The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were two groups of mythological rulers in ancient north China. The Three Sovereigns supposedly lived long before The Five Emperors, who have been assigned dates in a period from 3162 BC to 2070 BC.[dubious – discuss] Today they may be considered culture heroes.[1]
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The Three Sovereigns, sometimes known as the Three August Ones, were said to be god-kings or demigods[3] who used their divine abilities to improve the lives of the Chinese people and gift them essential skills and valuable knowledge. The Five Emperors are portrayed as exemplary ancestral sages who possessed a great moral character, lived to an extremely old age, and ruled over a period of great Chinese peace. The Three Sovereigns on the other hand are ascribed various identities in different Chinese historical texts.
These high kings are said to have helped introduce the first use of fire, taught people how to build good houses and farm. Leizu, wife of Huangdi, is credited with the invention of silk culture. The discovery of medicine, the invention of the calendar and the Chinese script are also credited to the 5 Emperors. After their era,[weasel words]Yu the Great founded the Xia Dynasty.[2]
The Chinese word for emperor,[weasel words]huángdì (皇帝), derives from this,[dubious – discuss] as the first user of this title Qin Shi Huang considered his reunion of all of the lands of the former Kingdom of Zhou to be greater than even the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.
Clan
A related concept appears in the legend of the Four Clans (四氏, Si Shi) who took part in creating the world. The four members[dubious – discuss] are Youchao-shi (有巢氏), Suiren-shi (燧人氏), Fuxi-shi (伏羲氏), and Shennong-shi (神農氏). The list sometimes extends to one more member being Nüwa-shi (女媧氏), making Five Clans (五氏, Wu Shi).[5] Four of these five names appear in different lists of the Three Sovereigns. Shi (氏) means clan or family, so none of them are a single person in prehistoric times.[dubious – discuss]
There is a saying[weasel words] that the Three Sovereigns are Suiren-shi (燧人氏), Youchao-shi (有巢氏), and Shennong-shi (神農氏).[dubious – discuss] The Suiren taught people to drill wood for fire so people could easily migrate. The Youchao taught people to build houses out of wood, so that people could leave caves to expand into the plains. After the number of people grew, Shennong tried a variety of grasses to find suitable herbs to solve people's food problems.[citation needed] The tribes also used the sovereigns' respective contributions as the name of the tribes.[dubious – discuss]
Variations
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Depending on the source, there are many variations of who classifies as the Three Sovereigns or the Five Emperors.[weasel words] There are at least six to seven[weasel words] known variations.[6] Many of the sources listed below were written in much later periods, centuries[dubious – discuss] and even millennia after the supposed existence of these figures, and instead of historical fact, they may[weasel words] reflect a desire in later time periods to create a fictitious ancestry traceable to ancient culture heroes. The Emperors were asserted as ancestors of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties.[7] The following appear in different groupings of the Three Sovereigns: Fuxi (伏羲), Nüwa (女媧), Shennong (神農), Suiren (燧人), Zhurong (祝融), Gong Gong (共工), Heavenly Sovereign (天皇), Earthly Sovereign (地皇), Tai Sovereign (泰皇), Human Sovereign (人皇), and even[weasel words] the Yellow Emperor (黃帝).
Numbers in parenthesis mark a possible enthronement order of the emperors that are considered by one or more authorities to be among the "Five Emperors".
^Sima Qian only lists the names of the Three Sovereigns fleetingly in the "Basic Annals of Qin Shihuang" (《秦始皇本紀》): "古有天皇，有地皇，有泰皇". Details were supplied by the "Basic Annals of the Three Sovereigns" (《三皇本紀》), written centuries later by Sima Zhen as a supplement to the Records (《補史記》). The 《三皇本紀》 has sometimes been conflated with the Records proper (e.g., by the Gujin Tushu Jicheng), but the original Records begins with the Basic Annals of the Five Emperors (《五帝本紀》), without mentioning the Three Sovereigns.
^ abMorton, W. Scott; Lewis, Charlton M. (2005). China: its history and culture. McGraw-Hill. p. 14. ISBN978-0-07-141279-7.
^Eliade, Mircea; Adams, Charles J., eds. (1987). The Encyclopedia of religion. Vol. 9, Liu–Mith. Macmillan. p. 133.
^ ab王恆偉 (2005). Zhongguo li shi jiang tang #1 Yuan gu zhi Chun Qiu 中國歷史講堂 #1 遠古至春秋 [Chinese History Lectures #1: Ancient times to Spring and Autumn period]. 中華書局. p. 13. ISBN962-8885-24-3.
^王恆偉 (2005). Zhongguo li shi jiang tang #1 Yuan gu zhi Chun Qiu 中國歷史講堂 #1 遠古至春秋 [Chinese History Lectures #1: Ancient times to Spring and Autumn period]. 中華書局. pp. 4–7. ISBN962-8885-24-3.
^ abcdefg劉煒 (2002). 原始社会 中华文明传真 [Chinese civilization in a new light]. Commercial press publishing. p. 142. ISBN962-07-5314-3.
^Soothill, William Edward; Hosie, Dorothea Lady; Hudson, G. F. (2002). The Hall of Light: A Study of Early Chinese Kingship. James Clarke & Co. pp. 146–. ISBN978-0-227-17123-3.
^ abUlrich Theobald. "Sanhuang wudi 三皇五帝, the Three Augusts and Five Emperors". ChinaKnowledge.de.
"Ssŭma Ch'ien's Historical Records, Introductory Chapter", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 26, translated by Allen, Herbert J., 1894, pp. 269–295, doi:10.1017/S0035869X00143916, S2CID 161670530
"The Annals of the Bamboo Books: The reigns of Huang-te, Che, Chuen-heuh and Hëen-Yuen; The reigns of Yaou and Shun". The Chinese Classics, volume 3, part 1. Translated by Legge, James. 1865. pp. 108–116.
three, sovereigns, five, emperors, were, groups, mythological, rulers, ancient, north, china, three, sovereigns, supposedly, lived, long, before, five, emperors, have, been, assigned, dates, period, from, 3162, 2070, dubious, discuss, today, they, considered, . The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were two groups of mythological rulers in ancient north China The Three Sovereigns supposedly lived long before The Five Emperors who have been assigned dates in a period from 3162 BC to 2070 BC dubious discuss Today they may be considered culture heroes 1 Era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors三皇五帝c 3162 BC dubious discuss c 2070 BC dubious discuss Map of tribes and tribal unions in Ancient China including the tribes led by Huang Di Yan Di and Chiyou StatusLegendary kingdomCommon languagesOld Chinese Sinitic languagesGovernmentTribal kingship Chiefdom dubious discuss Di 2698 2598 BC dubious discuss Huangdi 2514 2436 BC dubious discuss Zhuanxu 2436 2366 BC dubious discuss Ku 2366 2358 BC dubious discuss Zhi 2356 2255 BC dubious discuss Yao 2255 2208 BC dubious discuss ShunHistory Establishedc 3162 BC dubious discuss Disestablishedc 2070 BC dubious discuss Preceded by Succeeded byNeolithic China Xia dynasty dubious discuss Three Sovereigns and Five EmperorsChinese三皇五帝Literal meaningthree huang magnificent ones citation needed five di lords of heaven citation needed TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinSanhuang WǔdiWade GilesSan Huang Wu TiYue CantoneseYale RomanizationSaam Wohng Ngh DaiJyutpingSaam1 Wong4 Ng5 Dai3This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia s quality standards The specific problem is WP MOS ZH issues with hanzi cruft and pinyin tonal marks in running text poor organization and grasp of topic poor presentation poor writing failure to address obvious and important misconceptions and introduction of new one on its own apparent misrepresention of sources or use of fringe sources poorer overall treatment than other versions in page history doesn t match infobox phrasing and content amp c amp c amp c Please help improve this article if you can December 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The dates of these mythological figures may be fictitious weasel words but according to some accounts and reconstructions weasel words they supposedly preceded weasel words the Xia Dynasty 2 Contents 1 Description 2 Clan 3 Variations 3 1 Lineage of the Five Emperors 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 Further readingDescription EditThe Three Sovereigns sometimes known as the Three August Ones were said to be god kings or demigods 3 who used their divine abilities to improve the lives of the Chinese people and gift them essential skills and valuable knowledge The Five Emperors are portrayed as exemplary ancestral sages who possessed a great moral character lived to an extremely old age and ruled over a period of great Chinese peace The Three Sovereigns on the other hand are ascribed various identities in different Chinese historical texts These high kings are said to have helped introduce the first use of fire taught people how to build good houses and farm Leizu wife of Huangdi is credited with the invention of silk culture The discovery of medicine the invention of the calendar and the Chinese script are also credited to the 5 Emperors After their era weasel words Yu the Great founded the Xia Dynasty 2 According to a modern theory with roots in the late 19th century dubious discuss the Yellow Emperor is supposedly the ancestor of the Huaxia people 4 The Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor was established in Shaanxi Province to commemorate the ancestry legend 4 The Chinese word for emperor weasel words huangdi 皇帝 derives from this dubious discuss as the first user of this title Qin Shi Huang considered his reunion of all of the lands of the former Kingdom of Zhou to be greater than even the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors Clan EditA related concept appears in the legend of the Four Clans 四氏 Si Shi who took part in creating the world The four members dubious discuss are Youchao shi 有巢氏 Suiren shi 燧人氏 Fuxi shi 伏羲氏 and Shennong shi 神農氏 The list sometimes extends to one more member being Nuwa shi 女媧氏 making Five Clans 五氏 Wu Shi 5 Four of these five names appear in different lists of the Three Sovereigns Shi 氏 means clan or family so none of them are a single person in prehistoric times dubious discuss There is a saying weasel words that the Three Sovereigns are Suiren shi 燧人氏 Youchao shi 有巢氏 and Shennong shi 神農氏 dubious discuss The Suiren taught people to drill wood for fire so people could easily migrate The Youchao taught people to build houses out of wood so that people could leave caves to expand into the plains After the number of people grew Shennong tried a variety of grasses to find suitable herbs to solve people s food problems citation needed The tribes also used the sovereigns respective contributions as the name of the tribes dubious discuss Variations EditThis section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia s quality standards The specific problem is table is highly incomplete poorly formatted and completely out of order lineage presentation is either made up nonextant on Chinese page or providing undue weight to specific fringe sources to produce an illusion of certainty about poorly understood legendary figures presentation of complete uncertainty disagrees completely with infobox treatment which provides exact unsourced dates amp c Please help improve this section if you can December 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Depending on the source there are many variations of who classifies as the Three Sovereigns or the Five Emperors weasel words There are at least six to seven weasel words known variations 6 Many of the sources listed below were written in much later periods centuries dubious discuss and even millennia after the supposed existence of these figures and instead of historical fact they may weasel words reflect a desire in later time periods to create a fictitious ancestry traceable to ancient culture heroes The Emperors were asserted as ancestors of the Xia Shang and Zhou dynasties 7 The following appear in different groupings of the Three Sovereigns Fuxi 伏羲 Nuwa 女媧 Shennong 神農 Suiren 燧人 Zhurong 祝融 Gong Gong 共工 Heavenly Sovereign 天皇 Earthly Sovereign 地皇 Tai Sovereign 泰皇 Human Sovereign 人皇 and even weasel words the Yellow Emperor 黃帝 The following appear in different groupings of the Five Emperors Fuxi Taihao 太昊 Yan Emperor 炎帝 Yellow Emperor 黃帝 Shaohao 少昊 Zhuanxu 顓頊 Emperor Ku 嚳 Emperor Yao 堯 Emperor Shun 舜 Source Date of source Three Sovereigns Five EmperorsRecords of the Grand Historian 史記 edition by Sima Qian note 1 94 BC Heavenly Sovereign 天皇 Earthly Sovereign 地皇 Tai Sovereign 泰皇 or Shennong 神農 Yellow Emperor 黃帝 Zhuanxu 顓頊 Emperor Ku 嚳 Emperor Yao 堯 Emperor Shun 舜 Sovereign series 帝王世系 book written by Huangfu Mi 6 Fu Xi 伏羲 Shennong 神農 Yellow Emperor 黃帝 Shaohao 少昊 Zhuanxu 顓頊 Emperor Ku 嚳 Emperor Yao 堯 Emperor Shun 舜 Shiben 6 475 221 BC the Warring States period according to the Book of Han AD 111 Fu Xi 伏羲 Shennong 神農 Yellow Emperor 黃帝 Baihu Tongyi 白虎通義 6 Fu Xi 伏羲 Shennong 神農 Zhurong 祝融 or Suiren 燧人 Fengsu TongYi 風俗通義 6 AD 195 Fu Xi 伏羲 Nuwa 女媧 Shennong 神農 Yiwen Leiju 藝文類聚 6 AD 624 Heavenly Sovereign 天皇 Earthly Sovereign 地皇 Human Sovereign 人皇 Tongjian Waiji 通鑑外紀 Fu Xi 伏羲 Shennong 神農 Gong Gong 共工 Chunqiu yundou shu 春秋運斗樞 Chunqiu yuanming bao 春秋元命苞 Fu Xi 伏羲 Nuwa 女媧 Shennong 神農 Shangshu dazhuan 尚書大傳 Fu Xi 伏羲 Shennong 神農 Suiren 燧人 Diwang shiji book written by Huangfu Mi 帝王世紀 Fu Xi 伏羲 Shennong 神農 Yellow Emperor 黃帝 I Ching 易經 6 800s BC Taihao 太昊 Yan Emperor 炎帝 Yellow Emperor 黃帝 Emperor Yao 堯 Emperor Shun 舜 Comments of a Recluse Qianfulun 潛夫論 8 Taihao 太昊 Yan Emperor 炎帝 Yellow Emperor 黃帝 Shaohao 少昊 Zhuanxu 顓頊 Zizhi tongjian waiji 資治通鑒外紀 8 Yellow Emperor 黃帝 Shaohao 少昊 Zhuanxu 顓頊 Emperor Ku 嚳 Emperor Yao 堯 Lineage of the Five Emperors Edit vte Family tree of ancient Five EmperorsLegend DescentAdopted 1 Taihao 太昊 9 10 11 Youxiong 有熊 12 Shaodian 少典 13 14 3 Yellow Emperor 黃帝 15 2 Flame Emperor 炎帝 16 4 Shaohao 少昊Changyi 昌意Jiaoji 蟜極 5 Zhuanxu 顓頊 6 Emperor Ku 嚳Qiongchan 窮蟬King ofGu Shu古蜀王 Cheng 称Taowu 梼杌Wangliang魍魉 7 Emperor Zhi 挚Xie ofShang 契 8 EmperorYao 堯Houji 后稷Jingkang 敬康 Lao Tong老童Danzhu 丹朱Juwang 句望Luo Ming 17 Zhurong祝融Wuhui吳回Qiaoniu 橋牛Gun 鯀Gusou 瞽叟 10 Yu 禹Luzhong陸終Ehuang zh 娥皇 9 Emperor Shun 舜Nuying zh 女英Kunwu 昆吾Shen Hu參胡Peng Zu 彭祖Hui Ren 會人Yan An 晏安Ji Lian 季連Shangjun zh 商均Numbers in parenthesis mark a possible enthronement order of the emperors that are considered by one or more authorities to be among the Five Emperors Gallery Edit Fuxi and Nuwa Another depiction of Fuxi and Nuwa Shennong Yellow Emperor Zhuanxu Emperor Ku Emperor Yao Emperor Shun Chi YouSee also EditWufang Shangdi the Five Emperors List of Neolithic cultures of China Dawenkou culture Liangzhu culture Majiayao culture Qujialing culture Longshan culture Baodun culture Shijiahe culture Emperor of ChinaNotes Edit Sima Qian only lists the names of the Three Sovereigns fleetingly in the Basic Annals of Qin Shihuang 秦始皇本紀 古有天皇 有地皇 有泰皇 Details were supplied by the Basic Annals of the Three Sovereigns 三皇本紀 written centuries later by Sima Zhen as a supplement to the Records 補史記 The 三皇本紀 has sometimes been conflated with the Records proper e g by the Gujin Tushu Jicheng but the original Records begins with the Basic Annals of the Five Emperors 五帝本紀 without mentioning the Three Sovereigns References Edit Hucker Charles 1995 China s Imperial Past An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture Stanford University Press p 22 ISBN 9780804723534 a b Morton W Scott Lewis Charlton M 2005 China its history and culture McGraw Hill p 14 ISBN 978 0 07 141279 7 Eliade Mircea Adams Charles J eds 1987 The Encyclopedia of religion Vol 9 Liu Mith Macmillan p 133 a b 王恆偉 2005 Zhongguo li shi jiang tang 1 Yuan gu zhi Chun Qiu 中國歷史講堂 1 遠古至春秋 Chinese History Lectures 1 Ancient times to Spring and Autumn period 中華書局 p 13 ISBN 962 8885 24 3 王恆偉 2005 Zhongguo li shi jiang tang 1 Yuan gu zhi Chun Qiu 中國歷史講堂 1 遠古至春秋 Chinese History Lectures 1 Ancient times to Spring and Autumn period 中華書局 pp 4 7 ISBN 962 8885 24 3 a b c d e f g 劉煒 2002 原始社会 中华文明传真 Chinese civilization in a new light Commercial press publishing p 142 ISBN 962 07 5314 3 Soothill William Edward Hosie Dorothea Lady Hudson G F 2002 The Hall of Light A Study of Early Chinese Kingship James Clarke amp Co pp 146 ISBN 978 0 227 17123 3 a b Ulrich Theobald Sanhuang wudi 三皇五帝 the Three Augusts and Five Emperors ChinaKnowledge de Bamboo Annals I Ching Book of Rites Sima Qian Records of the Grand Historian Zhang Qizhi 2015 04 15 An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture Springer p 3 ISBN 978 3 662 46482 3 Sima Qian Records of the Grand Historian Sima Qian Records of the Grand Historian I Ching Classic of Mountains and SeasFurther reading Edit Ssŭma Ch ien s Historical Records Introductory Chapter Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society vol 26 translated by Allen Herbert J 1894 pp 269 295 doi 10 1017 S0035869X00143916 S2CID 161670530 The Annals of the Bamboo Books The reigns of Huang te Che Chuen heuh and Heen Yuen The reigns of Yaou and Shun The Chinese Classics volume 3 part 1 Translated by Legge James 1865 pp 108 116 Preceded byNone known Dynasties in Chinese history2852 2205 BC Succeeded byXia dynasty Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors amp oldid 1130832560, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
