我创造了人类后,许多年平静无事。人类自由自在地在大地上劳动、生活。 不料有一年,天地发生了可怕的变化,一场灾难陡然降临人间。支撑着天的东、西、南、北四边的天柱毁坏了,造成天崩地裂。天,露出了一个一个的大窟窿,不能再覆盖大地;大地九州--冀州、兖州、青州、徐州、扬州、荆州、豫州、梁州、大雍等地的地面断裂,塌陷成一道一道的深壑鸿沟。 洪水从地心中喷射出来,江河湖海掀起滚滚巨浪,冲向大地。洪水巨浪吞没了无数房屋和人畜。森林里也燃起熊熊大火,大火不断蔓延,烧毁一切生物。 毒蛇猛兽也纷纷跑出来伤害人类。我看着我所创造的人类遭受如此巨大的苦难,我痛心极了。我决心补天修地,止水灭火,把人类从濒临死亡的绝境中拯救出来。
I stood on the central land, surveying all around, pondering how to tackle this massive and arduous task. I picked up countless colored stones from high mountains and rivers, piling them together. Then I used the forest's burning fire to melt these colorful stones into stone paste. Afterward, I held a scorching hot stone paste in my hands, jumping up high to fill in the holes in the sky one by one. Filling with these colorful stones made the sky more beautiful than before.
I feared that after repairing the sky it might still collapse, so I killed a giant turtle and cut off its four legs as pillars for supporting heaven at its four sides. From then on, heaven was firmly seated on these solid pillars without any incidents of collapse again.
Having repaired the sky, I rushed to Fujian Province (now known as Fujian) and killed that evil black dragon which had been causing trouble for humans; chased away those birds of prey which were eating people; now human beings no longer suffered from being attacked by birds or beasts under rain.
Now there is just left to control that turbulent flood! I walked across all parts of China (then called All-under-Heaven), gathered all reeds into ashes and heaped them up; blocking those floods with ash-filled piles filled up trenches dug out by flooding waters. The flood was stopped; once more did our great earth regain its original appearance.
Lastly, for making life even richer and happier for mankind yet further still—I invented an instrument like a phoenix—a musical instrument called Shengtong (a kind of flute). This Shengtong is made from gourds inside which are inserted thirteen pipes when blown gives forth harmonious music full of joyfulness—so enchantingly sweet! And thus sending it over to mankind with teaching them how they may play upon it—the people came indeed living even more cheerfully ever after!
Thus ended my work done—my creation accomplished: restoring peace back onto this world where humanity could live securely free from natural disasters—and happiness returned!