The Yellow Emperor
According to ancient Chinese history and legend, Huang-di, The
Yellow Emperor, lived in the 27th century B.C. He was the son of
Shao-dian whose tribe occupied the central plains of China. At
the time of his birth, on Xuanyuan Hill, his mother Fubao claims
to have seen lights flashing around the Big Dipper.
The Yellow Emperor lived in a time of constant tribal warfare.
China was composed of over 40 tribes, each with their own
customs and languages. The Yellow Emperor aimed to unify China
and developed an army with strong virtues. In the significant
Battle of Banquan, he defeated Shennongshi to rule as Lord of
the World-a territory stretching to the sea in the East, to
Gansu in the West, to Hebei in the North and to the Yangtze
River in the South.
In the final battle, The Battle of Zhuolu, The Yellow Emperor
fought with Chiyou of the Miao tribe. Chiyou is said to have had
magical powers and invoked a thick fog which blanketed the earth
for five miles. As a result, The Yellow Emperor could not defeat
Chiyou and his army for a long time. The Yellow Emperor made a
compass (a cart with a deity on it always pointing South) to
orient himself. The Yellow Emperor and his army proceeded to
defeat Chiyou.
After The Yellow Emperor pacified the warring tribes, he ushered
in a time of unity for all of China. Creativity, and invention
flourished and Chinese culture owes much of their heritage to
The Yellow Emperor. Members of his ministry were encouraged and
are responsible for many inventions at the time of The Yellow
Emperor's reign such as:
* The Lunar Calendar-Danao * Mathematics-Lishou *
Clothes-Leizu, the Yellow Emperor's queen raised silkworms and
made silk clothes * Music- Linglun invented the bamboo flute *
Medicine-The Yellow Emperor wrote The Yellow Sovereigns Classic
of Internal Medicine, the foundation of Traditional Chinese
Medicine for twenty four centuries * Writing-Cang jie *
Casting-coins were made from brass * Boat, cart, chop sticks,
bow and arrow
The Yellow Emperor is rumored to have lived to be 100 years old;
some legends say he lived to be 118. At the time of his death, a
lightening bolt is said to have shot from the sky as a dragon
descended. The Yellow Emperor mounted the dragon and rode to
Heaven to join the immortals. The location of his tomb stands at
the top of Mount Qiaoshan, about 180 kilometers north of Xian,
capital of Northwest China's Shania Province.