Ancient Chinese Emperors: The Yellow Emperor’s & Dynastic Lineages

The Duke of Tai Shi said: The records of the five emperors and the three dynasties are very old. Before the Yin Dynasty, the history of the vassal states was difficult to compile, and only from the Zhou Dynasty onwards could the historical events be recorded. Confucius compiled the Spring and Autumn Annals which was quite exhaustive, using the epochal years of Duke Lu and integrating the years and months of events. Instead, he compiled the Shangshu The chronology of the Shangshu was compiled in a sequential manner, but the years and months were briefly deleted; and although some of the chronologies had years and months, they had many omissions, which made it difficult to record them. Therefore, his attitude of passing down the doubts even though he had them was very prudent!

I have read spy records that record years from the Yellow Emperor on down. In terms of examining those yearly calendars of the Spy and the various situations in which the five virtues were transferred to one another, the ancient texts are not the same, and can even be quite different. Confucius did not talk about these years, how can there be no reason? Therefore, I have written the “Table of the Three Generations” according to the “Five Emperors” and the “Shangshu”, which recorded the lineage from the Yellow Emperor to the Republican era.

Zhang Fu Zi once asked Mr. Chu, “The Classic of Poetry recorded that Qi and Houji were born without a father. Now an examination of the biographies shows that they had fathers, and that their fathers were both descendants of the Yellow Emperor. Is not this statement contrary to what is contained in the Book of Poetry?”

Mr. Chu replied, “It is not so. The Book of Songs records that Chee was born in an egg and Houji was born as a result of human traces, both of which were meant to show the sincerity of their heavenly destiny. Ghosts and gods cannot be generated on their own, but must be produced through human beings, so how can it be said that Chee and Houji were born without a father? One way of saying this is that they had a father, and another way of saying this is to think that they did not have a father. Those who believe spread their beliefs, and those who doubt spread their doubts, and that is why there are two kinds of stories. Yao believed that both Qi and Houji were wise men, born of heaven, so he gave Qi a fief of seventy miles, which was then passed on for more than ten generations before it was passed on to Tang, who eventually reigned over the world. Yao also knew that Houji’s descendants would become emperors in the future, so he gave Houji an additional one hundred li of fiefdom, and his descendants passed through nearly a thousand years before they came to own the world during the reign of King Wen of the Zhou Dynasty. It is said in the Poetry Biography that ‘Tang’s ancestor was Qi, who was born without a father. When Qi’s mother and her sisters came to bathe in the water of Xuanqiu, an egg carried in the mouth of a swallow fell down, and Qi’s mother got the egg, which she was supposed to hold in her mouth but accidentally swallowed, and later gave birth to Qi. The egg fell from the mouth of a swallow, and his mother swallowed it, giving birth to Qi, who was so virtuous that Yao appointed him to be the chief of the Situ family, giving him the surname Zi. Zi is actually “兹”, which means “gradually strong”. The poet praised and glorified him, saying, “The land of Yin is vast and boundless! Heaven sent down the bird of paradise, and that is how the Shang came into being. Shang means “quality”, and “quality” became the name of Yin. The ancestor of King Wen of Zhou was Houji, who was born without a father. The mother of Houji was Jiangluoxiang, who saw a giant’s footsteps when she was going out, and when she stepped on them, she felt pregnant, and gave birth to Houji. Because her son had no father, she despised him and left him on the road, where the cows and sheep avoided him instead of trampling on him. When she threw him into the mountains, the mountain people fed him. And when she threw him into the middle of a great marsh, the birds covered him, sheltered and fed him. Jiangluo felt puzzled by this, and believing him to be the son of heaven, she brought him back to raise him. Yao knew that he was a talented man, so he appointed him as a great farmer and gave him the surname Ji. The name Ji was given to him as the Ji clan. The poet praised and extolled him, saying, “Ever since there has been a living people,” he has been cultivating himself diligently and his accomplishments have been growing day by day, and this is the beginning of Houji’s claim to be a great man.’ Confucius said, ‘In the past, Yao gave the name of Qi Zi for the emergence of Tang. The giving of the surname of Houji to the Ji clan was for the appearance of King Wen. The great king appointed Ji Li as his successor, and this showed the auspiciousness that had come down from heaven. Tai Bo came to the land of Wu, thus giving rise to the source of the Zhou dynasty that has been passed down from generation to generation.’ The signs of destiny from Heaven are very difficult to tell, and no one can know them except the sages. Shun, Yu, Qi and Houji were all descendants of the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor ruled the world by bearing the will of Heaven, and his virtues had a profound influence on later generations. That is why his descendants were all reappointed as sons of heaven, which was Heaven’s reward for those who were virtuous. People did not know this, thinking that emperors and kings all emerged from the common people. How could ordinary people rise up and reign over the world for no reason? This is all due to heaven’s destiny.”

“How did the descendants of the Yellow Emperor rule the world for so long?”

Mr. Chu said, “It is written in the Scriptures that the monarchs of the world are the heads of all the people, the people who pray to Heaven to continue the lives of the people, and they are the emperors, who are blessed to be able to pass on to all generations. The Yellow Emperor was such a person. The one who has a clear government, cultivates righteousness, and follows the time of heaven to raise an army and win a victory can be called a king, and is blessed to be able to pass on for thousands of generations. The king of Shu, a descendant of the Yellow Emperor, is now 5,000 miles away from the southwestern part of the Han Dynasty, but he often comes to pay homage to the Son of Heaven of the Han Dynasty, offering tribute to the Han Dynasty. How could this not be due to the virtues of his ancestors, which can be passed on to the next generation? How can one neglect practicing virtue! Monarchs and kings should examine themselves in this way. Huo Zimeng, a great general of the Han Dynasty, whose name was Guang, was also a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. Such things should only be talked about with those who are knowledgeable and far-sighted, and should not have been said to those who are shallow. Why should it be said so? In ancient times, the vassals always used the state as their family name. Huo, is the name of a state. King Wu of Zhou had once fenced his brother Shushi in the land of Huo. Later, when Duke Xian of Jin destroyed Duke Huo, the descendants of Duke Huo became commoners and lived to and fro around Pingyang. Pingyang was in the region of Hedong, which was the territory of the state of Jin before it was divided into the state of Wei. According to the Book of Songs, it can also be described as a descendant of Zhou. Zhou emerged from Houji, who was born without a father. According to the three generations, Houji should have had a father named Gao Xin, the great-grandson of the Yellow Emperor. According to the Biography of the End of the Yellow Emperor, ‘The Han Dynasty had already been in existence for more than a hundred years, when a man, neither tall nor short, came from the land of the White Swallows, and took charge of the affairs of the world. There was also a young emperor at that time, and this man could make the young lord’s carriage walk backwards.’ General Huo, the one who originally resided in the countryside of Baiyan in Pingyang. When I was a Lang Officer, I once met with the Fangshi under the Flag Pavilion when they were examining their merits, and the Fangshi talked to me about General Huo. Is he not still great?”