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Brick with Fu Xi and Nü Wa

Eastern Han dynasty (25–220)

Not on view

Fu Xi and Nü Wa played multiple roles in ancient Chinese history and mythology, always occurring as a pair. NüWa’s legend may derive from China’s purported matriarchal past. She is crucial to the myth of creation: after the pillars of Heaven collapsed, she mended the sky by melting stones of five colors and fashioned humans from the yellow earth. For his part, Fu Xi invented nets for fishing and hunting, and he designed the hexagrams, later used in the Yi Jing (Book of Changes), a Confucian classic.

Brick with Fu Xi and Nü Wa, Earthenware, China — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Brick with Fu Xi and Nü Wa, Earthenware, China

Brick with Fu Xi and Nü Wa, Earthenware, China

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

东汉伏羲女娲画像砖

Title: Brick with Fu Xi and Nü Wa

Period: Eastern Han dynasty (25–220)

Culture: China

Medium: Earthenware

Dimensions: H. 15 7/16 in. (39.2 cm); W. 18 7/8 in. (47.9 cm); Th. 2 3/16 in. (5.5 cm); Wt. 42.1 lbs (19.1 kg)

Classification: Sculpture

Credit Line: Lent by Sichuan Provincial Museum

The Met

Asian Art at The Met

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world.