Three Sovereigns

The Three Sovereigns,sometimes known as the Three August Ones or The Three Sage Kings,were said to be demigods who used their magical powers to improve the lives of Chinese people.Because of their lofty virtues,they each lived to a great age and ruled over a long period of great peace.

Fuxi

On one of the columns of the Fuxi Temple in Gansu Province,the following couplets describe Fuxi's importance:"Among the three primogenitors of Hua Xia civilization,Fuxi in Huaiyang County ranks first."

During the time of his predecessor,the society was matriarchal and primitive.Childbirth was seen to be miraculous,not requiring the participation of the male,so children knew their mothers only.As the reproductive process became better understood,ancient Chinese society moved towards a patriarchal system and Fuxi claimed prime importance.

In the beginning of the human life,there was no moral or social order.Men only knew their mothers,not their fathers.When hungry,they searched for food and threw away the remnants when satisfied.They devoured the meat with its hide and hair,drank the blood,and clad themselves in skin and fur.Human lived as animals in the primitive period of time.

Then Fuxi came along,who united man and wife by introducing matrimony and laid down the laws of humanity.He also devised the eight trigrams,in order to gain more profound understanding of the universe.Fuxi taught his subjects to cook food over a fire before they ate,to fish with nets,and to hunt with weapons made of iron.His most important contribution to mankind is that he instituted marriage.

Fuxi is said to have lived for 197 years and passed away at a place called Chen(modern Huaiyang County in Henan Province),where a monument can still be seen and visited as a popular tourist attraction.

Shennong

Shennong（神农），“Divine Farmer”，also known as the Emperor of the Five Grains，was a legendary hero and ruler of China.People believe that he taught the ancient Chinese not only their practices of agriculture，but also the use of herbal remedies.Shennong has been traditionally credited for various ancient Chinese inventions such as the hoe，plough and axe.He taught people how to dig wells and irrigate the land.It was him who started the weekly farmers market，introduced the Chinese lunar calendar，especially the 24 Jieqi（节气；24 solar terms which indicate the alternation of seasons and climate changes in the Chinese lunar calendar）and improved the therapeutic understanding of taking pulse measurements，acupuncture，and moxibustion in Chinese traditional medicine.

Shennong's Classic on Herbal Medicine

Silver Tongue

1.Do you believe the book was compiled by Shennong?If not,why would Shennong be credited with it?

2.Compare Traditional Chinese Medicine to the modern Western medicines,which do you prefer?

3.Most foreigners have no ideas about certain Chinese traditional treatments.Explain one of the treatments mentioned above to a foreigner.

Shennong is said to have tasted hundreds of herbs to test their medical value.The most well-known book attributed to Shennong is The Divine Farmer's Herb-Root Classic（《神农本草经》），first compiled some time during the end of the Western Han Dynasty—several thousand years after Shennong's likely existence.This work lists various medicinal herbs，such as ganoderma（灵芝），that was believed to be first discovered by Shennong.It is considered to be the earliest Chinese official book of medicine that includes 365 medicines derived from minerals，plants，and animals.

Shennong is credited with identifying hundreds of medical and poisonous herbs by personally testing them,which was crucial to the development of Traditional Chinese Medicine.Legend holds that Shennong had a transparent body,and thus he could see the effects of different plants and herbs in himself.Tea,which acts as an antidote against the poisonous effects of about seventy herbs,is also said to be his discovery.Shennong is honoured as the Father of Chinese medicine and also believed to have introduced the technique of acupuncture.According to some versions of the myths about Shennong,his research by experimenting unfamiliar plants on himself resulted in his death:in one of his tests,he ate the yellow flower of a weed that caused his intestines to burst.Thus having given his life for humanity,he has since been honoured as the King of Medicine in China.

Silver Tongue

1.Look at the picture and find out what special facial features Shennong has.Talk about why he would be pictured like this according to ancient stories.

2.Describe what he is doing in the picture.

3.Would you sacrifice your own life for any good cause or for any person?Tell each other your reasons.

The Yellow Emperor

Traditionally credited with numerous inventions and innovations,the Yellow Emperor is now regarded as the founding father of Chinese civilization,and said to be the ancestor of all Huaxia Chinese.

The Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor were once both tribal leaders along the Yellow River in the primitive society.While the Yan Emperor proving unable to control the disorder within his realm,the Yellow Emperor took up arms to defeat the Yan emperor and united all the tribes as one so as to establish his dominant position.

The Yellow Emperor was credited in legends with improving the livelihood of the nomadic hunters of his tribe.He taught them how to build shelters，tame wild animals.He invented carts，boats and clothing.Other inventions include the Chinese diadem（冠冕），throne rooms（宫室），bow sling（弹弓），early Chinese astronomy，math calculations，code of sound laws，and Cuju（蹴鞠），an early Chinese version of football.He also made the historian Cangjie（仓颉）create the first Chinese character writing system—the oracle bone script（甲骨文）.His wife Leizu（嫘祖）invented sericulture and taught the people how to weave silk and dye clothes.

The Yellow Emperor was said to have lived for over a hundred years before encountering a phoenix and a Chinese unicorn（麒麟）and shortly afterwards passed away.

The Yellow Emperor was acknowledged to have left a number of cultural legacies and also teachings that could only be understood and appreciated by a few people.While Taoism is often regarded in the West as originated from Laozi，Chinese Taoists believe the Yellow Emperor set up many of their doctrines.Four great ancient Classics were attributed to him by including his name in each of the titles，which added great prominence to the books：Four Classics of the Yellow Emperor（《黄帝四经》），The Yellow Emperor's Hidden Talisman Classic（《黄帝阴符经》），The Yellow Emperor's Four Seasons Poem（《轩辕黄帝四季诗》），and The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon（《黄帝内经》），which present the doctrinal basis of traditional Chinese medicine.

These three great legendary figures,Chinese people believe,once walked the earth.Their attributions to the beginning and development of the Chinese nation and culture can't be taken lightly.They might just be normal human beings,but people added mysterious aura to each of them by empowering them with divine gifts and strength.Still they are quite different from the God in Christianity.Chinese people have come a long way from their old beliefs to today's atheistic culture.But mythology and legends will always be cherished as a valuable part of the nation's cultural heritage.