''Chìdì'' ( "Red Deity" or "Red Emperor") or , also known as the or , as a human was , who is also the same as , a function occupied by different gods and god-kings in mytho-history. Shennong is also one of the Three Patrons, specifically the patron of humanity (), and the point of intersection of the Three Patrons and Huangdi. In response to Wuxing thought and Tu Shi, the founder of the Han dynasty,

Liu Bang Emperor Gaozu of Han (2561 June 195 BC), also known by his given name Liu Bang, was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 202 to 195 BC. He is considered by traditional Chinese historiography to be one o ...

, is said to be the son of the Red Emperor; in the Han dynasty God of the Five Directions, the Red Emperor represents the Southern God. Among the Taoist deities, there are also deities that use the title of Red Emperor, such as

Hung Shing Hung Shing wong (), also known as Hung Shing Ye () and Tai Wong () is a Chinese folk religion deity. The most popular tale states that in his lifetime he was a government official in the Tang dynasty (AD 618–907)

. The title has been used to refer to

Yan Emperor The Yan Emperor () or the Flame Emperor was a legendary ancient Chinese emperor in pre-dynastic times. Some modern Chinese scholars have identified the Sheep's Head Mountains (''Yángtóu Shān'') Weibin District, Baoji as his homeland and terri ...

Shennong Shennong ( zh, c=神農, p=Shénnóng), variously translated as "Divine Farmer" or "Divine Husbandman", born , was a mythological Chinese ruler known as the first Yan Emperor who has become a deity in Chinese and Vietnamese folk religion. H ...

Emperor Yao Emperor Yao (; traditionally c. 2356 – 2255 BCE) was a legendary China, Chinese ruler, according to various sources, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Ancestry and early life Yao's ancestral name is Yi Qi () or Qi (), clan ...

and

Zhurong Zhurong (), also known as Chongli (), is an important personage in Chinese mythology and Chinese folk religion. According to the ''Huainanzi'' and the philosophical texts of Mozi and his followers, Zhurong is a god of fire and of the south. The ...

. He is also associated with , the god of some southern peoples, in both iconography and myth, as both Shennong Yandi and Chiyou fought against the Yellow Emperor, although Chiyou is traditionally considered more violent and has the horns of a fighting bull, while Shennong Yandi is more peaceful and has the horns of a plowing buffalo. He is the manifestation of the supreme God associated with the essence of fire; his animal form is the Red Dragon () and his stellar animal is the phoenix. He is the god of agriculture, animal husbandry, medicinal plants and market. In broader conceptualisation, he is the god of science and craft, and the patron of doctors and apothecaries. His astral body is

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

Yandi

The

Yi Zhou Shu The ''Yi Zhou Shu'' () is a compendium of Chinese historical documents about the Western Zhou period (1046–771 BCE). Its textual history began with a (4th century BCE) text/compendium known as the ''Zhou Shu'' ("Book of Zhou"), which was possib ...

states that

Chiyou Chiyou () is a mythological being that appears in Chinese mythology. He was a tribal leader of the Nine Li tribe () in ancient China. He is best known as a king who lost against the future Yellow Emperor during the Three Sovereigns and Five Empero ...

was once a vassal of the Red Emperor and was appointed to rule the land of

Shaohao Shaohao (), also known as Jin Tian (), was a legendary Chinese sovereign, usually identified as a son of the Yellow Emperor. According to some traditions, such as that within the ''Book of Documents'', Shaohao is one of the Five Emperors. His pla ...

. As Chiyou became more powerful, he fought with the Red Emperor in Zhuolu. The Red Emperor was defeated and turned to the

Huang Di Huangdi () may refer to: *Yellow Emperor (黃帝), a legendary Chinese monarch who supposedly ruled before the Xia dynasty *Emperor of China (皇帝), the imperial title of Chinese monarchs; and the superlative monarchical title in the Sinosphere ...

for help. The Yellow Emperor defeated Chi You and restored peace to the world.。 According to Wang Fu's "The Theory of Subtlety", the Flame Emperor's , son of the divine dragon, called himself Yan Di, inherited the title of

and replaced

Fuxi Fuxi or Fu Hsi ( zh, c=伏羲) is a culture hero in Chinese mythology, credited along with his sister and wife Nüwa with creating humanity and the invention of music, hunting, fishing, domestication, and cooking, as well as the Cangjie syste ...

as the common lord of the world.。

Shennong

often identified with the Red Emperor

Yao and Liu Bang

The saying that Yao was the Red Emperor originated in the Han dynasty. The Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian), citing the Shippen and the Da Dai Li (Records of the Grand Ritual), states that Yao was one of the Five Emperors. In line with the Five Virtues of the Beginning, Yao is considered to be the Red Emperor. Legend has it that

was the son of the Red Emperor after Yao.。

Zhurong

Zhurong is often identified with the Red Emperor

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Wufang Shangdi Fire deities Yan Emperor Wufang Shangdi