The Yan Emperor (Chinese: 炎帝; pinyin: Yán Dì) or the Flame Emperor was a legendary ancient Chinese emperor in pre-dynastic times. Modern scholarship has identified the Sheep's Head Mountains (Yángtóu Shān) Weibin District, Baoji as his homeland and territory.[1]
| Yan Emperor of Ancient China | |
|---|---|
| 炎帝 | |
| Details | |
| First monarch | Shennong |
| Last monarch | Yuwang |
| Formation | Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors |
| Abolition | Battle of Banquan |
| Yan Emperor | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The first Yan Emperor Shennong tastes herbs to discover their qualities. 1913 depiction | |||||||||||||
| Chinese | 炎帝 | ||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Flame Emperor | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
A long debate has existed over whether or not the Yan Emperor was the same person as the legendary Shennong. An academic conference held in China in 2004 achieved general consensus that the Yan Emperor and Shennong were the same person.[2] Another possibility is that the term "Yan Emperor" or "Flame Emperor" was a title, held by dynastic succession of tribal lords, with Shennong being known as Yandi perhaps posthumously. Accordingly, the term "Yan Emperors" or "Flame Emperors" would be generally more correct. The succession of these Yan or Flame emperors, from Shennong, the first Yan Emperor, until the time of the last Yan Emperor's defeat by the Yellow Emperor, may have been some 500 years.[3]
Historical records
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No written records are known to exist from the era of Yan Emperor's reign. However, he and Shennong are mentioned in many of the classic works of ancient China. Yan literally means "flame", implying that Yan Emperor's people possibly uphold a symbol of fire as their tribal totems. K. C. Wu speculates that this appellation may be connected with the use of fire to clear the fields in slash and burn agriculture.[4] In any case, it appears that agricultural innovations by Shennong and his descendants contributed to some sort of socioeconomic success that led them to style themselves as di (帝; 'emperors'), rather than hou (侯; 'lord'), as in the case of lesser tribal leaders. At this time it appears that there were only the bare beginnings of written language, and that for record keeping a system of knotting strings (perhaps similar to quipu) was in use.[5] The Zuo Zhuan states that in 525 BC, the descendants of Yan were recognized as long having been masters of fire and having used fire in their names.[6] Yan Emperor was known as "Emperor of the South"[7]
Downfall
editThe last Yan Emperor, Yuwang, met the end of his reign in the third of a series of three battles, known as the Battle of Banquan. The exact location of this battle is disputed among modern historians, due to multiple locations adopting the same name at various points through history. Possible candidates include Zhuolu County and Huailai County in Zhangjiakou, Hebei, Yanqing District in Beijing, Fugou County in Zhoukou, Henan, and Yanhu District in Yuncheng, Shanxi.
The Yan Emperor, retreating from a recent invasion from the forces of Chiyou, came into territorial conflict with its neighbouring Youxiong tribes, led by the Yellow Emperor. The Yan Emperor was defeated after three successive battles and surrendered to the Yellow Emperor, who assumed the title of overlord (共主) and agreed to merge the two tribes into a new confederation — the Yanhuang tribe. Under the Yellow Emperor's leadership, the newly combined tribes then went to war and defeated Chiyou in the Battle of Zhuolu, and established their cultural and political dominance in Central Plains China.
Historicity
editSince the Battle of Banquan is treated as a historical fact by Sima Qian in his Records of the Grand Historian, it would appear that this is a pivotal transition point between mythology and history. Ironically, the Yan Emperor enters history only with his submission to the will of the Yellow Emperor. In any case, the title of flame emperor apparently lapsed after this time. His tribe's descendants were said to be perpetuated through intermarriage with that of the Yellow Emperor, and Han Chinese throughout history have referred themselves as the "Descendants of Yan and Huang".
In traditional culture
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Both Huangdi and Yandi are considered in some sense ancestral to Chinese culture and people. Also, the tradition of associating a certain color with a particular dynasty may have begun with the Flame Emperors. According to the Five Elements, or Wu Xing model, red, fire, should be succeeded by yellow, earth—or Yandi by Huangdi.[8]
According to the records of ancient history books by the Vietnamese such as Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư, the earliest monarch of Vietnam, Hồng Bàng, was allegedly a descendant of Emperor Yan. Because of this, all the ancient Vietnamese dynasties claim Emperor Yan as their common ancestor.
List of Flame Emperors
editThis is the most common list given by Huangfu Mi, Xu Zheng, and Sima Zhen:
| Name | Notes |
|---|---|
| Shennong 神農 | Born Jiang Shinian 姜石年 |
| Linkui 臨魁 | |
| Cheng 承 | |
| Ming 明 | Considered father of Loc Tuc in Vietnamese mythography |
| Zhi 直 | |
| Li 釐 or Ke 克 | Sima Zhen puts Ke between Ai and Yuwang |
| Ai 哀 | Considered father of Au Co in Vietnamese mythography |
| Yuwang 榆罔 | Defeated by Yellow Emperor at Banquan |
List provided at the end of the Shan Hai Jing:
| Name | Notes |
|---|---|
| Yandi 炎帝 | |
| Yanju 炎居 | Also possibly known as Zhu 柱 |
| Jiebing 節並 | |
| Xiqi 戲器 | |
| Zhurong 祝融 | |
| Gonggong 共工 | |
| Shuqi 術器 | |
| Houtu 后土 | Brother of Shuqi |
| Yeming 噎鳴 | Son of Houtu |
| Suishiyouer 歳十有二 |
See also
editReferences
editCitations
edit- ^ He Wandan 贺晚旦 and Yang Hongbao 杨红保, in Wang & Meng (2005, pp. 3–4).
- ^ Yang Dongchen 杨东晨, in Wang & Meng (2005, p. 15).
- ^ Wu (1982, p. 56)
- ^ Wu 1982, p. 56.
- ^ Wu 1982, p. 56, note 26, referencing Xu Shen.
- ^ Chinese: 《左轉·左丘明》: "昭公十七年：炎帝氏以火紀，故為火師而火名。"
- ^ Various (1991). Chinese America: History and Perspectives 1991. Chinese Historical Society. p. 64. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
- ^ Wu 1982, pp. 56–57.
Sources
edit- Wang Shuxin (王树新); Meng Shikai (孟世凯), eds. (2005). Yan Di Wen Hua 炎帝文化. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju (中华书局). ISBN 7-101-04854-4.
- Wu, K. C. (1982). The Chinese Heritage. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-517-54475-X.