark seawater surged high into the scar, carrying Nuwa's boat with it, and then threw it back down time and time again.
Nuwa was not a girl to give in easily.
She stood firm on her boat and kept steering.
Her boat looked so small and helpless in the midst of the roiling sea like a monster was toiling with her prey.
Nuwa braved against the sea until the moment when a huge wave captured her boat and brought it down into its depth.
Never to return, never to see her family again.
When the sea finally calmed down and returned to the beautiful Miura once again, a little bird emerged from the water.
It was the spirit of Miura.
The little bird had a white beak and red claws, and it kept crying out, Jing Wei, Jing Wei.
So people called it the Jing Wei bird.
Legend has it that Jingwei Bird lived on Fajou Mountain.
The once happy child had turned into a bitter spirit that vowed to revenge the sea for taking her life.
Every day, Jingwei picked tiny pebbles and sticks with her beak and threw them into the sea, one after another, back and forth, day after day.
She will spend the rest of her life as a bird trying to fill the sea.
The sea laughed, throwing up waves as if to say, What are you thinking of, you tiny little bird?
It will take you 10,000 years to fill me up.
Jingwei was still the brave soul that she once was.
Ten thousand, a hundred thousand, for as long as it takes, I will fill you up as land.
Later, Jingwei married another bird that lived by the sea, a sea swallow.
They had many bird babies.
The boys looked like their father, and the girls looked like their mother.
And just like their parents, day after day, they picked pebbles and sticks to throw into the sea.
The story of the Jingwei bird daring to challenge the sea was passed down through the generations.
People felt sorry for Nuwa's misfortune.
They also admire the Jingwei bird for its bravery and persistence.
There are many other stories of heroic figures that fought against nature, and we will get to them in future episodes.
That's it for the story of Jingwei bird, and I'll see you next time.
Bye for now.
If you've got any questions or feedback, please feel free to contact us via email at podcast at cricomcn or find us on Twitter China Plus Pods.
