Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors

Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
Chinese	三皇五帝
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Sān huáng wǔ dì
Bopomofo	ㄙㄢㄏㄨㄤˊ ㄨˇ ㄉㄧˋ
Wade–Giles	San1 Huang2 Wu3 Ti4
Tongyong Pinyin	San huáng wǔ dì

Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
三皇五帝
Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors 三皇五帝
Government	Monarchy
Emperor
• c. 2852 – c. 2737 BC or c. 2952 – c. 2836 BC	Fuxi
• c. 2495 – c. 2437 BC	Zhuanxu
• c. 2436 – c. 2366 BC	Ku
• c. 2356 – c. 2255 BC	Yao
• c. 2355 – c. 2241 BC	Shun
	Succeeded by
Xia dynasty

According to Chinese mythology and traditional Chinese historiography, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors (Chinese: 三皇五帝; pinyin: Sān huáng wǔ dì) were a series of sage rulers, and the first Emperors of China.^[1] Today, they are considered culture heroes,^[2] but they were widely worshipped as divine "ancestral spirits" in ancient times. According to received history, the period they existed in preceded the Xia dynasty,^[3] although they were thought to exist in later periods to an extent^[4] in incorporeal forms that aided the Chinese people, especially with the stories of Nüwa existing as a spirit in the Shang dynasty^[5] and Shennong being identified as the godly form of Hou Ji and a founder of the Zhou dynasty.^[6]

In myth, the Three Sovereigns were demigods who used their abilities to help create mankind and impart to them essential skills and knowledge. The Five Emperors were exemplary sages who possessed great moral character, and were from a golden age when "communications between the human order and the divine were central to all life" and where the sages embodied the divine, or aided humans in communicating divine forces.^[7]

In this period the abdication system was used before Qi of Xia violently seized power and established a hereditary monarchy.^[8]

^ "三皇五帝 – 国学网" [Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors – Chinese Studies Network] (in Chinese (China)). 2012-08-16. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
^ Hucker, Charles (1995). China's Imperial Past: An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture. Stanford University Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-8047-2353-4.
^ Morton, W. Scott; Lewis, Charlton M. (2005). China: its history and culture (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-07-141279-7.
^ Scarpari, Maurizio (2006). Ancient China: Chinese Civilization from the Origins to the Tang Dynasty. Translated by Milan, A.B.A. New York: Barnes & Noble. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-7607-8379-5.
^ Ni, Xueting C. (2023). Chinese Myths: From Cosmology and Folklore to Gods and Immortals. London: Amber Books. pp. 76–77. ISBN 978-1-83886-263-3.
^ Asim, Ina (2007). "Keynotes 2". University of Oregon. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
^ Willard Gurdon Oxtoby, ed. (2002). World Religions: Eastern Traditions (2nd ed.). Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press. pp. 324, 326. ISBN 0-19-541521-3. OCLC 46661540.
^ Feng, Shi (2009) "A Study of the Pottery Inscription 'Wen Yi 文邑'". Chinese Archaeology, Vol. 9 (Issue 1), pp. 170-177. full text

[三皇五帝_–_国学网-1] "三皇五帝 – 国学网" [Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors – Chinese Studies Network] (in Chinese (China)). 2012-08-16. Retrieved 2023-09-18.

[clight2-2] Hucker, Charles (1995). China's Imperial Past: An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture. Stanford University Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-8047-2353-4.

[Mor-3] Morton, W. Scott; Lewis, Charlton M. (2005). China: its history and culture (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-07-141279-7.

[:423-4] Scarpari, Maurizio (2006). Ancient China: Chinese Civilization from the Origins to the Tang Dynasty. Translated by Milan, A.B.A. New York: Barnes & Noble. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-7607-8379-5.

[5] Ni, Xueting C. (2023). Chinese Myths: From Cosmology and Folklore to Gods and Immortals. London: Amber Books. pp. 76–77. ISBN 978-1-83886-263-3.

[6] Asim, Ina (2007). "Keynotes 2". University of Oregon. Retrieved 2023-07-18.

[:10027-7] Willard Gurdon Oxtoby, ed. (2002). World Religions: Eastern Traditions (2nd ed.). Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press. pp. 324, 326. ISBN 0-19-541521-3. OCLC 46661540.

[Feng2009-8] Feng, Shi (2009) "A Study of the Pottery Inscription 'Wen Yi 文邑'". Chinese Archaeology, Vol. 9 (Issue 1), pp. 170-177. full text

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