Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

is an important theme in

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of t ...

. There are many myths about the invention of agriculture that have been told or written about in China. Chinese mythology refers to those myths found in the historical geographic area of China. This includes myths in Chinese and other languages, as transmitted by

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...

as well as other ethnic groups (of which fifty-six are officially recognized by the current administration of China). Many of the myths about agriculture involve its invention by such deities or cultural heroes such as

Shennong Shennong (), variously translated as "Divine Farmer" or "Divine Husbandman", born Jiang Shinian (), was a mythological Chinese ruler known as the first Yan Emperor who has become a deity in Chinese and Vietnamese folk religion. He is vene ...

Houji Hou Ji (or Houji; ) was a legendary Chinese culture hero credited with introducing millet to humanity during the time of the Xia dynasty.. Millet was the original staple grain of northern China, prior to the introduction of wheat. His name translat ...

Houtu Hòutǔ () or Hòutǔshén (), also Hòutǔ Niángniáng (in Chinese either or ), otherwise called Dimǔ () or Dimǔ Niángniáng (), is the deity of deep earth and soil in Chinese religion and mythology. Houtu is the overlord of all the Tu Di ...

, and Shujun: of these Shennong is the most famous, according to Lihui Yang. There are also many other myths. Myths related to agriculture include how humans learned the use of fire, cooking, animal husbandry and the use of draft animals, inventions of various agricultural tools and implements, the domestication of various species of plants such as ginger and radishes, the evaluation and uses of various types of soil, irrigation by digging wells, and the invention of farmers markets. Other myths include events which made agriculture possible by destroying an excessive number of suns in the sky or ending the Great Flood.

Myth versus history

In the study of historical Chinese culture, many of the stories that have been told regarding characters and events which have been written or told of the distant past have a double tradition: one which tradition which presents a more historicized and one which presents a more mythological version.. This is also true in many of the accounts related to the acquisition of agricultural civilization in China.

Shennong

Shennong is generally credited with having invented basic agriculture, including the plow; although he seems to have originated as a god of the burning wind, which is perhaps a reference to

slash-and-burn agriculture Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...

, according to Anthony Christie.

Houji

Houji was also known as Ji Qi, especially in more historically-oriented contexts. Posthumously, he was better known as Houji, from ''hou'', meaning "prince/deity/spirit", and ''ji'', meaning "agriculture", according to K. C. Wu.

Houtu

A deity of the Earth who figures in various myths.

Shujun

Shujun is a Chinese god of farming and cultivation, also known as Yijun and Shangjun. Alternatively he is a legendary culture hero of ancient times, who was in the family tree of ancient Chinese emperors descended from the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi). Shujun is specially credited with inventing the use of a draft animal of the bovine family to pull a plow to turn the soil prior to planting.

Great Flood

Myths about a huge flood which lasted for many years before finally being controlled often include a motif of the acquisition of the agricultural civilization.

''Wugu''

Traditionally there were five granular and storable staple food crops in China. Known as the "Five Grains", specific lists vary, but generally they include various seeds from the cereal, bean, and sometimes other families.

Seeds from dog

According to some mythological accounts, the ancestral seed grains of modern crops were found stuck to the hair of a dog. There are many variants of this myth.

There are various myths related to agriculture. Humans are said to have been taught the use of fire by

Suiren Suiren ( zh, , ''Suìrén'', lit. "Flint Man") appears in Chinese mythology and some works which draw upon it. He is credited as a culture hero who introduced humans to the production of fire and its use for cooking. He was included on some ...

. Suiren, also known as the Drill Man, used a fire-drill to start fires, and thus to allowing food to be cooked . Also: animal husbandry and the use of draft animals, inventions of various agricultural tools and implements, the domestication of various species of plants such as rice and ginger and radishes, the evaluation and uses of various types of soil, and irrigation by digging wells. Other myths include events which made agriculture possible by destroying an excessive number of suns in the sky or ending the Great Flood. Also there were all sorts of deities or beings in charge of bringing rain, drought, and various cyclical phenomena such as day and night or the various seasons in their proper order, which are vital aspects of successful agriculture. Other myths include the invention of farmers markets and the invention of fermentation.

Religion

Worship at the Great Temple of Shennong-Yandi in Suizhou, Hubei

Many of the myths regarding agriculture in China are related to popular religion and ritual.

Notes

References

* * * {{Chinese mythology Agriculture in China History of ancient China Chinese mythology