S1E4 | Nüwa Mother of All
S1E4 | 女娲造人
*UPDATE: I’ll be uploading PDF coloring pages for episodes starting today! Linked below:
Bilingual Audio:
*note, videos for these episodes are linked at the very end of this blog post! :)
Bilingual Transcript:
Last week, we heard the story of the Pangu – and watched as he split the sky from the earth, and created the world. Yet in the splendor of the world that Pangu made, we – humans – were nowhere to be found. So how, according to Chinese mythology, did humans come to be? The answer to our question has a name: and her name was Nüwa… this is her story.
上周啊，我们听了盘古开天辟地的故事。不过，在盘古所创造的世界里，我们 – 人类– 却还没有出现。那么我们是从哪里来呢？答案掌握在….一位名叫女娲的女神手中。这，就是女娲造人的故事。
Out of the mists of the brand new world came the goddess Nüwa. She was as tall as the mountains, with eyes that shone like stars. Nüwa had no legs – instead her body ended in a magnificent snake tail. Her tail, covered in colorful scales, glittered and shimmered under the sun.
从新世界的烟雾中，出现了女神女娲。她的身体像高山一样高，双眼像星星一样亮。女娲没有双腿 – 但是，她却有一条五颜六色的蛇尾巴。女娲尾巴上的鳞片在阳光下发出七彩的光芒。
As Nüwa crossed the grassy plains of the earth, her tail would sweep the ground like a giant paintbrush. And wherever her shining tail touched, brightly colored wild-flowers would spring up in its wake!
女娲穿过草坪的时候，她的尾巴像大毛笔一样扫着地面。她尾巴扫过的地方就会长出五颜六色的野花儿！
One day, Nüwa came by a river full of silver fish. She looked down at the water, and saw the fishes darting to and fro，as if in dance! Then, Nüwa looked to the sky, and saw birds flying in flock. And as they flew, they sang a cheerful tune! But though Nüwa searched high and low, she could not find another like herself.
有一天，女娲来到了河边。河里有许多银色的小鱼。 女娲望着河中的鱼儿们，游来游去，像是在跳舞！女娲又向天空望去，看见鸟儿们在一起飞翔。鸟儿们一边飞，一边唱着快乐歌谣。但女娲找来找去，却找不到和她一样的人！
Nüwa was terribly lonely, for there was no one with whom she could laugh
女娲非常孤独，因为没有人能陪她一起笑，
… or dance,
一起跳舞
… or sing…
一起唱歌…
Nüwa sat down by the river and gazed sadly into the water. And there, in the water, she saw someone gazing right back at her!
女娲在河边坐了下来，低头伤心地往河面望去。而在水中，她看见了另一个人 - 那另一个人也正看着女娲！
Nüwa leaned closer… and that someone leaned closer too!
女娲靠近了一些 ，那个人也靠近了一些!
Nüwa smiled… and that someone smiled back!
女娲笑了笑, 而那个人也笑了笑!
And as Nüwa gazed at her own reflection, an idea came to her:
女娲看着自己的倒影, 突然有了一个主意：
“I shall make myself some companions! Then I shall no longer be lonely!”
“我为自创造一些伙伴, 我就不会孤单了！ ”
And so, Nüwa took a handful of soft mud, and she molded it into a little person who looked very much like her (though with two legs in the place of a tail). Nüwa placed the little mud person onto the ground. As soon as its feet touched solid earth, the little person began to laugh, to dance, and to sing!
于是，女娲拿了一些泥土， 做了一个和她长得很像的人!（只不过这小泥人有两条腿，没有尾巴）. 女娲把小泥人放在地上，小泥人的脚刚着地，竟然开始欢笑起来, 又是跳舞又是唱歌!
Delighted, Nüwa made another mud child…and then another…and another! Before long, there was a crowd of them around Nüwa! Soon, the sound of laughter and delight filled the air!
女娲高兴极了！ 于是，她又做了一个小泥娃娃 - 做了一个又一个。没过多久，一群小泥人围绕着女娲，又是唱歌又是跳舞,一片欢声笑语!
These little people, according to legend, were the very first humans! And Nüwa loved them very much, for they were all her children.
他们呀，就是创说中最原始的人了！女娲非常疼爱他们，因为他们都是女娲的子女。
From that day on, Nüwa was no longer lonely - for her children had children, and those children had children too! Generation upon generation followed, until the whole wide world was full of happy people!
从那天开始，女娲不再孤单了。因为，后来，她的子女又有了子女。子子孙孙，一代又一代， 直到世界的每个角落都有了幸福的人们！
Nüwa, smiled. All was well.
女娲笑了。一切都很好.
… or was it?
…不过, 一切真正的好了吗？
While Nüwa’s children danced and played, in the distance a war was brewing. A war between two gods…
女娲的子孙们在快乐的玩耍时，在遥远的地方，有两位神开始了搏斗…
Alright Panda Cubs, that was our story for this week! What happened next, you might ask? What is this war, and what does it have to do with Nüwa – or her children? Panda and I will tell you… next week!
好，熊猫宝宝们，这周的故事就讲完了！接下来到底发生了什么呢？下周呀，我和熊猫宝宝就会给你讲这个故事！下周见！