Nuwa succeeded her brother, Fu Xi, one of the Three Legendary Rulers of ancient times, after his death. Legend has it that Nuwa made man and mended the heaven.

Since there were no humans when the sky and earth were separated, Nuwa made men by moulding them out of yellow clay. Nuwa, according to Chinese legend, was the equivalent of the Biblical God of the Western world. She had the capacity to create thousands of things every day. On the first day of Chinese lunar calendar, Nuwa created a chicken; on the second day, a dog; the third, a sheep; the fourth, a pig; the fifth, an ox and on the sixth day, a horse. On the seventh day, she moulded a man in her image. The work was so demanding that Nuwa's strength could barely measure up. So, she dipped a piece of rope into mud, lifted it, and the droplets that fell became men. Men created by the moulding method were rich nobles, while those made with the rope were poor and lowly.