The order of ancient Chinese mythology is quite chaotic.
Due to China's vast territory and the historical fragmentation of power, regional isolation, the integration of local myths, adaptations by religions, and the continued spread to distant areas over thousands of years, many myths have been lost, miscommunicated, or altered. As a result, there is no unified mythological system, nor is there an authoritative standard.
In different ancient myths, the confusion of titles and corresponding figures, as well as the muddled father-son relationships among characters, is very common. Here, I will select several more mainstream mythological systems and attempt to piece them together to form a relatively complete ancient Chinese mythological system.
First, it is necessary to clarify that the "Kunlun Mountain" referred to later in this article is not the Kunlun Mountain in Qinghai that is well-known today, but rather the Kunlun Hill located in Yangcheng County, Shanxi, which is also known as Xicheng Mountain.
- Pangu
According to legend, before heaven and earth were separated, billions of years ago, the universe was a dark, chaotic mass floating in space. One day, a large egg formed within this chaos, and inside it, Pangu was born, sleeping for eighteen thousand years. One day, Pangu awakened. He transformed his hand into an axe and fiercely struck at the darkness before him, splitting the egg in two. The light and clear elements rose to become the sky, while the heavy and turbid elements sank down to form the earth. Thus, the universe was divided into heaven and earth. After their separation, Pangu feared they would merge again, so he supported the sky with his head and pressed down on the earth with his feet. Each day, the sky rose one zhang, the earth thickened one zhang, and Pangu grew taller by one zhang, continuing this way for another eighteen thousand years.
After Pangu's death, his left eye transformed into the sun, his right eye into the moon. The breath he exhaled became the wind and clouds, his voice became the booming thunder. His body and limbs turned into the four corners of the earth and the five famous mountains. His blood became rivers and seas, his tendons formed the mountain ranges and roads, his muscles became fields and land, his skin and hair turned into flowers, grass, and trees. His hair became the stars in the sky, his bones transformed into rocks and minerals, and his sweat became the nourishing dew.
- Tianhuang
Tianhuang is the first ruler of the world after heaven and earth were created. His surname is Wang, given name Huo, and style name Wensheng. He is also known by various titles such as Tianling, Fangwu, Tianwu, Tianzun, Yuanshi Tianwang, and Zhongtian Huangjun. He had twelve brothers. In the year of Sheti, he ruled the world with the virtue of wood, succeeding Pangu in governance.
It is said that the Tianhuang brothers numbered twelve, and they all looked alike, making it impossible to distinguish them. They had human heads, serpent-like bodies, and dragon horns on their heads. At that time, they faced a calamity of great heat and fire, and to alleviate the severe drought, Tianhuang led the initiative to create rain. The Tianhuang brothers moved as swiftly as the wind; the population was sparse, and the people's customs were simple. Tianhuang did not interfere excessively, practicing a governance of non-action. One individual invented numbers and later created the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, and he was proclaimed emperor. The remaining eleven brothers each led their followers to establish their own territories and became emperors, each ruling for eighteen thousand years.
After ruling for eighteen thousand years (where "ten thousand" at that time referred to what we now consider a thousand, and "thousand" referred to what we now see as a hundred; thus, it amounts to one thousand eight hundred years in today's terms), the Earth Emperor, a family with eleven members, emerged. The Tianhuang brothers realized that the world should be governed by the Earth Emperor, so they withdrew from power and disappeared.
- Di Huang
It is said that Di Huang is a descendant of Tianhuang, with eleven brothers in total. His surname is Yue, given name Jian, style name Ziyuan, and he is also known as Wenyue. These eleven brothers had feminine faces, tall foreheads, horse-like hooves, and serpent-like bodies. They ruled the world with the virtue of fire.
It is said that the greatest contribution of Di Huang was the establishment of the Three Luminaries. At that time, although the sun, moon, and stars existed, they had no names and were collectively referred to as "light." The sun was called "Great Light," the moon "Small Light," and the stars "Fine Light."
During the Di Huang period, the Three Luminaries were formally named as the sun, moon, and stars. Following this, the time illuminated by the sun was named "day," and the time illuminated by the moon was named "night." One day and night together constituted one "day," and thirty days made up one "month." Using the Twelve Earthly Branches, twelve months were calculated to equal one "year."
- Ren Huang
After Di Huang, Ren Huang emerged, also known as Tai Huang. He rode on a cloud chariot with six wings, descended from the valley, and, according to the natural geography of mountains and rivers, divided the land into Nine Provinces, with each occupying its own territory. He is also referred to as the "Residing in the Directions." Ren Huang ruled for one hundred fifty generations, totaling fifteen thousand six hundred years.
- Ti Ting
Ren Huang passed the throne to his son Ti Ting, who ruled the world with the virtue of metal. During his reign, the earliest chaotic period of the mythical age occurred. Among the clans residing in various regions, there was fierce competition for strength, with many seeking to swallow and harm one another. Among the nine clan tribes, there was a tribal leader who was exceptionally strong and skilled in weaponry, using force to govern the other clans. Thus, he was called Ti Ting. Ti Ting ruled the nation through military power and was adept at weapon manufacturing. He is generally regarded as a powerful clan leader who emerged in a time of chaos and brought an end to the disorder with his style of governance.
- Tong Xing
Tong Xing is the son of Ti Ting, also known as Huang Tan (or Li Guang). He had a sharp head and sun-like horns, riding on six phoenixes, descending from the Earth’s balance. He did not govern directly but held authority over heaven and earth... and ruled for two hundred fifty years. Ti Ting had thirty-five sons, and Tong Xing was associated with seventy-two surnames, thus earning the title of Tong Xing (Son of Ti Ting).
- You Chao
You Chao is the son of Tong Xing. In ancient times, people were nomadic and suffered greatly from the dangers posed by wild animals and snakes. Later, You Chao discovered that building houses in trees could shield them from wind and rain while also providing safety from beasts. The ancient people were overjoyed and began to follow his example, subsequently crowning him as their king, referring to him as "You Chao."
The people of the various tribes regarded him as virtuous and worthy of respect, believing he possessed the talents of a sage king. They unanimously elected him as their supreme leader, respectfully calling him "Chao Huang," the great chief of the tribal alliance.
During You Chao's reign, he focused on human life, caring for the people, seeking their welfare, and bringing them prosperity, earning great merit and respect. There are accounts that "Chao Huang" reigned for "two generations," while others claim it lasted for "over a hundred generations."
The "Records of the Lost Zhou" states: "In ancient times, there was You Chao, who appointed a treacherous minister, granting him power to govern. This minister usurped authority, and when the ruler was gone, he took over. The minister grew angry and caused turmoil, leading to the downfall of You Chao." This indicates that the rule of You Chao ended due to treacherous officials.
His wife, the Zi Yi clan, taught humanity to use animal skins for warmth and to cover their bodies with leaves. From then on, humans had clothing to wear.
- Sui Ren
In ancient times, the Sui Ren clan lived in harmony with the people of Sui Ming Kingdom. The Sui Ming Kingdom had a type of tree called "sui," which covered vast areas, with clouds and mist rising from it. Birds would peck at the "sui" wood, producing bright flames. The Sui Ren clan had an epiphany and began to break branches from the "sui" trees to drill wood for fire. They taught people to cook food, ending the era of ancient humans who subsisted on raw flesh and blood, earning them the title of "Fire Ancestor" in later generations.
The wife of Sui Ren, Yan Zi Shi, is considered the earliest female leader in ancient Chinese legend. She invented the technique of twisting ropes from tree bark. She created three types of ropes: a single-strand rope called "Xuan," a two-strand rope known as "Zi," and a three-strand rope called "Suo" (also known as "Su"). Later generations honored her as an empress, referring to her as Xuan Nu, Xuan Di, Wang Su, Su Nu, Xu Nu, and Di Yan Zi, among others. Eventually, the leader of the Sui Ren clan and the leader of the Yan Zi clan united to form a kinship alliance through marriage, initially called the Sui Ren Yan Zi He Xiong clan. Another theory suggests that Yan Zi Shi is the same as Hua Xu Shi, the wife of Sui Ren, and the mother of Fuxi and Nuwa.
- Hua Xu
Hua Xu Shi, the wife of Sui Ren, was the female leader of the ancient Hua Xu Kingdom. She was the mother of Fuxi and Nuwa and a direct ancestor of the Yan Emperor and the Yellow Emperor. She is revered as the "Ancestor of Humanity" and is considered the source and mother of Chinese civilization. Hua Xu's major contributions included: establishing marriage customs to help ancient humans gradually escape the chaos of promiscuity and group marriages; inventing fishing nets for hunting, which became the origin of pastoral culture; and creating written contracts with rope knots, leading to the development of simple writing.
One day, while wandering in the mountains, Hua Xu saw the footprints of a giant. As she stepped into them, she felt a stirring within her. Suddenly, a red light enveloped her, and she became pregnant. After several months, Hua Xu traveled to inspect the living and production conditions of her people. She crossed the Wei River and the Jing River, arriving at Huating (now Huachi County, Qingyang City, Gansu), and then reached Chengji. Due to exhaustion and being close to her delivery date, she could not return to Hua Xu Zhu and thus gave birth to her son, Fuxi, in Chengji. This explains why Hua Xu resided in Hua Xu Zhu but gave birth to Fuxi in Chengji. Later, Hua Xu became pregnant again and gave birth to Nuwa.
- Fuxi and Nuwa
According to legend, humanity originated from the marriage of the siblings Fuxi and Nuwa. Fuxi taught the people how to weave nets for fishing and hunting, domesticate animals, prepare and eat cooked food, create the Eight Trigrams, and invent the zither. It is also said that Nuwa created humans from yellow earth, used five-colored stones to mend the sky, broke the legs of the giant sea turtle to stabilize the four corners of the world, and gathered reed ashes to control floods.
Later, Fuxi merged with Taihao and was collectively known as the Taihao Fuxi clan.
Taihao taught the people to irrigate farmland, used stones instead of wood for a rain gauge, and invented the raincoat and the Twelve Earthly Branches. He reformed marriage customs, promoting the practice of men proposing to women, thus transitioning from bloodline marriages to exogamous unions.
- Shao Dian
It is said that Shao Dian is the son of Fuxi and Nuwa, also known as the Youxiong clan.
The king of Youxiong Kingdom, Shao Dian, married two daughters of the Qiao clan. The eldest concubine was named Nu Deng, and the second was named Fu Bao. One day, while Nu Deng was playing in Huating, a divine dragon appeared and accompanied her. As a result, Nu Deng became pregnant and gave birth to the Yan Emperor, named Yu Gang. It is said that he could speak three days after birth, walk five days after, and had a full set of teeth by seven days. By the age of five, he had learned much about agriculture. However, because he was very unattractive—having a cow's head and a human body—and was temperamental, Shao Dian did not favor him. He raised Nu Deng and her son by the banks of the Jiang River, which is why the Yan Emperor, when he grew up, took "Jiang" as his surname.
As for Shao Dian's second concubine, Fu Bao, one day she went out to play in the countryside when she was suddenly caught in a violent rainstorm, with lightning striking around her. After a long while, the storm passed, and she traveled northward. As a result, Fu Bao became pregnant and carried the child for twenty-five months, giving birth to the Yellow Emperor, named Yun. The Yellow Emperor was said to have a "dragon-like face" and could speak as soon as he was born. His gentle temperament won the favor of King Shao Dian, who had them live by the banks of the Yin River. Fu Bao, blessed with exceptional beauty, became known as the "Beautiful Concubine." She often washed clothes and gathered vegetables by the river, and as people saw her frequently, they began to refer to that section of the river as "Ji Water." When the Yellow Emperor grew up, he adopted "Ji" as his surname, becoming known as Ji Yun.
With the emergence of the Yan and Huang Emperors, the tales of Chinese mythology reach a pause. For more ancient mythological stories following the birth of the Yan and Huang Emperors, please refer to the next installment.