China · Fengsu Tongyi (Ying Shao)
Nüwa shapes people from yellow earth
EvidenceDocumentedThe text exists and is quoted from a published translation. What it describes is a separate question.What this means
Nüwa made people by hand from yellow earth. The work was too slow, so she dragged a rope through the mud and every drop that fell became a person. The hand-made ones became the nobles, the rope-made ones the common people.
Summary by the editors. Translation: Summary in my own words
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Read it literally
Humans made from earth in two quality grades.
What scholars say
Han dynasty folklore collection; the passage survives through quotation.
