Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began · chapter 2 of 5
Holding Up the Sky
顶天立地
Pangu holds the frightened Sky over his head, growing ten feet taller every day for eighteen thousand years. But can anyone, even a giant, hold up the sky forever?
Hear the chapter
Read what you hear
- Narrator 盘古站在天和地中间，用手举着天。
Pán Gǔ zhàn zài tiān hé dì zhōngjiān, yòng shǒu jǔ zhe tiān.
Pangu stood between the sky and the earth, holding the sky up with his hands.
- The Sky 盘古，你的手别动啊！我还是怕高……
Pán Gǔ, nǐ de shǒu bié dòng a! Wǒ háishi pà gāo…
Pangu, keep your hands still! I'm still scared of heights…
- Pangu 别怕，天。有我在，你不会掉下来。
Bié pà, Tiān. Yǒu wǒ zài, nǐ bú huì diào xiàlái.
Don't be afraid, Sky. I'm right here. You won't fall.
- Narrator 天天，天高一丈，地厚一丈。盘古也长高一丈。
Tiāntiān, tiān gāo yí zhàng, dì hòu yí zhàng. Pán Gǔ yě zhǎng gāo yí zhàng.
Every day, the sky rose ten feet higher and the earth grew ten feet thicker. And every day, Pangu grew ten feet taller.
- The Sky 盘古，你又长高了！
Pán Gǔ, nǐ yòu zhǎng gāo le!
Pangu, you've grown again!
- Pangu 对！一天一丈，一天也不休息！
Duì! Yì tiān yí zhàng, yì tiān yě bù xiūxi!
That's right! Ten feet a day, and never a day off!
- The Earth 我也厚了一丈？我怎么不知道？我在睡觉啊……
Wǒ yě hòu le yí zhàng? Wǒ zěnme bù zhīdào? Wǒ zài shuìjiào a…
I got ten feet thicker too? How come I didn't notice? Oh, right, I was asleep…
- The Sky 一百年了……一千年了……一万年了！
Yìbǎi nián le… yìqiān nián le… yíwàn nián le!
A hundred years… a thousand years… ten thousand years!
- The Earth 才一万年？还早呢……
Cái yíwàn nián? Hái zǎo ne…
Only ten thousand? It's still early…
- The Sky 盘古，我现在不怕高了！有你顶天立地，我什么都不怕！
Pán Gǔ, wǒ xiànzài bú pà gāo le! Yǒu nǐ dǐngtiān lìdì, wǒ shénme dōu bú pà!
Pangu, I'm not scared of heights anymore! With you standing tall between the sky and the earth, I'm not scared of anything!
- Pangu 我的手好累，我的腿好累……可是天还不够高。我不能休息。
Wǒ de shǒu hǎo lèi, wǒ de tuǐ hǎo lèi… kěshì tiān hái bú gòu gāo. Wǒ bù néng xiūxi.
My arms are so tired, and my legs are so tired… But the sky isn't high enough yet. I can't rest.
- Narrator 一万八千年过去了。天很高很高，地很大很大。
Yíwàn bāqiān nián guòqù le. Tiān hěn gāo hěn gāo, dì hěn dà hěn dà.
Eighteen thousand years went by. The sky was very, very high, and the earth was very, very big.
- Narrator 盘古也很高很高了。他顶天立地，一动也不动。
Pán Gǔ yě hěn gāo hěn gāo le. Tā dǐngtiān lìdì, yí dòng yě bú dòng.
And Pangu was very, very tall. With his head holding up the sky and his feet planted on the earth, he never moved.
- Pangu 天，你现在能自己在上边吗？
Tiān, nǐ xiànzài néng zìjǐ zài shàngbian ma?
Sky, can you stay up there on your own now?
- The Sky 能！我不怕了，我不会掉下来！
Néng! Wǒ bú pà le, wǒ bú huì diào xiàlái!
I can! I'm not scared anymore. I won't fall!
- Pangu 地，你呢？
Dì, nǐ ne?
And you, Earth?
- The Earth 我很大，很重。我哪儿也不去。
Wǒ hěn dà, hěn zhòng. Wǒ nǎr yě bú qù.
I'm big and I'm heavy. I'm not going anywhere.
- Pangu 好，好……那我能休息了。我太累了……
Hǎo, hǎo… nà wǒ néng xiūxi le. Wǒ tài lèi le…
Good… good. Then I can rest now. I'm so tired…
- The Sky 盘古！你怎么了？你别走！
Pán Gǔ! Nǐ zěnme le? Nǐ bié zǒu!
Pangu! What's wrong? Don't go!
- Pangu 别怕。我不走，我会一直在这里。在山里，在河里，在你们身边。
Bié pà. Wǒ bù zǒu, wǒ huì yìzhí zài zhèlǐ. Zài shān lǐ, zài hé lǐ, zài nǐmen shēnbiān.
Don't be afraid. I won't leave you. I'll always be here: in the mountains, in the rivers, right beside you.
- Narrator 盘古在地上睡了。他的身体，一点儿一点儿地变了。
Pán Gǔ zài dìshang shuì le. Tā de shēntǐ, yìdiǎnr yìdiǎnr de biàn le.
Pangu lay down on the earth and went to sleep. And little by little, his body began to change.
- The Sky 地，你看！他的左眼，变成了太阳！右眼，变成了月亮！
Dì, nǐ kàn! Tā de zuǒ yǎn, biànchéng le tàiyáng! Yòu yǎn, biànchéng le yuèliang!
Earth, look! His left eye has become the sun! His right eye has become the moon!
- The Earth 他的身体变成了大山，他的血变成了河……
Tā de shēntǐ biànchéng le dà shān, tā de xuè biànchéng le hé…
His body has become the mountains, and his blood has become the rivers…
- The Sky 他的头发，变成了天上的星星！
Tā de tóufa, biànchéng le tiānshang de xīngxing!
His hair has become the stars in the sky!
- The Earth 我的身上，有了草，有了花，有了树……真好看。
Wǒ de shēnshang, yǒu le cǎo, yǒu le huā, yǒu le shù… zhēn hǎokàn.
And all over me there's grass now, and flowers, and trees… How lovely.
- The Sky 你听，打雷了。是盘古在说话吗？
Nǐ tīng, dǎléi le. Shì Pán Gǔ zài shuōhuà ma?
Listen, thunder. Is that Pangu talking?
- Narrator 又过了很多很多年。有一天，河边有什么东西在动。
Yòu guò le hěn duō hěn duō nián. Yǒu yì tiān, hébiān yǒu shénme dōngxi zài dòng.
Many, many more years went by. Then one day, something was moving by the river.
- The Sky 地，别睡了！快看，河边有一个人！
Dì, bié shuì le! Kuài kàn, hébiān yǒu yí gè rén!
Earth, wake up! Look, there's someone by the river!
- The Earth 一个人？是谁？
Yí gè rén? Shì shéi?
Someone? Who is it?
- The Sky 不知道。可是……她有一条长长的尾巴！
Bù zhīdào. Kěshì… tā yǒu yì tiáo chángcháng de wěiba!
I don't know. But… she has a long, long tail!
What changed in the story?
- How much taller does Pangu grow each day?
“天天，天高一丈……盘古也长高一丈”
- Why doesn't Pangu rest when his arms and legs are tired?
“可是天还不够高。我不能休息。”
- When does Pangu decide he can finally rest?
“能！我不怕了，我不会掉下来！……我很大，很重。我哪儿也不去。”
- What do Pangu's eyes become?
“他的左眼，变成了太阳！右眼，变成了月亮！”
- What does the Sky notice about the stranger by the river?
“她有一条长长的尾巴！”