炼石补天liàn shí bǔ tiān[said of Nu Wa,a goddess in Chinese myth] melt stones to mend the vault of heaven
❍ 那僧道仍携了玉到青埂峰下，将“宝石”安放在女娲～之处，各自云游而去。(《红楼梦》1545)Whereupon the monk and the priest took the divine jade to Blue Ridge Peak and left it in the place where Nu Wa had melted down stones to repair heaven. This done,they went their different ways.
❍ 那时的意见，是想从古代和现代都采取题材，来做短篇小说，《不周山》便是取了“女娲～”的神话，动手试作的第一篇。(鲁迅《故事新编》 1) My idea at that time was to take material for some stories both from antiquity and the present age. “The Broken Mount”was a first attempt,based on the legend of Nu Wa who melted stones to mend the vault of heaven. 炼石补天lian shi bu tian(of legendary Chinese heroine Nüwa)melt down stones to repair the sky—display talent in remedying a situation |