1. Pangu

Before Confucian civilization, ancient China had the moving story of Pangu opening the heavens and the earth. Long, long ago, God sent Pangu to the mortal realm. At that time, the cosmos was chaotic, heaven and earth were undivided. Pangu pulled out a giant tooth and turned it into a massive hammer. Every day, Pangu swung the hammer, and after 18,000 years of labor, he split the chaos: the upper part gradually rose to form the sky, the lower part slowly descended to form the earth.

After accomplishing the great task of creating the world, Pangu collapsed from exhaustion. His spirit returned to God. His bones became mountains and cliffs, his breath turned into wind and clouds, his voice became the rumbling of thunder, his muscles formed the land, his blood turned into rivers, his hair became grasslands and forests, his teeth turned into metal and stone, and his sweat became rain and dew.

2. Nuwa

Goddess Nuwa was originally the leader of an ancient clan and is considered the progenitor of humankind in Chinese mythology. Nuwa is said to have the body of a dragon. She molded humans from clay, defeated the black dragon and severed a giant turtle, established the four corners of the world, and stopped excessive rainfall and flooding by accumulating reeds. She repaired the sky with five-colored stones, reestablished the pillars of the heavens, leveled the earth, and generated all living things, creating up to seventy new things every day.

Nuwa married her brother Fuxi, though later marriage among people of the same surname was prohibited. During the Han dynasty, Nuwa and Fuxi were depicted holding a compass and square, symbolizing the rules of marriage.

Nuwa first created humans from yellow earth, establishing human society. She instituted marriage so that young men and women could pair and propagate humanity, earning her the title of the goddess of marriage. Observing that human life was monotonous, she created musical instruments such as the sheng and se, bringing entertainment to people and becoming the goddess of music. Seeing humans toil endlessly, Nuwa transformed sweet dew into wine to relieve fatigue, earning her the honor of the goddess of ritual and etiquette.

Nuwa is regarded as the mother of the Chinese nation and the common cultural ancestor. Pre-Qin texts such as Chu Ci, Shan Hai Jing, Li Ji, Han Shu, Huai Nan Zi, Di Wang Shi Ji, and Shi Ji all record her deeds. Her tomb is in Linfen, Shanxi Province; ancestral temples are in Jixian, Shanxi, on the summit of Mount Li (Fuxi-Nuwa Shrine), Macau, and seven temples in Taiwan including the Butian Palace in Yilan County. Abroad, she is venerated in Bangkok, Thailand, and in three temples in Malaysia. The first month of the lunar calendar is celebrated as “Sky-Repair Festival.”

3. Fuxi (circa 7000 BCE)

After Pangu’s creation of the world, humanity grew for many millennia. Around 7,000 years ago in the lands of the Huaxia people, the wise Fuxi emerged. He taught people to domesticate animals and make fishing nets. He personally sampled hundreds of herbs and invented medicine. He instructed people on lawful marriages to prevent incest and chaotic unions. He invented the se instrument, created songs and ballads, and initiated early writing. Fuxi also created the Eight Trigrams (Bagua), representing the changes of heaven and earth with eight profound symbolic signs summarizing all things.

Fuxi’s virtuous leadership unified the tribes, organizing society in an orderly fashion. He invented the dragon totem by combining the body of a python, head of a crocodile, antlers of a deer, eyes of a tiger, scales of a red carp, legs of a giant lizard, claws of an eagle, tail of a white shark, and whiskers of a long-beaked whale. From then on, the Huaxia people called themselves “Descendants of the Dragon,” proud of the dragon symbolizing harmony with animals.

Centuries later, to honor Fuxi as the cultural ancestor, his mausoleum “Taihao Tomb” in Huaiyang, Henan, built during the Spring and Autumn period, is called “the world’s first tomb.” Zhu Rongji visited and inscribed it as “Former Capital of Emperor Xi.” Festivals are held annually on the second day of the second lunar month and the third day of the third lunar month. In 2008, eighty thousand people attended the festival.

In Xiangyang, Hubei, a massive Fuxi cliff carving stands 70 meters tall and 230 meters long. In Tianshui, Gansu, Fuxi Temple features a 99-meter statue of Fuxi, with an annual Fuxi cultural festival attended by Jiang Zemin, who inscribed “Hometown of Emperor Xi.”

4. Yan Emperor (circa 6000 BCE)

Approximately 1,000 years after Fuxi, the wise Yan Emperor (Shennong) appeared around 6,000 years ago. He is the God of Fire. Shennong taught slash-and-burn agriculture, invented farming tools such as plows, and taught people to cultivate grains. He introduced fire for cooking in clay pots, and taught people to process hemp into cloth, replacing the primitive clothing of leaves and animal skins.

Shennong established a calendar to plant crops seasonally. He carved wood to create bows and arrows for hunting, and established markets at noon, allowing people to trade goods fairly. He governed the tribe with virtue and justice: no rewards were necessary for diligence, no punishments for moral conduct, and laws guided the people without complexity.

Shennong invented the five-stringed zither to stabilize the mind, entertain people, suppress excess desire, and establish social harmony. He personally tasted hundreds of herbs to treat illnesses, dying eventually from ingesting a poisonous plant. His achievements are honored to this day; his tomb is in Baoji, Shaanxi, considered the earliest Yan Emperor mausoleum. His tribe ruled for about a thousand years, ushering in a great agricultural era.

5. Yellow Emperor (circa 5000 BCE)

Five thousand years ago, the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) appeared, unifying the Huaxia tribes. He is the ancestor of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. Along with the Yan Emperor, he became the common ancestor of the Huaxia people, and descendants are called “Yan-Huang descendants.” His name comes from the yellow soil, symbolic of fertility. Observing his yellow skin, he took the title “Yellow Emperor.” Because he invented the carriage and the south-pointing chariot, he was also called “Xuanyuan Huangdi.”

Huangdi ruled under the Mandate of Heaven, practicing virtue and righteousness. He deployed troops, cared for the people, divided the country into nine regions, and offered sacrifices to mountains, rivers, and spirits. He promoted moderation among officials, prohibiting excess in voice, appearance, clothing, incense, taste, and dwelling. Under his rule, the country was stable and prosperous.

Huangdi furthered agriculture: clearing weeds, selecting seeds, digging wells, promoting fruit and vegetable cultivation, planting mulberries, raising silkworms, inventing weaving tools, and producing clothing. He created writing, calculated the calendar, standardized weights and measures, developed musical instruments, refined metallurgy, and compiled medical knowledge in the Huangdi Neijing, a treasure of traditional Chinese medicine.

Huangdi lived to 110. A golden dragon descended, its four flashes of light signaling his ascension to meet God. Daoism regards him as an ancient immortal, “Son of Heaven,” who ultimately achieved transcendence.

His descendants ruled for many generations until the Xia Dynasty under Emperor Yao. In Huangling County, Shaanxi, a cypress planted by Huangdi over 5,000 years ago still stands, more than 20 meters tall and 11 meters in diameter. Every year on the third day of the third lunar month, the “Dragon Raising Head” festival celebrates his birth.