According to Chinese mythology and traditional Chinese historiography, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors (Chinese: 三皇五帝; pinyin: Sān huáng wǔ dì) were a series of sage Chinese emperors, and the first Emperors of China. Today, they are considered culture heroes, but they were widely worshipped as divine "ancestral spirits" in ancient times. According to received history, the period they existed in preceded the Xia dynasty, although they were thought to exist in later periods to an extent in incorporeal forms that aided the Chinese people, especially with the stories of Nüwa existing as a spirit in the Shang dynasty and Shennong being identified as the godly form of Hou Ji and a founder of the Zhou dynasty.
In myth, the Three Sovereigns were demigods who used their abilities to help create mankind and impart to them essential skills and knowledge. The Five Emperors were exemplary sages who possessed great moral character, and were from a golden age when "communications between the human order and the divine were central to all life" and where the sages embodied the divine, or aided humans in communicating divine forces.
In this period the abdication system was used before Qi of Xia violently seized power and established a hereditary monarchy.
History
Taoist beliefs consist of parables involving shamanistic themes, which is origin of most ancient stories about the Sovereigns Fuxi, Nüwa, and Shennong. The idea of the existence of five emperors appeared in the 5th century BC. Scholars believe the tradition of susception appeared in the early Warring States period to support the political agenda of the ministers, that frequently overthrew their state rulers.
Variations
There are six to seven known variations on which people constitute the Three Sovereigns and the Five Emperors, depending on the source. Many of the known sources were written in much later dynasties.
Groupings of the Three Sovereigns consist of some combination of the following: Fuxi, Nüwa, Shennong, Suiren, Zhu Rong, Gonggong, the Heavenly Sovereign, the Earthly Sovereign, the Human Sovereign (in two varieties), and the Yellow Emperor.
Groupings of the Five Emperors consist of some combination of the following: the Yellow Emperor, Zhuanxu, Emperor Ku, Emperor Yao, Emperor Shun, Shaohao, Taihao, and the Yan Emperor.
Three Sovereigns
The Three Sovereigns, sometimes known as the Three August Ones, were said to be god-kings or demigods who used their magical powers, divine powers, or being in harmony with the Tao to improve the lives of their people. Because of their lofty virtue, they lived to a great age and ruled over a period of great peace.
The Sovereigns have elements in common with xian from the Taoist pantheon, such as the Human Sovereign's cloud-chariot and their supernatural abilities. Upon his death, the Yellow Emperor was "said to have become" a xian.
The Yellow Emperor is supposedly the ancestor of the Huaxia people. The Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor was established in Shaanxi to commemorate the ancestry legend.
The Three Sovereigns are ascribed various identities in different historical texts, as shown in the table below:
Five Emperors
The Five Emperors were traditionally thought to have invented "fire, writing and irrigation". Like the Three Sovereigns, they are ascribed different identities depending on historical source, as shown in the table below:
Creation myth
There is the legend of the Four clans (四氏) who took part in creating the world, Youchao clan (有巢氏), Suiren clan (燧人氏), Fu Xi clan (伏羲氏), and Shennong clan (神農氏).
Legacy
These Sovereigns and Emperors are said to have helped introduce the use of fire, taught people how to build houses, and invented farming. The Yellow Emperor's wife is credited with the invention of silk culture. The discovery of medicine and invention of the calendar and Chinese script are also credited to the kings. After their era, Yu the Great founded the Xia dynasty, traditionally considered the first dynasty in Chinese historiography.