Emperor Yan， or Yan Di， had four extraordinarily beautiful daughters， among whom the youngest Nü Wa was especially renowned for her grace and charm. She was not only kind-hearted， beautiful and generous， but also lively and intelligent， and was the darling not just of Yan Di， but indeed of the entire tribe. She was born with a beautiful voice and in the harvest season， the working people would often hear her melodious and pure singing， and the sound would wash over them like cool spring water on a hot summer’s day， relieving the drudgery and hardship of their toil. Wherever Nü Wa went， those who beheld the beauty of her singing voice would be filled with happiness. She was like the sun breaking through seemingly impenetrable clouds to lighten a gloomy， toil-weary day. She was loved by all and Yan Di received great acclaim for raising such a charming daughter. Thus Yan Di was especially fond of Nü Wa and regarded her as his perfect， flawless pearl.
Nü Wa was a free spirit and she loved to wander off by herself into forests or up mountains. The wood in front of the tribal lands was the place where she most often played and every tree， every blade of grass， every flower and every piece of fruit were to her as precious jewels would be to another. Almost every day she visited this wood-some days she would enter the leafy glade at sunrise and not leave her bower till sunrise， a coronet of sweet smelling flowers perched on her head， and bunches of beautiful daisies and roses in her arms. Nü Wa was also， however， at the same time a determined young lady. Once she had made up her mind she would steadfastly stand her ground.
One day， one of the tribe’s craftsmen produced a small wooden boat. On hearing the news， Nü Wa insisted on being allowed to use the boat to go rowing on the East China Sea. The young girl had heard so many stories about the sea from the old men in the tribe： of how sometimes these vast and boundless deeps had the same color as the sky； how sometimes the sea was green like a sparkling emerald； how， when it was gentle， it was flat like a mirror； how， when enraged， its angry waves surged sky-high. The young Nü Wa， so fond anyway of playing in the wilderness， was naturally fascinated by these tales and had long harbored a deep fascination for the supernatural sea. Many times she had dreamt of sailing on ocean waves with fish flashing by everywhere and her laughter echoing off the surface of the water.
Yan Di was not at all happy with Nü Wa’s desire to use the boat， He implored his daughter to change her mind， impressing on her how changeable the sea was； and how quickly benign conditions could become suddenly dangerous. The little boat， he pointed out， could not guarantee her safety. Nü Wa’s pretty eyes were determinedly set however. Willfully she insisted that she be allowed to use the boat. Yan Di was equally determined to forbid her. A major disagreement loomed.
Nü Wa， her heart’s desire denied， sank into low spirits. She no longer bounded happily off each day to play in the woods. No longer was her sweet singing voice heard in the fields. At last， Yan Di could not bear to see his darling so sad and he gave in. He made Nü Wa promise not to go out too far and finally allowed her to take the boat on the sea.
