In the
beginning, there were three Divine Kings and
five Legendry Emperors in the East.
According
to Book of Latitude (Weishu 纬书) of
Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220AD), three Divine
Kings are, naturally, the divine beings, and
they were King of Heaven (天皇),
King of Earth (地皇) and King of Man (人皇)
respectively.
But in
an alternative Daoist
version, there were actually three groups of
Divine Kings, reflecting the change or the
evolution of the beings.
The
first group vaguely assumed human shape; The
second group had a clear human face but a
dragon or snake body; In the latest group,
King of Heaven God Fuxi (伏羲) was
credited for formulating Chinese written
characters; King of Earth Goddess Nuwa (女娲) is
said to be the mother of all mothers; and
King of Man Shennong (神农)
initiated Chinese civilisation through
establishing the farming industry to end the
animal hunting business.
As for
the Five Legendry Emperors, there are more
than two versions, but the following
assumptions appear to be the most popular:
Green Emperor (青帝太昊 with Wood as his
essence) in the east;
Red Emperor (赤帝炎帝 with Fire as his
essence) in the south;
White Emperor (白帝少昊 with metal as his
essence) in the west;
Black Emperor (玄帝颛顼 with Water as his
essence) in the north;
Yellow Emperor (黄帝轩辕 with Earth as his essence) in the
centre.
Among
the Five Emperors, Red Emperor and Yellow
Emperor were acting like yin-yang
due forces, both opposing and
complimenting each other. Together they
worked as a great team on laying the
foundation of Chinese culture and Chinese
nation. Today Chinese Han people all over the
world commonly view themselves as the
descendants of the Red and Yellow Emperors (炎黄子孙).
Red
Emperor’s contributions to the Chinese
civilisation are multi-disciplinary. A genius
engineer and technician as he was said to be,
he invented farming tools and originated
porcelain crafts. On top of that, he was also
the first drug manufacturer and pharmacist in
the Chinese herbal medicine business. And
what’s great about him is that he developed
his wonder drugs without animal testing. He
simply tested on himself.
On
September 7, three tousand Chinese in
mainland and from overseas gathered at the
legendary home town of Red Emperor, Baoji
City (宝鸡市), in
central China’s Shaanxi Province (陕西省),
commemorating the great ancestor of the
Chinese nation. The ritual was observed by 25
thousand people.
