Where does the story of Jingwei come from?

It comes from the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhaijing), in the section on the northern mountains. The book says the Flame Emperor's youngest daughter drowned while playing in the Eastern Sea and became the Jingwei bird, which carries twigs and stones from the western hills to fill the sea.

What does Jingwei fills the sea mean?

精卫填海 (jīng wèi tián hǎi) is also a Chinese idiom. It praises someone who keeps going with fierce determination, even when the goal looks impossible.

What does the Jingwei bird look like?

The Classic of Mountains and Seas says it looks like a crow, with a patterned head, a white beak and red feet, and that its call sounds like its own name, jingwei.

Is Jingwei the same as the goddess Nüwa?

No. Jingwei's human name is written 女娃, meaning little girl, while the creator goddess who mended the sky is 女娲. The two names look alike in English, but they are different figures.

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Chinese myth · VoiceSmiths adaptation · 4:11

Jingwei Fills the Sea

The Flame Emperor's daughter is lost at sea and becomes Jingwei, a little bird who drops pebble after pebble into the ocean, vowing to fill it.

Narrator

Nüwa / Jingwei

The Flame Emperor

The Eastern Sea

The Petrel

0:000:00

其他語言版本 · 2 種語言

🇨🇳 中文 🇺🇸 English

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關於這個故事

Jingwei Fills the Sea is one of China's oldest myths. It comes from the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhaijing), an ancient book of myth and geography more than two thousand years old, which tells in a few dozen characters how Nüwa (女娃), youngest daughter of the Flame Emperor, drowned in the Eastern Sea and became the Jingwei bird, carrying twigs and stones from the western hills to fill it. This retelling follows that outline for children, gives the sea a voice, and adds a petrel friend, a pairing found in a later book of marvels, the Shuyi ji (Records of Strange Things).

故事告訴我們

Jingwei is tiny and the sea is huge, but she doesn't give up just because the job is hard. It is a story about determination, about turning loss into something that protects others, and about how one small creature's courage can bring friends to help.

適合

Ages 5–10

講給孩子聽的小貼士

Keep the shipwreck short and gentle; the heart of the story is what Jingwei does after she grows wings.
Make the sea big, slow and boomy, and keep Jingwei's answers steady and brave rather than tearful.
Afterwards, ask: if you were the petrel, would you help Jingwei? Why?

常見問題

Where does the story of Jingwei come from?: It comes from the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhaijing), in the section on the northern mountains. The book says the Flame Emperor's youngest daughter drowned while playing in the Eastern Sea and became the Jingwei bird, which carries twigs and stones from the western hills to fill the sea.
What does Jingwei fills the sea mean?: 精卫填海 (jīng wèi tián hǎi) is also a Chinese idiom. It praises someone who keeps going with fierce determination, even when the goal looks impossible.
What does the Jingwei bird look like?: The Classic of Mountains and Seas says it looks like a crow, with a patterned head, a white beak and red feet, and that its call sounds like its own name, jingwei.
Is Jingwei the same as the goddess Nüwa?: No. Jingwei's human name is written 女娃, meaning little girl, while the creator goddess who mended the sky is 女娲. The two names look alike in English, but they are different figures.