According to

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural tradit ...

and traditional Chinese historiography, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors () were a series of sage Chinese emperors, and the first Emperors of China. Today, they are considered culture heroes, but they were widely worshipped as divine "ancestral spirits" in ancient times. According to received history, the period they existed in preceded the Xia dynasty, although they were thought to exist in later periods to an extent in incorporeal forms that aided the Chinese people, especially with the stories of Nüwa existing as a spirit in the Shang dynasty and Shennong being identified as the godly form of Hou Ji and a founder of the Zhou dynasty. In myth, the Three Sovereigns were demigods who used their abilities to help create mankind and impart to them essential skills and knowledge. The Five Emperors were exemplary sages who possessed great moral character, and were from a golden age when "communications between the human order and the divine were central to all life" and where the sages embodied the divine, or aided humans in communicating divine forces. In this period the abdication system was used before Qi of Xia violently seized power and established a hereditary monarchy.Feng, Shi (2009
"A Study of the Pottery Inscription 'Wen Yi 文邑'"
''Chinese Archaeology'', Vol. 9 (Issue 1), pp. 170-177
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History

Taoist

beliefs A belief is a subjective Attitude (psychology), attitude that something is truth, true or a State of affairs (philosophy), state of affairs is the case. A subjective attitude is a mental state of having some Life stance, stance, take, or opinion ...

consist of parables involving shamanistic themes, which is origin of most ancient stories about the Sovereigns Fuxi, Nüwa, and Shennong.

Variations

There are six to seven known variations on which people constitute the Three Sovereigns and the Five Emperors, depending on the source.劉煒/著. (2002) Chinese civilization in a new light. Commercial press publishing. ISBN 962-07-5314-3, p. 142. Many of the known sources were written in much later dynasties. Groupings of the Three Sovereigns consist of some combination of the following: Fuxi, Nüwa, Shennong, Suiren, Zhu Rong, Gonggong, the Heavenly Sovereign, the Earthly Sovereign, the Human Sovereign (in two varieties), and the Yellow Emperor. Groupings of the Five Emperors consist of some combination of the following: the Yellow Emperor, Zhuanxu, Emperor Ku, Emperor Yao, Emperor Shun, Shaohao, Taihao, and the Yan Emperor.

Three Sovereigns

The Three Sovereigns, sometimes known as the Three August Ones, were said to be god-kings or demigods who used their magical powers, divine powers, or being in harmony with the Tao to improve the lives of their people. Because of their lofty virtue, they lived to a great age and ruled over a period of great peace. The Sovereigns have elements in common with ''xian'' from the Taoist pantheon, such as the Human Sovereign's cloud-chariot and their supernatural abilities. Upon his death, the Yellow Emperor was "said to have become" a ''xian''. The Yellow Emperor is supposedly the ancestor of the '' Huaxia'' people. The Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor was established in

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

to commemorate the ancestry legend. The Three Sovereigns are ascribed various identities in different historical texts, as shown in the table below:

Five Emperors

The Five Emperors were traditionally thought to have invented "fire, writing and irrigation". Like the Three Sovereigns, they are ascribed different identities depending on historical source, as shown in the table below:

Five Emperors family tree

Creation myth

There is the legend of the Four Clans (四氏) who took part in creating the world, Youchao-shi (有巢氏), Suiren-shi (燧人氏), Fu Xi-shi (伏羲氏), and Shennong-shi (神農氏).

Legacy

These Sovereigns and Emperors are said to have helped introduce the use of fire, taught people how to build houses, and invented farming. The Yellow Emperor's wife is credited with the invention of silk culture. The discovery of

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

and invention of the

calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A calendar date, date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is ...

and Chinese script are also credited to the kings. After their era, Yu the Great founded the Xia dynasty, traditionally considered the first dynasty in Chinese historiography.

Gallery

Image:Changchun-Temple-Jiazi-Dian-0330.jpg, The Hall of the Three Sovereigns in Changchun Si (), a Taoist temple in Wuhan File:Shennong3.jpg, Shennong tasting herbs to discover their qualities Image:Yellow Emperor.jpg, Historian's depiction of the Yellow Emperor File:Yellowemperor.jpg, Another depiction of the Yellow Emperor File:Shaohao - tumulus with a Shaohao Ling stele in front of it - P1050742.JPG, Shaohao Tomb near Qufu,

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...