The Three Emperors and the Five Emperors （三皇五帝） are all legendary tribal leaders in ancient China, and the most familiar of them is Huang Di (the Yellow Emperor, 黄帝). The Huang Di was devoted to solving problems for the people. It is said that he invented things such as boats, hats and tripods for mankind.
There is a beautiful legend about the birth of Huang Di.
Huang Di’s mother was Fubao, the wife of the ruler of Youxiong.
Fubao had been unable to conceive for many years and was very anxious.
One night, she couldn’t sleep and decided to go for a walk.
She gazed at the stars and prayed to the heavens.
Suddenly, she saw a bright light surrounding Tianshu, the first star of the Big Dipper.
Fubao felt dizzy and sensed something moving in her abdomen.
In this way, she became pregnant.
After two years of pregnancy, Fubao gave birth to a boy, who was Huang Di.
Huang Di could speak as soon as he was born and was omnipotent when he was fifteen.
People called him the son of heaven.
Huang Di had four faces, could see in all directions, and hear from afar.
Yan Di, Shen Nong, expanded his influence and competed with Huang Di for leadership.
The two sides fought a war in the field of Banquan, and Yan Di retreated south.
After Huang Di became the supreme ruler, he worked to solve the problems of the people.
Huang Di invented many daily necessities, such as hats and cauldrons.
Seeing an ant on a floating leaf inspired Huang Di to invent boats.
People tried using tree trunks but couldn’t maintain balance.
Later, they hollowed out the trunk and could sit stably.
Huang Di then instructed people to make oars from wood to control the boat’s direction.
This was the earliest boat in China, called “zhou”.
Huang Di also invented the chariot, earning him the name “Xuan Yuan”.
When people needed to migrate, heavy luggage caused great inconvenience.
While seeking refuge on the Loess Plateau, Huang Di noticed his straw hat rolling upright in the wind.
Inspired by this, he used willow branches to make circular frames, forming the prototype of a chariot.
Feng Hou improved it with stone disks and wooden sticks, making a more sturdy vehicle.
Cang Jie named this invention “chariot”.
In his later years, Huang Di invented the cauldron, and a golden Long descended from the sky during its casting.
The Long said that the Heavenly Emperor sent it to take Huang Di to heaven.
Huang Di mounted the Long and bid farewell to his ministers before ascending.
Later generations named the place where Huang Di ascended “Dinghu”.
As the golden Long carried Huang Di to heaven at Dinghu, people often use “Long leaves Dinghu” to describe the death of an emperor.
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