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A Brief History of China
Author: taichi online
Archaeological discovers show that the Chinese civilisation began in the valleys of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers which fits with the legends of China, where its history begins. Unlike other cultures it owes its existance not to gods but to three very wise men. These men are said to have brought chances through invention, that transformed the Chinese from a primative soceity to a highly civilised culture.
The first to these "Cultural Heros" was Fu Xi the Ox Tamer who is said to have domesticated animals and invented hunting, trapping, fishing the concept of family.
After Fu Xi the Ox Tamer followed the second Cultural Hero, Shen Nong the Divine Farmer, who invented agriculture and mercantilism.
Finally came the last Cultural Hero, Huang Di the Yellow Emperor (around 2700 B.C.), who invent government and Taoist philosophy along with writing, boats, carts, ceramics, silks and the bow and arrow.
The Yellow Emperor
Huang Di was the first of five pre-dynistic rulers. He fought great battles against invading tribes a secured the plains of the Yellow River for his people. He was given the title of "Yellow Emperor" because he was said to have possessed the virtues of the earth whose soil is yellow in colour.
The Huaxia nationality, which originated in the valley of the Yellow River, were the ancestors of China's current largest ethnic group, the Hans. Thus the Yellow River was regarded as the mother of the Han nationality and the Yellow Emperor its father since he is the ancestor of the Huaxia people.
He lived in a time of constant warfare and battled many enermies. He victories were numerous and included the defeat of tribes such as the Jiuli and thus won the respect of all the tribes and became their acknowledged leader. He strove to strengthen this armies, unify the tribes and improve virtues of his people.
Huang Di's most notable victory was the defeat of Yandi who according to legend was a tribal alliance. Yandi's mother, Rensi, is said to have fell pregnant after seeing a devine dragon during a visit to the Hua Mountain, and later gave birth to Yandi. Legend also recounts that Yandi was the god of agriculture, with the body of a man and the head of a bull. At the age of 3 days, he could speak, walk after 5 days and ploughed a field at the age of 3 years.
Later, Huang Di would marry Luozu, daughter of Xi-Ling, who gave birth to 25 sons. When he died, it is said he was buried in Huangling County, Shaanxi, which at the time was called Qiao Shan.
The End of the Pre-Dynistic Rulers
The forth pre-dynistic ruler was Yao, who is credited with devising the Chinese calendar and rituals. Rather than hand over his power to his own son, who he considered unworthy, he named Shun as his successor, and thus Shun became the 5th and final pre-dynistic ruler.
Shun was a poor peasent farmer whose filial piety had been demonstrated by his devoted service to his father, who was blind, and his evil stepmother.
Despite his virtues, Shun was unable to prevent flooding, so he appointed Yu to tackle the problem. For over 10 years, Yu travelled the lands, digging channels that became the rivers of north China. So dedicated to this task was he, that he pasted his own home serveral times without stopping to greet his wife and children ...
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