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The 'Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors' () were mythological rulers of China during the period from c. 2852 BCE to 2205 BCE, which is the time preceding the Xia Dynasty.
(Actually, the translation of 帝 ''dì''/''dei⁵'' is a problematic one in that it is most often translated using its modern sense, which did not arise until after the advent of an imperial state under 秦始皇 ''Qínshĭhuáng''/''Cen⁴héi²wong⁴''. Its original meaning, and the most likely translation thereof, is that of ''supreme being'', a kind of ''Übermann'', rather than 'emperor'. The character 帝 originally represented a shaman wearing a liturgical mantel.)

Contents

The Three Sovereigns

The Five Emperors

See also

The 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 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 Three Sovereigns are ascribed various identities in different Chinese historical texts. The ''Records of the Grand Historian'' by Sima Qian states that they were:

★ The Heavenly Sovereign (天皇);

★ The Earthly Sovereign (地皇);

★ The Human Sovereign (泰皇 or 人皇),
The ''Yundou shu'' (運斗樞) and ''Yuanming bao'' (元命苞) identify them as:

★ Fuxi (伏羲)

★ Nüwa (女媧)

★ Shennong (神農)
Both Fuxi, and also Nüwa, are the god and goddess husband and wife credited with being the ancestors of humankind after a devastating flood. The invention of the Primal Arrangement of the Eight Trigrams (Xian Tian Ba Gua, 先天八卦) is attributed to Fuxi. Shennong invented farming and is the first to use herbs for medical purposes.
The I Ching, starts like this: “In the old times of King Fuxi’s regime, he observed sky and the stars when he looks upwards, and researched the earth when he looks downwards, and watched the birds and beasts to see how they live in their environment. He took examples from nearby and far away, and then made 8 Yin Yang signs to simulate the rules of universe...After Fuxi died, Shennong rises. He made Plow and teach people how to raise crops and fishing. He invented money and market for the exchange of goods."
The ''Shangshu dazhuan'' (尚書大傳) and ''Baihu tongyi'' (白虎通義) replace Nüwa with Suiren (燧人), the inventor of fire. The ''Diwang shiji'' (帝王世紀) replaces Nüwa with the Yellow Emperor (黄帝), the supposed ancestor of all Han Chinese people.

The Five Emperors

The Five Emperors were legendary, morally perfect sage-kings. According to the ''Records of the Grand Historian'' they were:

★ The Yellow Emperor (黄帝)

★ Zhuanxu (顓頊)

★ Emperor Ku (帝嚳)

★ Emperor Yao (堯)

★ Emperor Shun (舜)
Yao and Shun are also known as the ''Two Emperors'', and, along with Yu the Great (禹), founder of the Xia dynasty, were considered to be model rulers and moral exemplars by Confucians in later Chinese history. The ''Shangshu Xu'' (尚書序) and ''Diwang shiji'' include Shaohao (少昊) instead of the Yellow Emperor.
The ''Song of Chu'' (楚辭) identifies the Five Emperors as directional gods:

★ Shaohao (east)

★ Zhuanxu (north)

★ Yellow Emperor (center)

★ Shennong (west)

★ Fuxi (south)
The ''Book of Rites'' (禮記) equates the Five Emperors with the Five Lineages (五氏), which comprise:

★ Youchao-shi (有巢氏)

★ Suiren-shi (燧人氏)

★ Fuxi (伏羲氏)

★ Nüwa (女媧氏)

★ Shennong (神農氏)
In one sense of the word, the first historical Emperor of China was Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇), who coined a new term for "Emperor" (''huangdi'' 皇帝) by combining the titles of "sovereign" (''huang'' 皇) and "god-king" (''di'' 帝).

See also

★ List of Neolithic cultures of China

★ Emperor of China