Who are the Three Emperors, Five Emperors and Seventy-two Kings in ancient China?

There are only three emperors and five emperors, not seventy-two kings

"Historical Records: The Chronicles of Qin Shihuang" says that the emperor of heaven, the emperor of earth, and the emperor of Tai are the three emperors, and the emperor of Tai is considered the most noble. So, who is the King of Thailand? Volume 78 of "Taiping Yulan" quotes "Spring and Autumn Wei" to put forward another view that the Emperor of Heaven, the Emperor of Earth, and the Emperor of Humanity are the three emperors. It seems that the Emperor of Taiping is the Emperor of Humanity. "Shangshu Da Zhuan" and "Baihu Tongyi" also advocated that the three emperors should be Suiren, Fuxi, and Shennong. However, "Yun Dou Shu", "Yuan Ming Bao" and other latitudinal books, in addition to identifying Fuxi and Shennong, supplemented Go to Nuwa, the creator of mankind. In addition, "Emperor Century" lists Fuxi, Shennong, and Huangdi as the three emperors, and "Tongjian Waiji" lists Fuxi, Shennong, and Jianggong as the three emperors. From this point of view, Fuxi and Shennong occupy two of the three emperors, and the theories are basically consistent. However, there are greater differences in who the third emperor is.

As for the five ancient emperors, there are different opinions. "Shiben", "Da Dai Ji", and "Historical Records: The Chronicles of the Five Emperors" list Huangdi, Zhuanxu, Emperor Ku, Tang Yao, and Yushun as the five emperors; while "Book of Rites: Yue Ling" lists Taihao (Fuxi), Yandi (Shennong) ), Huangdi, Shaohao, and Zhuanxu are the five emperors; "Preface to Shangshu" and "Emperor Century" regard Shaowu (Hao), Zhuanxu, Gao Xin (Emperor Ku), Tang Yao, and Yushun as the five emperors. In addition, there are The five gods are collectively referred to as the myth of the Five Emperors. The "Five Emperors" in "Chu Ci Xisong" written by Wang Yi of the Eastern Han Dynasty are the gods of the five directions, namely Taihao of the East, Emperor Yan of the South, Shaohao of the West, Zhuanxu of the North, and Huangdi of the Central Region; The "Five Emperors" in "Zhou Li Tianguan" written by Jiagong Yanshu of the Tang Dynasty are the ancestors of the Qing Emperor in the East, the Red Emperor in the South and the Red Emperor in the South.

There are several different combinations, which can be summarized as follows:

Three Emperors

① Suiren, Fuxi, and Shennong ("Shangshu Da") "Biography");

②Fuxi, Nuwa, Shennong ("Customs");

③Fuxi, Zhurong, Shennong (same as above);

④Fuxi, Shennong, and Huangdi ("Gu Weishu")

Five Emperors

①Huangdi, Zhuanxu, Emperor Ku, Yao, and Shun ("Dadai Liji"); < /p>

②Pao Xi, Shennong, Huangdi, Yao, and Shun ("Warring States Policy");

③Taihao, Yandi, Huangdi, Shaohao, Zhuanxu ("Lu Shi Chunqiu") ;

④Fuxi, Shennong, and Huangdi were the three emperors, and Shaohao, Zhuanxu, Emperor Ku, Yao, and Shun were the five emperors (pseudo "Preface to Shangshu");

With its status as a classic Therefore, this theory of the Three Emperors and Five Emperors was regarded as the trustworthy history of ancient times; 5. Huangdi, Shaohao, Zhuanxu, Ku, and Yao ("Zizhi Tongjian Waiji") ).

In fact, the differences in the legend of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors are the product of the multi-ethnic development of our country. It tortuously reflects the progressive trend of national integration in the vast land of the motherland long before entering the civilized era. The Huaxia tribe, the Miao tribe, and many fraternal ethnic groups called Man, Yi, Rong, Di, etc. were formed by the Huaxia tribe at that time. Saying that the Huaxia tribe was named after Huang and Yan actually reflects that the Huaxia tribe was represented by Huangdi and Yandi. The two clans with blood relations developed over a long period of time.

Most of the people mentioned in the Three Emperors theory are symbols of the different cultural stages of Chinese ancestors in prehistory. Pa Xi (Fuxi) represents the low, intermediate and high stages of the savagery period respectively; Shen Nong represents the low stage of the barbaric era; Nuwa is an earlier creation-style deity who combined with Fu Xi in mythology to create human beings. The people referred to by the Five Emperors theory are mainly tribal chiefs or military leaders during the heyday of the patriarchal tribal alliance and its disintegration or the period when military democracy was implemented at the end of primitive society.

Most opinions are that. Suiren, Fuxi, and Shennong are called the "Three Emperors", and Emperor Huang, Zhuanxu, Emperor Ku, Emperor Yao, and Emperor Shun are called the "Five Emperors". These ideas originated from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

Detailed introduction

Pangu

He is the protagonist of the story of Pangu who created the world. Legend has it that Pangu opened the world with an axe. This story has reached In the Northern Wei Dynasty, it was introduced to the north through Li Daoyuan. Since then, Pangu has developed from a myth spread among ethnic minorities in the south to a legendary and unique ancestor of the Chinese nation.

The ninth line of "Guang Bo Wu Zhi" Volume "Five Movement Calendar Years"

When Pangu died in the past, his head was the four mountains, his eyes were the sun and the moon, his fat was the rivers and seas, and his hair was For vegetation. Common saying between Qin and Han Dynasties: Pangu's head is Dongyue, his belly is Zhongyue, his left arm is Nanyue, his right arm is Beiyue, and his feet are Xiyue. Ancient Confucians said: Pangu's weeping became the river, his breath became the wind, and his eyes became the electricity. An ancient saying goes: Pangu's happiness is his eyes and his anger is his yin. Wu Chujian said: The Pangu family and his wife are the beginning of Yin and Yang. There is Pangu's tomb in the South China Sea today, which stretches for three hundred miles. It is said that later generations will bury Pangu's soul. There is the Pangu Temple in Guilin, where people today worship, and there is the Pangu Kingdom in the South China Sea, where everyone today takes Pangu as their surname. Pangu is the ancestor of all things in the world, and living things began with Pangu.

After Pangu, the ancestor of the Chinese nation, transformed into an immortal, his body organs transformed into the sun, moon, stars, four poles and five mountains, rivers, lakes and all living things. Although this legend contains mythological elements, it provides us with a reference for studying the sun and moon gods of the Chinese nation.

"Five Yun Calendar" believes that the two gods of the Chinese nation, the sun and the moon, were transformed from Pangu's eyes. The sun god was transformed from Pangu's left eye; the moon god was transformed from Pangu's right eye. According to folklore, the "male left eye" was transformed. This is where the custom of "female right" comes from.

The Chao clan

The legend of the Chao clan has been recorded in ancient pre-Qin books. He is the legendary inventor of the nest. This legend reflects the transition from cave dwelling to nest dwelling in the primitive era of our country.

The hero who invented nesting in ancient Chinese mythology. Also known as "Dachao". In the beginning, people lived in caves in the wild and were harmed by wild beasts. Chao family taught the people to build wooden nests to avoid wild beasts. From then on, people moved from cave dwelling to nest dwelling. "Zhuangzi. Robber Zhi": "In ancient times, there were many animals and few people, so the people all lived in nests to avoid them. They picked up oak chestnuts during the day and perched on trees at dusk, so they were called people with the Chao family." "Taiping Yulan" "Volume 78 quotes "Xiang Junshi Xue Chapter": "In the ancient cave, there was a nest where the saint taught, named Dachao." Jin Zhanghua's "Natural History. , let the ruler of the country decide, and then seize it. The ministers will change in anger, and the nest will be destroyed."

There is a character in the myth and legend of the Chao family, the imaginary ancestor of the Han people, the original nest dweller. inventor. It is said that in the ancient times of Haoying, there were few people and many animals. In order to protect themselves from the intrusion of wild animals, the Chao family taught people to build wooden nests, pick oak chestnuts during the day, and roost on the trees at night. "Zhuangzi" records: "In ancient times, there were many animals and few people, so the people all lived in nests to avoid them." That is the Chao family era. Because the name of Juchao is related to the invention of Chaoju by Chao family, he is regarded as a Chaohu native. Like the Suiren clan, Fuxi clan, and Shennong clan that appeared at the same time, although they are all fictionalized by later generations, they also show the glorious historical process of the Han ancestors persisting in their struggle for survival

There is a legend of the Chao clan in ancient pre-Qin books Already documented. Zhuang Zhou said: "In ancient times, there were many animals but few came in, so the people all lived in nests to avoid them. They picked up oak chestnuts during the day and perched on trees at dusk. Therefore, they were called the people of the Chao family." ("Zhuangzi Robber Zhi") ) Han Fei said: "In the ancient times, there were few people and many animals. The people were invincible to animals, insects, and snakes. Some saints built a nest to avoid the harm of the group. The people liked it and made it king of the world. They were called 'Youchao's family." "("Han Feizi. Wu Chu") It is said that the Chao family invented the nest dwelling in ancient times. This legend reflects the transition from cave dwelling to nest dwelling in the primitive era of our country. "Dunjia Kaishan Picture" says: "Shilou Mountain is in Langya. In the past, the Chao family ruled this south of the mountain." (Quoted in Volume 11 of "Yi Wen Lei Ju") Langya Mountain is in Zhucheng County, Shandong Province. It is said that the Chao family ruled in this area. This is really not credible. Xiang Jun's "Shi Xue Bian" said: "In ancient times, there were caves where saints came out and taught their nests. Today, they live in caves in the south, and caves in the north are relics of ancient times." (Quoted in Volume 78 of "Taiping Yulan") Nesting is thought to have begun in the south. "Lin Yi Ji" also said: "To the south of Cangwu, there are Wenlang barbarians who live without houses. They sleep on trees, eat raw meat, collect incense as their occupation, and trade with others, as if they were the emperor's people." ("Taipingyu") Quoted from "Lan" Volume 172) Zhou Qufei said: "The people in the deep and wide areas live in fences, with huts on top and cattle and hogs on the bottom. The reason for this is that there are many tigers and wolves on the covered land. It is not as good as this, and neither humans nor animals are safe. "The ancient meaning of nest dwelling!" (Volume 4 of "Lingwai Dai Reply") This all shows that nest dwelling may have originated in the south.

Nuwa's name

The name Nuwa first came from Qu Yuan's "Heavenly Questions": "Nuwa has a body, who made it?" It means: Nuwa's body, Who made it. It is said that Nuwa "refined five-color stones to mend the sky" and created human beings. This is a reflection of the myth of matriarchal society. It is said that before this, the sky collapsed and the earth collapsed, and disasters continued. After her work, everything was ready. She also became the legendary god who ordered the world. This story reflects the arduous struggle between ancient humans and nature.

In order to beautify the spiritual life of human beings, Nuwa also invented the sheng reed instrument, which can play the wind hissing, birds chirping, insects chirping and the creek singing, and the sweet words of love between men and women are blended together. The spiritual love songs can also be expressed vividly and vividly, thus adding an infinite peaceful atmosphere between people, especially between men and women. Due to the nourishment of music, many happy and happy relationships have been beautiful. The music melody stirred up.

Later, the Fuxi family died and was replaced by the Nuwa family. They had no children. Because they were getting older, they retired to a beautiful place, which is now the Nuwa Valley in Lantian County, Shaanxi Province. Unexpectedly, a Kang Hui came and used water to harm people. The boss of the Nuwa family couldn't bear it, so he came out to fight with Kang Hui again.

Kang Hui is a strange man who appeared in Jizhou. He was born with a bronze head and an iron forehead, red hair and a snake body. He was a demon king descended from the sky and came to fight against the people. The history books also called him ** *Gongshi. People in his country are familiar with the nature of water and always use water to deal with people. Nuwa used her seventy transformations to go to Kanghui to inquire about it. After returning, she asked many people to prepare 20,000 stones of various sizes, divided into five types, each with green, yellow, red, The colors black and white serve as markers. He also ordered a hundred pieces of wood to be prepared, and twenty pieces of the longest wood to be prepared. On each piece, Nuwa personally carved out the shape of a fish. He also asked the people to prepare another 500,000 loads of reeds, and they were required to prepare them within one month. He also selected a thousand strong people, designated a high mountain, and asked them to run up and down the mountain twice a day, the faster the better. He also selected 2,000 smart people and asked them to swim in the water four times a day. It would be best if you could lurk underwater for half a day. Nuwa used her magical power to teach them a secret, which made the two thousand people happy and encouraged to practice it seriously.

Nuwa took some more soil and shaped it into human shapes, large and small, and she kneaded thousands of them in one go.

As soon as the preparations were completed, Kang Hui led his troops to attack. He repeated his old tricks and the flood opened the way. Nuwa asked the people to divide the 500,000 loads of reeds into half and burn them with fire until they were reduced to ashes. He also asked the people to dig up the mud and mix it with grass ashes. Each person would carry a load forward and fill in any place with water. Nuwa used her magical power from behind, and saw Kang pouring back the water. Pour it all back. Kang Hui was defeated in the first battle, so he led his subordinates to charge directly. His subordinates were already fierce, but they suffered a loss this time and became even more arrogant. At this time, the thousands of clay dolls made by the Nuwa clan all grew up. The big one was five feet high, and the small one was three feet tall. They held weapons in their hands and faced the enemy. Kang Hui's tribe had never seen this kind of battle before, and they were all frightened and defeated. Nuwa immediately ordered the thousand people who were practicing swimming: "When Kang Hui retreats, he must choose a dangerous place to guard. He must hide in Daluze and his hometown Zhaoyu Daze, where he built a The dike, to prevent it from bursting to fill the water, when you go to a lake with a dike, use the wood I prepared for you to dig four long logs all the way to the ground around the lake, and then use a few short logs to dig it. Next to him, he broke the embankment without moving, because turtles are the largest and strongest in the sea, and are good at carrying heavy loads. I have already gone to the sea and discussed with the Poseidon to temporarily borrow the four legs of several turtles, so the wood is What is carved is not only the shape of a turtle, but its spirit is also inside." After hearing this, these people went happily, and Nuwa led another two thousand people who ran into the mountains, carrying miniature clay figures, stones and other objects along the way. He rushed there and completely defeated Kang Hui in Daluze and Zhaoyu Daze. When Kang Hui escaped, he encountered the two thousand people who had practiced long-distance running. He was no match for him and was captured alive. The tribe captured Kang Hui and presented him to the Nuwa family. The Nuwa family listed his crimes and ordered him to be beheaded. With a click of the knife, no blood came out, but a black air rose into the air. It turned out that Kang Hui also had some With magical power, he transformed into a black dragon and snaked away. In the end, there was another battle with the Nuwa clan's subordinate Ruixu clan in Mount Buzhou. Kang Hui failed and died after his head touched Mount Buzhou.

As a result, the following historical events recorded in history appeared: The head of the Kang Hui family of Emperor Kangxi touched Mount Buzhou, and Mount Buzhou collapsed. As a result, the four poles were destroyed, Kyushu was split, the pillars of heaven were broken, and the earth was lacking. , Nuwa took on the arduous task of making five-color stones to mend the sky, so that the earth was flat and the sky was flat, without changing all things.

Suirenshi

Suirenshi is the legendary person who invented the method of drilling wood to make fire. This has been recorded in ancient books of the Pre-Qin Dynasty. Sui Renshi, in ancient times, the Shangqiu area was a forest. The Suiren family who lived in the mountains and forests often hunted wild animals. When the stones hitting the wild animals collided with the rocks, sparks would often be produced. Suiren was inspired by this, so he struck stones with stones and used the sparks produced to ignite tinder and make fire. This method of making fire was still used by people in rural areas of Shangqiu thirty years ago. At that time, a saint was inspired by the sparks appearing when birds pecked the flint wood, so he broke off the flint branches and drilled the wood to make fire. He taught this method to people. Since then, mankind has learned to make artificial fire, use fire to roast food, lighting, heating, smelting, etc. Human life has entered a new stage. People called this saint the Suiren family and regarded him as the "head of the three emperors".

Fuxi clan

Fuxi clan, also known as Bao Xi clan and Fu Xi clan. It is said that he is a great inventor and has made great contributions to the people. "Bao Xi began to make Bagua to communicate the virtues of gods and imitate the emotions of all things." He also invented "knotting ropes into nets for fishing", which benefited the people. These are two great inventions. Of course, the emergence of such new things in society is the result of people's collective labor, not the gift of a certain "saint". But this legend tells us that the Fuxi clan began to use a recording symbol and knew how to make nets for fishing. Xi is also called Taihao Fuxi. It is said that he was the son of Hua Xu who stepped on the footprints of the God of Thunder in Lei Ze. He was able to "go up and down to the sky" along the trees growing in the fields of Miyako as a ladder to heaven.

Fuxi had many creations and inventions. Fuxi was one of the earliest wise men recorded in Chinese literature. Fuxi has a keen observation of things and a deep affection for the land. At the same time, he possesses superhuman intelligence. Fu Xi described everything he observed using a mathematical symbol (this binary mathematical model has become the cornerstone of the development of today's computer technology), which is Bagua. It mainly says that he sat on a square altar, listened to the music of the wind from all directions, and then drew □ (Qian), □ (Kun), □ (Zhen), □ (Xun), □ (Kan), □ (Li), The symbols of the eight hanging hexagrams □ (Gen) and □ (Dui) are called "Bagua" and represent various things in the world. He also imitated spider webs and made fishing nets. His minister Gou Mang, based on this principle, became a bird-catcher Luo. Fuxi also made zither and created the music of "Jiabian". The dawn of ancient civilization began to emerge in the legendary Fuxi era. In ancient times, there was a Tu River in the east of Mengjin connected with the Yellow River. The dragon and horse negative diagram came from this river. Fuxi made the hexagrams Qian, Dui, Li, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Gen and Kun based on the dragon and horse diagram. The picture is called the Fuxi Bagua Picture by later generations. Fu Xi looked up to observe phenomena in the sky, looked down at the law on the earth, and used the Yin and Yang Bagua to explain the laws of evolution of all things in the world and the order of human relations. The Fuxi family made written contracts, formalized marriages, and taught fishing and hunting. This ended the ignorant history of people consuming hair, drinking blood, and tying ropes to record events, and created Chinese civilization. Longma Negatu Temple became the "source of the river map", and Fuxi was regarded as the "ancestor of human roots" and "the ancestor of humanities" of the Chinese nation.

"Han Shu·Kong Anguo Biography" says: "Dragon horses are the essence of heaven and earth. They are shaped like dragons with dragon scales on their bodies, so they are called dragon horses. Dragon horses have red stripes and green stripes. They are eight feet and five inches tall. They are like a camel with wings and can swim in water. No, when the saint is on the throne, the negative plan comes from Menghe."

Fuxi later became the Emperor of Heaven in the East, and his minister Gou Mang became his god. The shape of Jumang is the body of a bird, the face of a human, and it rides two dragons. The two of them jointly manage the wilderness of green earth and trees in the east for twelve thousand miles, and are the main gods of spring.

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The Yellow Emperor’s Battle with Chiyou

Thousands of years ago, the Yellow River and the Yangtze River in China Many clans and tribes live in the river basin. Among them, Huangdi was the most famous tribal leader in the Yellow River Basin. Another famous tribal leader was called Emperor Yan. Huangdi and Yandi are brothers. There is a Jiuli tribe in the Yangtze River Basin. Their leader is named Chi You, who is very powerful.

Chi You had eighty-one brothers, all of them had animal bodies and human faces, and were extremely fierce with bronze heads and iron arms. They are good at making various weapons such as knives and crossbows. Chi You often led his powerful tribes to invade and harass other tribes.

Once, Chi You invaded the place of Emperor Yan. Emperor Yan raised an army to resist, but he was no match for Chi You and was completely defeated by Chi You. Emperor Yan had no choice but to flee to Zhuolu, where Huangdi was, to ask for help. Huangdi had long wanted to get rid of the scourge of this tribe, so he united the leaders of the tribes and launched a decisive battle with Chi You in the fields of Zhuolu. This is the famous "Zhuolu Battle".

At the beginning of the war, Chi You relied on good weapons and brave soldiers to win consecutive victories. Later, Huangdi invited dragons and other strange beasts to help him fight. Although Chi You's soldiers were fierce, they couldn't resist Huang Di's army and these beasts, so they all fled.

The Yellow Emperor led his soldiers to pursue the victory. Suddenly, the sky turned dark, the ground was dark, the fog was thick, the wind was strong, thunder and lightning were blowing, and it rained heavily. The Yellow Emperor's soldiers were unable to continue their pursuit. It turned out that Chi You invited the "Wind God" and "Rain God" to help him fight. Not to be outdone, the Yellow Emperor invited the "Drought God" in the sky to help disperse the wind and rain. In an instant, the wind stopped and the rain stopped, and the sky was clear.

Chi You used witchcraft to create a heavy fog, which made Huang Di's soldiers lose their way. Huang Di took advantage of the phenomenon that the Big Dipper always pointed north in the sky and built a "guide car" to guide the soldiers out of the fog.

After many fierce battles, Huang Di killed eighty-one of Chi You's brothers and finally captured Chi You alive. Huang Di ordered Chi You to be put in shackles and then executed. Because he was afraid of causing trouble after Chi You's death, his head and body were buried in two places far apart. The shackles that Chi You wore were thrown on the barren mountains and turned into a maple forest. Every blood-red maple leaf was stained with Chi You's blood.

After Chi You's death, his brave image was still feared. Huangdi painted his image on the military flag to encourage his troops to fight bravely and to intimidate tribes who dared to oppose him. Later, Huangdi received support from many tribes and gradually became the leader of all tribes.

The Yellow Emperor was versatile and had many inventions and creations, such as building palaces, cars, ships, making five-color clothes, etc. Leizu, Huangdi's wife, was also an inventor. Originally, silkworms were only wild, and people did not know the uses of silkworms. It was Leizu who taught people how to raise silkworms, reel silk, and weave silk. From then on, silk civilization began to exist in China. After Huangdi invented the pavilion, she also invented a movable pavilion on rainy days-the umbrella.

The legends of ancient China all highly praised the Yellow Emperor. Later generations believed that the Yellow Emperor was the ancestor of the Chinese people and that they themselves were descendants of the Yellow Emperor. Because the Yandi and Huangdi tribes were originally close relatives and later merged together, the Chinese often call themselves descendants of Yan and Huang. In order to commemorate this legendary ancestor of the Yellow Emperor, the Chinese also built a "Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor" on Qiaoshan in the north of Huangling County, Shaanxi Province, on the edge of the Yellow River. Every spring, Chinese representatives from all over the world gather here to worship the founder of the Chinese nation.