Who are the eight ancestors of the Chinese nation?

three emperors and five emperors, right?

In ancient books in China, Fuxi, Nuwa and Shennong were called "san huang" and Taiti, Yandi, Huangdi, Shaoti and Zhuan Xu were called "Five Emperors". In fact, the "Three Emperors and Five Emperors" were all symbolic figures, and they were the leaders of clan tribes or tribal alliances in imagination. Although the records of "Three Emperors and Five Emperors" are some beautiful and moving myths, they can reflect the history of clans and tribes in primitive society.

It is said that Fuxi, Nuwa and Shennong were great saints in ancient times, and each had some great achievements.

Fuxi, also known as Nanxi. It is said that he is a great inventor, "starting with eight letters" and "making knots and making nets". 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 "saint". But this legend tells us that the Fuxi clan began to use a note symbol and knew how to make nets and fish.

Nu Wa's main achievement is "refining five-color stones to fill the sky". It is said that before this, the sky collapsed and disasters continued. After her old man's work, everything was in order. She also became the legendary god who tidied up heaven and earth. This story reflects the hard struggle between ancient humans and nature.

Shennong is a legendary earth god who is in charge of crops. Probably refers to the clan name of the primitive society in which agriculture began to develop. According to records, people used to eat raw meat, drink animal blood and wear animal skins. Shennong believes that it is difficult for people to live like this. Therefore, he "tasted the essence of a hundred herbs, observed the bitter taste, and taught the people to eat five grains." In fact, agricultural production knowledge is the accumulation of practical experience of ancient humans. Shennong doesn't exist. Later, it was speculated that Shennong's deeds roughly reflected the social situation during the prosperous period of matriarchal clan system.

The legendary five ancient emperors have very different records. The era of their activities may have entered the patriarchal clan system or the end of primitive society.

Taiti, also known as Tai Hao, is named Feng. According to legend, he is a snake with a human head or a dragon with a human head. He may be a clan leader who takes snakes or dragons as totems and lives in Chendi (now Huaiyang County, Henan Province). He should be an imaginary ancestor of clan tribes in Huaihe River Basin.

yandi, surnamed Jiang. According to legend, he is a bull's head, and may be a clan leader who takes cattle as his goal. At first, this clan moved in the Weihe River basin, and later entered the middle reaches of the Yellow River, where it had a long-term conflict with the Jiuli nationality. The leader of the Jiuli nationality is Chiyou, a beast with a human voice, a bronze head and an iron neck, horns on his head, hair on his ears as hard as a halberd, and he can eat sand and gravel. It may be a clan that takes some kind of beast as its face. He has eighty-one brothers, that is, eighty-one clans, and he is a powerful clan tribe that is brave and good at fighting. Chiyou expelled Emperor Yan to Zhuolu (now the Sanggan River basin in northwest Hebei). Emperor Yan asked the Yellow Emperor for help, and the two sides fought in Zhuolu. Chiyou invited the rain master from Fengbo to make trouble, creating a fog that made the soldiers of the Yellow Emperor lose their way. The Yellow Emperor invited the drought god Nu Wa to clear up the weather and built a "south guide car" to tell the direction. The result of this fierce war was that Chiyou failed and was killed. The Yellow Emperor won the victory and was elected as the "son of heaven".

the yellow emperor's surname is Ji, and his surname is Xuanyuan, and his surname is Xiong. Legend has it that the Huangdi nationality originally lived in the northwest and lived a nomadic life without settlement. After defeating Chiyou, it fought three wars with the Yandi nationality in Hanquan. The Yellow Emperor commanded clans with bears, dragons, raccoons, tigers and other beasts as totems to participate in the battle, defeated the Yandi tribe and entered the Yellow River valley. From then on, the Yellow Emperor tribe settled in the Central Plains and developed rapidly. Historical records record that "there are 25 sons of the Yellow Emperor, and 14 of them have surnames, which are twelve surnames", indicating that these tribes have formed a huge tribal alliance. The descendants of the Yellow Emperor merged with other tribes to form the Chinese nation, and the Xuanyuan family of the Yellow Emperor was regarded as the ancestor of the Huaxia nationality. Later, China people claimed to be "descendants of the Yellow Emperor".

It is precisely for this reason that many inventions and creations were attributed to the Yellow Emperor by later generations, saying that he used jade as a weapon, made boats and bows, and dyed colorful clothes. He asked his wife Lei Zu to teach people to raise silkworms. He ordered Cang Xie, the minister, to make words, to make great efforts, and Ling Lun to make musical instruments. These legends are not reliable, and we can only understand that the production tools in the Yellow Emperor era have made great progress.

Shao Lian, also known as Shao Hao, surnamed Ji, named Zhi, and named Poor Sandi, is said to be a descendant of the Yellow Emperor and lives in Qufu, Shandong. This tribe takes birds as totems, and there are twenty-four species: Wind Birds, Xuanwu and Qingwu. This may be a big tribe composed of twenty-four clans. Shaoluo nationality is a branch of Huangdi nationality developing eastward.

Zhuan Xu, whose surname is Levin, lives in Puyang County, Henan Province. According to legend, he is a descendant of Changyi, the son of the Yellow Emperor. Ancient book records; "There are eight talented people in Levin's family." Maybe this is eight clans. Zhuan Xu managed the cult of witchcraft and worship of ghosts and gods of Jiuli nationality, forcing them to obey the education of Huangdi nationality. Later, the leader of a tribe, * * * worker, was very dissatisfied with Zhuan Xu, and knocked down the mountain with his head angrily. Suddenly, the pillars supporting the sky were tilted, and the rope that tied the earth was broken. So the sky tilted to the northwest, and the sun, the moon and the stars moved; The land is in the southeast sag, and the rivers flow eastward. This means that * * * workers transform nature and become heroes of victory.

these ancient myths and legends vividly reflect the glorious tradition of hard work, courage and wisdom of our Chinese nation, and profoundly show that the initial civilization of human society was created through hard struggle.