Until 221 BC when Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty coined the title huangdi (皇帝) – conventionally translated … See more

The Chinese historian Sima Qian – and much Chinese historiography following him – considered the Yellow Emperor to be a more historical figure than earlier legendary figures such as Fu Xi, Nüwa, and Shennong. Sima Qian's … See more

The origin of Huangdi's mythology is unclear, but historians have formulated several hypotheses about it. Yang Kuan, a member of the Doubting Antiquity School (1920s–40s), argued that the Yellow Emperor w… See more

Explicit accounts of the Yellow Emperor started to appear in Chinese texts during the Warring States period. The earliest extant mention of Huangdi is an inscription on the Chen Hou Yinqi dui (陳侯因齊敦), cast during … See more

As with any myth, there are numerous versions of Huangdi's story, emphasizing different themes and interpreting the main character's significance in different ways.
According to Huangfu Mi (215–282), the Yellow Em… See more

As the Yellow Deity with Four Faces (黃帝四面 Huángdì Sìmiàn) he represents the centre of the universe and vision of the unity which controls the four directions. It is explained in the Huangdi Sijing ("Four Scriptures … See more

Although the traditional Chinese calendar did not mark years continuously, some Han-dynasty astronomers tried to determine the years of the life and reign of the Yellow Emperor. In 78 BC, under the reign of Emperor Z… See more