China's Emperors - The Early Years - By: Allan Michael Taylor

The Three Sage Kings of ancient China were Suiren, Fuxi and Shennong. They made personal sacrifices to improve the lives of the people. Today they are remembered for the many unique contributions to the Chinese people and mankind in general.

Suiren was the first and he supposedly lived about 18,000 years ago. His greatest contribution was the art of making fire by drilling wood. With this skill mankind could create fire on demand enabling mankind to eat cooked food. It also enabled mankind to keep warm and ward of wild animals.

Fuxi was best remembered for creating the Bagua (or Eight Trigram). It became the foundation of the all important Chinese Classic I Ching or the Book of Changes. He also taught people to domesticate animals and made traps to catch fishes, birds and other wild animals. He was also credited with laying down marriage laws and the invention of an ancient 35 strings musical instrument.

Shennong greatest contribution was teaching people to farm and for inventing many farming aids. He taught the people to grow rice, wheat, beans etc and invented barter trading. He also invested a 5 strings musical instrument.

Most people remember Shennong for his relentless effort to find remedies for illness by tasting hundreds of wild berries. Eventually one of these berries took his life.

The Five Legendary Rulers, Huangdi, Zhuanxu, Diku, Yao and Shun then succeeded the Three Sage Kings.

Huangdi had strong management skills. He knows how to select the right people and motivate them to rule the country and to come out with innovations that benefit the people. Many great achievements were attributed to him.

With the help of his many talented subjects, Huangdi developed a written language for the Chinese people. He also commissioned the compilation of the Yellow Emperor' Medicine Classic?which became the foundation of Chinese Medicine today. Finally we also developed a Farmer's Calendar.

Huangdi was a peaceful man who did not like war. During his rule, his people enjoyed peace, stability and prosperity and it ushered in an age of civilization for the Chinese people.

Zhuanxu succeeded Huangdi. Despite not being Huangdi's son, he was selected due to his significant ability. Zhuanxu brought law and order to his people. He also consolidated the power of the central authority. These are his most significant contributions.

Diku who succeeded Zhuanxu was a benevolent king. He was also the great grandson of Huangdi. Diku reorganized the government and created new ministries with clearly specified duties. They include the ministry of Land, Forestry, Water, Minerals and Fire. His other contribution included improving the Farmer's calendar system.

Yao who succeeded Diku was just as industrious and benevolent as his father. His contributions included further developing the calendar and adjusting the timing of planting resulting in bumper harvests.

Yao was followed by Shun, his son in law. Shun was a filial son and this is despite the fact that he was ill-treated by his step mother and father. This virtue earned him a lot of fame and soon Yao came to know about it. He summoned Shun to his court and became his trusted assistant. He later married Yao's daughter.

Shun made many changes to the administration including dividing the country into 12 states. He implement further changes and set up the department of water, land, works, farming, music and rites. In addition he also drafted the five rules of etiquette and other regulations for the dukes and princes to observe.

Shun was the last of the Five Legendary Kings. After Shun come Yu who founded the Xia dynasty. Today we remember Yu most for his skills in controlling flooding that wreak havoc on his people.

About the Author

Henry Fong is a Feng Shui Master. To find out more on Chinese Baby Calendar, visit his web site at http://www.absolutelyfengshui.com

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Allan-Michael-Taylor/45501

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