From Myth to Art: The Timeless Influence of Fuxi and Nuwa on Chinese Culture

Today, we’ll talk about the Fuxi and Nuwa paintings, popular in the burial customs of the ancient kingdom of Gaochang, which reflect the deep cultural and symbolic significance of these two mythological figures in Chinese history, representing creation, harmony, and the balance of Yin and Yang.

Transcript

From Myth to Art: The Timeless Influence of Fuxi and Nuwa on Chinese Culture

Today, we’ll talk about the Fuxi and Nuwa paintings, popular in the burial customs of the ancient kingdom of Gaochang, which reflect the deep cultural and symbolic significance of these two mythological figures in Chinese history, representing creation, harmony, and the balance of Yin and Yang.

Today marks the seventh day of the first lunar month in the Chinese New Year. And all of us here at The Context wish you and yours a Happy New Year filled with prosperity in the Year of the Snake. Following the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac calendar, the Snake is often referred to as the “little dragon” and unlike what you may think, it has many auspicious connotations. While snakes are considered symbols of evil in some Western myths, in Chinese culture, they are viewed as symbols of good luck and sacred power.

A famous artifact related to the snake is the Tang Dynasty painting of Fuxi and Nuwa, housed at the National Museum of China. This silk scroll, measuring 144.3 cm by 101.7 cm, was discovered in the Astana Tombs near Turpan, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and is considered a top-tier national treasure.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, explorers from Britain, Russia, Germany, and Japan discovered numerous ancient tombs near Astana, 40 kilometers southeast of Turpan. Under the guise of archaeology, many of these so-called researchers stole priceless artifacts, including several copies of Fuxi and Nuwa, which were sent abroad.

The Ancient Kingdom of Gaochang was a local political entity established by Han Chinese as the dominant population, existing from the 5th to the 7th century AD. It was located in the southeastern part of present-day Gaochang District, Turpan City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It was close to the famous Flaming Mountains. The Flaming Mountains are the hottest place on the surface of China, with summer temperatures exceeding 70°C. The mysterious Ancient Kingdom of Gaochang was situated not far from this area. During his journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures, the famous Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang stayed in the Ancient Kingdom of Gaochang, where he gave lectures and became sworn brothers with the King of Gaochang, Qu Wentai.

The painting Fuxi and Nuwa in the collection of the National Museum of China was discovered by the renowned modern Chinese archaeologist Huang Wenbi during his expedition to the Turpan area of Xinjiang in 1928. In April 1927, the Northwest China Scientific Research Expedition was established through a collaboration between Chinese academic organizations and Swedish geographer Sven Hedin. Huang Wenbi was one of the first Chinese members of the expedition and traveled from Beijing to Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang for more than three years of research. It was during this expedition that he discovered the Fuxi and Nuwa painting.

If you aren’t immediately familiar with the names Fuxi and Nuwa, you’re not alone: many foreign friends of China are unfamiliar with them. But never fear – we here at the Context will take care of that in a jiffy. 

Fuxi and Nuwa are two famous deities in ancient Chinese mythology. According to legend, Fuxi’s mother, named Huaxu, was an exceptionally beautiful woman. One day, she went on a trip to Leize, and during her journey, she discovered a large footprint. Out of curiosity, she placed her foot in the footprint and immediately felt as though she was being entwined by a snake. As a result, she became pregnant. Strangely, the pregnancy lasted for 12 years, and eventually, she gave birth to a child with the head of a human and the body of a serpent – this child was Fuxi. Fuxi combined the roles of shaman, priest, and king, and he may have been the leader of a tribe that revered the dragon as its totem.

In ancient Chinese mythology, Nuwa was born before humanity, and her two great achievements were the creation of humans and the mending of the sky. Legend has it that Nuwa molded humans, shaped like herself, out of yellow clay. Once they were formed, they were able to speak and became living beings. Later, when Nuwa became tired from creating humans, she used a vine to whip the yellow clay, and the splashes of clay that flew off also turned into people, who could babble and speak. Because she used yellow clay to create humans, the Chinese people are said to have yellow skin. As for why Nuwa repaired the sky, there are many different interpretations. In any case, Nuwa is regarded as a great female engineer. She worked tirelessly, smelting tens of thousands of multicolored stones, which she used to patch the holes in the sky, providing her people with a comfortable environment to live in.

According to early Chinese myths, Fuxi and Nuwa seemed to have lived in different eras. However, in later myths, some believe they were siblings, others believe they were husband and wife, and still others think they were siblings who later became a couple. To this day, we are still unsure about the exact relationship between Fuxi and Nuwa, but in the painting called Fuxi and Nuwa, which is preserved at the National Museum of China, there lies a cultural code of eternal continuity for the Chinese people.

In the painting, on the left, Nuwa is shown with her hair tied up in a high bun and in her right hand she is holding a compass, but not the kind for navigating: this one is an ancient Chinese tool for drawing circles. On the right, Fuxi is depicted wearing a cap and in his left hand he holds a square ruler, the ancient Chinese tool for drawing squares. It is generally believed that Nuwa, holding the compass, represents the measurement of the sky, while Fuxi, holding the square ruler, represents the measurement of the land. Both are dressed in wide-sleeved robes. They embrace each other with their upper bodies, gazing at each other from the side, while their lower bodies are shaped like snake tails that spiral and intertwine, symbolizing harmony in marriage and eternal togetherness.

Above their heads is the sun, with a three-legged golden crow inside it. At the ends of their snake tails is the moon, with the Jade Rabbit pounding medicine, a toad, and the cassia tree. Surrounding them are various constellations, as if they are immersed in the vast universe. The tools of measurement, the sun and moon, and the principles of Yin and Yang all come together in the same painting, conveying the theme of the continuity of life and symbolizing the ancient Chinese understanding of the universe – “the sky is round, and the earth is square.”

It is worth mentioning that the intertwining of Fuxi and Nuwa’s snake bodies, forming a double-helix shape, represents the concept of Yin and Yang as complementary forces and the endless cycle of life. The illustration on the cover of the trial issue of International Social Science in 1983, published by UNESCO, is a depiction of the Fuxi and Nuwa painting unearthed in the Turpan region. Its resemblance to the double-helix structure of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, which forms the basis of the human genome, led to the title “The Transformation of All Things.” Despite the fact that these two representations are separated by over a thousand years, this remarkable similarity is indeed astonishing.

So, why are Fuxi and Nuwa depicted with human heads and snake bodies?

We know that snakes are intelligent, agile, mysterious, and fierce creatures that have appeared in the lives of ancient Chinese people. In ancient times, due to harsh living conditions and weak defensive capabilities, people were often harmed by venomous snakes. This danger instilled a fear of snakes, yet their formidable abilities also led to reverence, and they became objects of worship.

Additionally, the close connection between snakes and dragons might have been another important reason why the Chinese people worshiped snakes. Dragons were mythical creatures formed by combining the characteristics of various animals, with the snake as their main component. In ancient Chinese culture, the dragon symbolized power and auspiciousness. As the prototype of the dragon, the snake was naturally also revered by the people.

Since the discovery of the first Fuxi and Nuwa painting in the Turpan region over 100 years ago, archaeologists have uncovered hundreds of similar paintings in the area, some made from silk and others from hemp fabric. These paintings were generally found in tombs of couples buried together, either nailed to the ceiling of the tomb or folded and placed beside the deceased. The majority of these paintings date back to the 6th to 8th centuries AD.

Belief in Fuxi and Nuwa dates back to the pre-Qin period, the Paleolithic era to 221 BCE, and during the Western Han period, 202 BCE–8 CE, under the influence of the Yin-Yang theory, Fuxi and Nuwa began to be depicted as complementary deities, often appearing together. The custom of burying Fuxi and Nuwa images with the deceased first arose in the early Western Han period in the Central Plains region. This practice reached its peak during the Eastern Han period, when brick paintings, stone carvings, and burial objects depicting Fuxi and Nuwa were discovered in many parts of China.

During the Wei-Jin period, 220–589 CE, to escape from the turmoil of war, many Han people from the Central Plains migrated westward to what is now the Turpan region, establishing the Gaochang Kingdom, which was dominated by Han people and Han culture. This marked a cultural flourishing in the region. Along with the migrating people, the funerary custom of hanging Fuxi and Nuwa paintings in tombs became widespread in the Turpan region of Xinjiang and gradually took root there. This indicates that, at the time, the various ethnic groups in Xinjiang shared a strong ancestral identity with those in the Central Plains.

The Fuxi and Nuwa painting preserved by the National Museum of China clearly depicts Fuxi and Nuwa as Han people, and their clothing bears distinct Tang Dynasty features. However, there are also many Fuxi and Nuwa images featuring people of “Hu”, which had a Western ethnic appearance, and their attire also show Western features. In these images, Fuxi and Nuwa have the distinct features of people from the Western Regions: deep-set eyes, high noses, and Fuxi even has a beard. Their clothing is the Hu-style robes, not the Han-style tunics. Despite the different features in each Fuxi and Nuwa image, they all share three key characteristics: human heads, snake bodies, and intertwined tails.

Since the hundreds of Fuxi and Nuwa paintings do not include explanatory text, we are unable to learn about the artists, who were likely several generations of ordinary painters in Gaochang. Nevertheless, these hundreds of paintings subtly convey a message: the rules must not be changed. Fuxi and Nuwa, holding the tools of measurement, symbolize both production tools and social order. These paintings represent the cultural exchange between the Central Plains and the Western Regions, and they also reflect the cultural identity shared by the various ethnic groups of China.

The Fuxi and Nuwa painting was popular in the burial customs of Gaochang for over 200 years. Its artistic evolution shows a clear progression, with a distinct awareness of tracing its origins, preserving the most ancient historical traditions of the Chinese people. During its spread in ancient Gaochang, these paintings successfully incorporated local cultural elements while also exchanging and blending with the cultures of other ethnic groups. This mutual influence contributed to the development of Chinese art and aesthetics, and played a significant role in the growth of Chinese painting. The paintings exemplify the remarkable inclusiveness and vitality of Chinese culture.

Well, that’s the end of our podcast. Our theme music is by the famous film score composer Roc Chen. We want to thank our writer Lü Weitao, translator Du Guodong, and copy editor Pu Ren. And thank you for listening. We hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, please tell a friend so they, too, can understand The Context.