Yan Emperor

The Yan Emperor, or Yandi, (Traditional Chinese: 炎帝; Simplified Chinese: 炎帝; Pinyin: Yán dì; literally: Flame Emperor) was a legendary Han Chinese ruler who lived in pre-dynastic China. Modern scholarship has identified the Sheep's Head Mountains (Simplified Chinese: 羊头山) just north of Gaoping in Shanxi Province as his homeland and territory.He Wandan 贺晚旦 and Yang Hongbao 杨红保, in Yan Di Wen Hua 炎帝文化, edited by Wang Shuxin 王树新 and Meng Shikai 孟世凯, (Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju), 3-4.
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. Yang Dongchen 杨东晨, in Yan Di Wen Hua 炎帝文化, 15. Another possibility is that the term Flame Emperor was a title, held by dynastic succession, with Shennong being known as Yandi, perhaps posthumously. Accordingly, the term Flame Emperors would be generally more correct. The succession of Flame Emperors, from Shennong, the first Yandi, to the last, defeated by Huangdi, may have lasted some 500 years.Wu, 56
==Historical records==
No written records are known to exist from the era of Yan's reign. However, he and Shennong are mentioned in many of the classic works of ancient China. Yan literally means "flame", and K. C. Wu speculates that this appellation may be connected with the fire used to clear the fields in slash and burn agriculture. In any case, it appears that agricultural innovations by Shennong and his descendants contributed to some sort of social success that lead them to style themselves as di, "emperors," rather than hou, "princes," as in the case of lesser 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.Wu, 56, and note 26, referencing Xu Shen The Zuo Zhuan states that in 525 BCE, the descendants of Yan were recognized as long having been masters of fire and having used fire in their names.Traditional Chinese: 左轉·左丘明: "昭公十七年：炎帝氏以火紀，故為火師而火名。"
==Downfall==
The last Yandi, or Flame Emperor, met his demise in the third of a series of three battles, known as the Battle of Banquan, probably on the Banquan plain, near the southern border of the modern Nei Mongol Autonomous Region, approximately 150 kilometers (about 93 miles) northwest of modern Beijing.Wu, 57 Yandi, or the Flame Emperor, was defeated by the rising Huangdi, or the Yellow Emperor.
==Historicity==
Since the Battle of Banquan is treated historically by Sima Qian, in his Historical Records, it would appear that this is a pivotal transition point between mythology and history. Ironically, Yandi enters history only with his demise. Apparently this demise was submission to the will of the Huangdi, rather than actual physical demise. In any case the title of Yan di appears to have lapsed, at this time, although his descendants seem to have perpetuated through intermarriage with Huangdi.
==In popular culture==
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 Yangdi by Huangdi.Wu, 56-57
==List of Flame Emperors==
This 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 	
Zhi 直 	
Li 釐 or Ke 克 	Sima Zhen puts Ke between Ai and Yuwang
Ai 哀 	
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
Suishi 歳十 	
==See also==
*Shennong
*Yellow Emperor
*Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors
==Notes==
==References==
*Yan Di Wen Hua 炎帝文化, (2005). Edited by Wang Shuxin 王树新, Meng Shikai 孟世凯. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju. ISBN 7-101-04854-4.
*Wu, K. C. (1982). The Chinese Heritage. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-517-54475X.
Category:Chinese mythology
Category:Rulers