We all say that we are "the descendants of Yanhuang", but for: Why are we "the descendants of Yanhuang"? , What is the origin of "The descendants of Yanhuang"? It is estimated that there are not many who can answer clearly. Today I will share with you based on my understanding.
First of all, the meaning and source of the two emperors of Yan and Huang:
"Yan" refers to Emperor Yan, made from Jiang Shui (in Baoji City today). "Huang" refers to the Yellow Emperor, which was formed by Jishui (now Qishui River, Shaanxi). Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang were the ancestors of the Huaxia tribe, so Yan Emperor and Huang Emperor's descendants were also called descendants of Yan and Huang. Legend has it that Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang were originally from the same tribe, but later developed into two rival tribes. In the Battle of Banquan, Emperor Huang defeated Emperor Yan, and then Emperor Huang unified the two tribes. The people of this tribe were called the Huaxia tribe.
Yandi:
Yandi, Shennong is also known as Chidi, born on the shore of Jiangshui about 6000 to 5500 years ago, Yandi refers to Lei Lei, and planted grains. Established the market and opened the market for the first time. Hemp is cloth, and the people wear clothes. Make a banjo, to music the people. Cutting wood as a bow, to magnify the world. Make pottery and improve life. For the ancestor of the humanities of the Chinese nation. He formed an alliance with the Yellow Emperor and gradually formed the Huaxia clan. Z3z
Huangdi:
Xuanyuan Huangdi is one of the ancestors of China, the first ancestor of humanities, the son of Shaodian, his surname is Gongsun, and he lives in Jishui (Qishuihe, Wugong, Shaanxi), so he changed his surname to Ji. , Entrepreneurship and the capital was founded in Youxiong (now Xinzheng), so it is also known as the Xiong clan. Because of the land and virtue, it is called Huangdi. He went down in history with his great achievements in unifying the Chinese nation. Spreading all kinds of grass and trees, vigorously developing production, began to make clothes, build boats, invented guide cars, set arithmetic, control music, and create medicine. During this period, there were words.
Yanhuang:
The new junior high school history textbook characterizes the Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor as "ancient legends", and mentions: "The descendants respect the Emperor Yan and the Yellow Emperor as the first human ancestors of the Chinese nation, and the Chinese at home and abroad also refer to the "Yanhuang" Descendants' self-proclaimed.", "Ancient legend", "Humanistic ancestor" these qualitative very accurate. The origin of the "Descendants of Yan and Huang" is also worthy of supplementary information.
The character "Yellow Emperor" first appeared in the Warring States Period. Documents before the Spring and Autumn Period, such as "Book of Songs" and "Book of Books", contained the oldest emperor Yu, without the Yellow Emperor; the later "The Analects", "Mozi", and "Mencius" contained the oldest emperors It was Yao and Shun, and there was no Huangdi.
From the Han Dynasty, out of the "five virtues always said", Sima Qian and his sons integrated various descriptions of the "Yellow Emperor" since the Warring States Period, and wrote it as the first emperor's pedigree in the "Historical Records" and used it as the ancestor to construct a A “complete” emperor’s bloodline inheritance system. Yao, Shun, and Yu are descendants of the Yellow Emperor, Qin who is regarded as “Rong Di”, Chu who is known as “barbarians”, and the Xiongnu who fought with the Western Han for years, their kings are also All descendants of the Yellow Emperor.
After the "Historical Records" set this precedent, the emerging "barbarian" regimes that followed their influence in the Central Plains often chose to abandon their original ancestral heritage and instead promote themselves as descendants of the Yellow Emperor. For example, the Murong clan of Xianbei claimed to be "the seed of the Gaoyang clan (the grandson of Huangdi)"; the Khitan who founded the Liao Dynasty called himself "after the Yan Emperor" and "the descendant of Xuanyuan". However, the Jurchen of the Jin, the Mongolia of the Yuan Dynasty, and the Jianzhou of the Qing Dynasty all had no intention of boasting that they were after the Yellow Emperor. This is not only due to its strong ruling power, but also related to the Confucian "the difference between Hua and Yi" lies in culture rather than race.
Why do we call ourselves "Descendants of Yanhuang"
We Chinese call ourselves descendants of Yanhuang, mainly from the perspective of culture and civilization. Eastern civilization is based on the Yellow River Basin as its core and origin, and the Yellow River civilization is mainly based on the Yanhuang Emperor period. The foundation of civilization is the starting point. The two emperors of Yan and Huang were the founders of China in a certain sense. Through the union of the two tribes of Yan and Huang, the embryonic form of the Chinese clan was finally formed.
Mr. Sun Yat-sen clearly stated in the "Writing of Sacrifice to the Yellow Emperor": "China was founded five thousand years ago, and the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan has been passed down from ancient times." In fact, he also regarded the Yellow Emperor as the founder of China. Dai Jitao, the dean of the National Government Examinations Institute, believes that " China is able to unite as one, all because the people believe in themselves as an ancestor; now that there are no three emperors and five emperors, it is the dissolution of the requirement to unite the people of the whole country as one.This is not bad!” On the Ching Ming Festival in 1937, on the eve of the full-scale war of resistance, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party sent representatives to Shaanxi to worship the Yellow Emperor’s Mausoleum. The identity of "Descendants of Yan and Huang" has become an important spiritual resource for Chinese people to resist foreign aggression.
