Huangdi Culture Beyond North China: Experts

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, February 28, 2002

Huangdi Culture Beyond North China: Experts

After years of research, experts have pointed out that Huangdi (or the Yellow Emperor), the legendary founder of the Chinese nation, had been to the area of the Yangtze River Valley in southern China as well, when nearly all Chinese history textbooks say the emperor lived solely in the area of the Yellow River Valley (today's northern and central China) 5,000 years ago.

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Nearly all Chinese history textbooks say that Huangdi, or the Yellow Emperor, lived solely in the area of the Yellow River Valley (today's northern and central China) 5,000 years ago.

However, experts have pointed out, after years of research, that the emperor had been to the area of the Yangtze River Valley in southern China as well, and that Mount Shicheng in Yongkang City, Zhejiang Province, was once a center of the Huangdi culture.

The findings were based on historical data, legends and site investigations, said Hong Bo, a professor of the Zhejiang Normal University.

Mountains visited

"Huangdi once lived in Mount Shicheng and visited several mountains in the provinces of Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi and Guangdong", said Hong.

Some of the mountains Huangdi once visited are well-known today, including Mount Jinhua, Mount Huangshan and Mount Lushan.

Huangdi's visit to Mount Shicheng was recorded in the Book of Mountains and Seas, an authoritative account of noted places in Chinese history.

Physical evidence

During their investigation tours to Mount Shicheng, experts found some remains of a huge stove, which coincides with the legend that Huangdi once cast a bronze cauldron with ore.

Meanwhile, a discovery of an ancient well, which is believed to be one of the 18 in Mount Shicheng, a road known as "the imperial road" to the locals, and some temples, wells and land named in commemoration of Huangdi's descendants have all supported the experts' hypothesis, said Hong.

Resources for smelting bronze

The experts further suggested that Huangdi had chosen to stay in Mount Shicheng because of its rich kaolin resources, a perfect ore for smelting bronze and casting caldron.

As legend goes, Huangdi once lost a fight against his arch foe Chiyou, whose clan had learned how to smelt bronze when Huangdi was still using stoneware.

Members of Huangdi's clan then traveled to many places for better materials to make their weapons. They finally found the rich mineral resources in Mount Shicheng, where they settled down.

Today, Yongkang City is China's largest metal base and over 90 percent of its industrial output comes from smelting and casting industries.

"This must attribute to the craftsmanship handed down generation upon generation from Huangdi's age," said Lou Chaoyang, mayor of Yongkang.

Huangdi, the legendary founder of the Chinese nation, was said to have defeated Yandi, another emperor, and Chiyou, and united China.

Backgrounder: Huangdi (the Yellow Emperor)

Huangdi is regarded as ancestor of Chinese race. He was mystical chief of one of the strongest tribes in the middle valley of Yellow River. Because his tribe honored the virtue of earth, he was addressed after the yellow color of earth, the symbol of farming. During his days about 4,000 thousand years ago, it was the time of patriarchal clan community. Many tribes came to settle down around the reach of Yellow River and were engaged in farming. Wars arose between different tribes in sought of occupation of more lands and people suffered a lot from turbulent life. Huangdi decided to put an end to this chaotic situation. He worked out a set of moral code and trained his army. After about 56 battlements with other tribes, he conquered wide area along the Yellow River and was made chief of tribe union.

Huangdi was said to be the founder of Chinese civilization. He coined bronze money, practised medicine, invented boats, raised silk-worm and divided his realm into provinces. The story went that at age of 110, a yellow dragon, alighting from the sky, summoned the emperor to heaven on behalf of the king of heaven. When the emperor, riding on the back of the dragon is about to leave, his subjects, who were reluctant to let him go, dragged by his clothes. However, all that left were only part of the emperor's clothes and hat. In commemoration of Huangdi, his descendents buried his remainder at Mt. Qiaoshan, in present Shaanxi province and had his mausoleum built. Tradition passes down from then that every year on fifth day of fourth lunar month, Chinese people of Huangdi's origin will come to visit his mausoleum that has become the symbol of Chinese nation.

Source: TravelChinaGuide.com

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