在中国古代的神话传说中，女魃是一位被赋予了制止年夜雨和大风的能力的天女，她是黄帝之女，名叫妭。在《山海经·年夜荒北经》中，有一段关于她的故事。据记载，当时蚩尤起兵攻击黄帝，黄帝便命令应龙去打击冀州，而蚩尤则请来了风伯雨师，用暴风骤雨来对付应龙的军队。为了抵御这场突如其来的暴风雨，黄帝命令女魃出战。女魃乐于助战，并成功地制止了这场年夜雨，最终帮助黄帝取得了胜利。
然而，在演化过程中，女魃的形象发生了变化。她不再仅仅是一个制止恶劣天气的神灵，而是在战争中发挥作用的一位涝神。她的故事也随着时间推移而发生了改变。在某些文献中，她被描绘成一个丑陋、恶毒的存在，而在其他版本中，她则是一位美丽、善良的天女。
girl's story
Girl is a goddess of the sky, she is the daughter of Emperor Huang. In ancient times, Chi You allied with a man who could summon wind and rain, and dared to challenge Emperor Huang for supremacy. Emperor Huang was at a loss when he faced Chi You's army, but he sent Girl to aid him in battle.
This legendary figure from mythology played a crucial role in that war; her appearance alone brought an end to the fires raging on earth, allowing Emperor Huang to defeat Chi You. After exhausting her divine power in battle, Girl returned to Kunlun Mountains but suffered from being confined among mortals.
Despite bringing great calamity upon people by turning into a rain god instead of remaining as the goddess who banished storms and floods, Girl was gradually forgotten by people as they grew more accustomed to her new form. Eventually, she was exiled by Emperor Huang and sent southwards.
Later on, there would be no sign of Girl anywhere where crops were abundant. At one time there was someone offering an azure-clad person near Red Fire; this enigmatic figure stood beside Red Fire wearing gauze veils over their face. No one knew where she came from or where she went; every evening when dusk fell she would stand at riverbanks lost in thought - even if someone approached her unawares she remained oblivious.
One day some chance passerby caught sight of the azure-clad person's inner visage and exclaimed "She is divine!" As time passed this divine maiden's white hair turned black overnight while her beauty changed without end.
The abstract version
In Shenzhong Ji (Divine Records), this goddess had become a monstrous creature barely three feet tall with skin like lacquerware; both eyes protruded from atop her head like two clouds drifting lazily across blue skies as she walked about normally like any ordinary woman.
Some records lack clear descriptions but according to researches done on Shan Hai Jing (Mountain Sea Classic) it probably depicts an earlier image of hers.
Girl may have been connected with purifying rituals involving wind magic during shamanic rites before being incorporated into mainstream civilization making it easier for her character traits
to change
in later generations.
And so we see how legends evolve over time: what once held such reverence now carries shame
and scorn
the same tale told differently
a testament
to our ever-changing world view