《广黄帝本行记》

After bringing the world under his rule, the Yellow Emperor saw that the people were at peace and had all they needed to live. He then began seeking out recluses and asking about the Great Dao, hoping to learn the art of long life and far-reaching vision. The ancient saying “first govern the human world, then ascend to immortality and attain the Dao” refers to an experience such as this.

At that time, Yufengzi served as the Potter, the official in charge of making pottery. A divine being passed by and tended the fire for him, able to move in and out of five-colored smoke. After a long while, the being passed this ability on to Yufengzi. Yufengzi gathered flames and burned himself, rising and falling with the smoke. One day he ascended and departed, going to the region of the Flowing Sands to eat flying fish. It is said that he died for a time and revived two hundred years later.

The Yellow Emperor learned Daoist arts from Yufengzi and traveled with him through Lansha. He had Feng Hou carry the books and Chang Bo carry a sword. They went to Huanliu by day and returned to Pujin at dusk, covering ten thousand li in a day and resting only once. Huanliu was like dust and sand: the ground sank beneath one’s feet, and its depth was impossible to measure. Violent winds swept up the sand like a thick fog. Within the fog were many divine dragons, fish, and ao—mythical giant turtles—all capable of flight. A blue-green stone grew there, hard yet very light, drifting with the wind and covering the Flowing Sands. A plant with a single stalk and a hundred leaves grew on the stone, flowering only once every thousand years. While traveling over the sea, Yufengzi once composed a poem: “Blue-green radiance shines bright; once in a thousand years it unfolds. A hundred years are but a brief death; afterward, one must eat flying fish.”

There was also Wuguangzi, a celestial being eight chi and seven cun tall. From the time of the Yellow Emperor through the Xia dynasty, he often wandered among people, took medicinal substances, cultivated his nature and body, and enjoyed playing the qin for his own pleasure.

Chijiang Ziyu ate no grains, living only on the flowers of various plants and trees, and so attained great longevity. In the time of Emperor Yao, he served as the Minister of Woodlands, in charge of forests and trees. He could rise and descend with the wind and rain and was said to have lived for two thousand years.

There was also Master Rongcheng, skilled in the arts of nourishing and guiding: a method of cultivating health by tending the mind and body and guiding the breath. He safeguarded life, nurtured original Qi, and kept the Grain Spirit—the Daoist term for the body’s vital force—from perishing. He could turn white hair black again and cause lost teeth to grow back. The Yellow Emperor admired his Daoist arts and therefore built five cities and twelve towers to welcome divine beings. Master Rongcheng was said at that time to have already lived for two thousand years.

The Yellow Emperor admired the Great Dao, so he built five cities and twelve tiered towers to await the divine beings. He also went to Mount Hua and Mount Shou to seek Daoist arts, then traveled on to Mount Tai. At times he summoned strange beings and met with spirits; he also welcomed divine beings at Penglai. On his return, he welcomed the assembled spirits at Mingting, Jingzhao, Mount Shen, Hanmen, and the mouth of Ganquan Valley. Ganquan Valley lies at Yunyang, north of Chang’an.

The Yellow Emperor then offered sacrifices to Heaven at the Round Mound, seeking the Highest Dao, and took Jiuyuanzi as his teacher. On the first Yin day of the first month of the first year of the Earthly Emperor’s reign, he purified himself at Mount Shou, which lies at Pufan in Hedong. Afterward, he traveled widely, continuing to seek the Great Dao.

The Yellow Emperor was preparing to visit Daqi at Mount Juci. Fangming drove his carriage, Changyu drove the accompanying carriage, and Zhang Ruo and Zhuxu led the way. Weiyin, pronounced with the syllables of “Xi,” and Xushu—these are notes on the pronunciation of names—are also written as “Pengkun” in some texts. Hehuaji followed behind. When they reached the outskirts of Xiangcheng, all seven members of the party lost their way. They encountered a boy tending horses and asked him, “Do you know where Mount Juci is?”

The boy replied, “I do.” Drawing on the account in the Zhuangzi, the text uses Daqi as a symbol of the Great Dao and Mount Juci as a symbol of the human body, showing that the Great Dao is within oneself and need not be sought in distant places. Mount Juci is said to be in Mixian, Xingyang.

The Yellow Emperor then asked, “Do you know where Daqi is?” The boy replied, “I do.” The Yellow Emperor exclaimed, “How remarkable, young boy! Not only do you know Mount Juci, you also know where Daqi is.” Here, the boy tending horses symbolizes someone who has realized the Great Dao.

The Yellow Emperor asked him how to govern the world. The boy said, “Governing the world is no different from this. Why make a deliberate effort? A horse keeper lets the horses graze and drink as they please, and harnesses them according to their abilities. A ruler lets the people farm for food and weave cloth for clothing, while following nature and governing through Wuwei (non-action). What else is there to do?”

When I was young, I once traveled alone through the four directions of Heaven and Earth. At that time, I happened to fall ill with a wind disorder, an illness associated with pernicious wind. An elder taught me, “Ride the sun’s chariot and travel in the wilds beyond Xiangcheng.” Now my illness has improved somewhat, and I will once again travel beyond the four directions of Heaven and Earth. Those who govern the world are no different. Why trouble themselves with anything more?

Beyond the four directions of Heaven and Earth is unlike the mundane world; within them, it is the same as the mundane world. The “illness” mentioned here is a wind disorder; the “elder” is someone who has realized the Great Dao; and the “sun’s chariot” refers to the Dao of daily renewal—the principle of continually renewing oneself and responding to change.

The boy said: Before people realize the Dao, they cannot live in harmony with the myriad things. They deliberately keep themselves pure and distinguish what is defiled, and so they incur a wind disorder; their thoughts, too, become unsettled and agitated. Later, when they meet someone who has realized the Great Dao and hear the highest truth, they follow the Dao of daily renewal, move with changing circumstances, and merge with the light, blending into the dust of the world. They go along with the world’s rise and fall, are not burdened by external things, and become utterly empty and still within, letting go of attachment. In this way, their true heart comes forth, and the wind disorder soon heals.

What is different about an emperor governing the world? Govern through Wuwei (non-action), and the people will transform of their own accord. The Yellow Emperor said, “Governing the world is indeed not your responsibility. Still, I would like to ask how the world should be governed.” The boy declined to answer. The Yellow Emperor asked again, but the boy replied, “What is different about governing the world? Just practice Wuwei, and the people will transform of their own accord.” The Yellow Emperor repeated his request, and the boy again declined. When the Yellow Emperor asked once more, the boy said, “How is governing the world different from tending horses? It is enough to remove what harms them. A horse keeper does not damage the horses’ nature; likewise, one who governs the world should practice Wuwei and yet leave nothing undone.”

The Yellow Emperor bowed twice, touching his head to the ground before the boy, and honored him with the title “Heavenly Teacher.” Then he took his leave. The Yellow Emperor had once consulted the Scripture of the True One of the Celestial Sovereign, but had not understood the essential meaning of the Three Ones’ true Qi. So he traveled in all directions, seeking an explanation. He came to Round Mound, where there was a deathless tree: whoever ate its fruit and leaves would not die. There was also a spring on Cinnabar Ridge; drinking its water could grant longevity. A giant serpent there harmed people, so the Yellow Emperor drove it away with realgar. After staying for a time, he returned. The Record of Foreign Lands says that he stayed there for nine years. The Yellow Emperor ordered his three sons to learn the methods of consuming these substances. Whoever ate the tree’s fruit and leaves would not die; drinking from the spring on Cinnabar Ridge could grant longevity.

The Yellow Emperor encountered a great snake that was harming people and drove it away with realgar. He returned only after some time had passed. The Record of Foreign Lands says that the Yellow Emperor was away for nine years. He had his three sons learn to take realgar, and all three lived to the age of three hundred.

The Yellow Emperor traveled east to Qingqiu and paid a visit to Master Purple Mansion, an immortal. He then climbed Feng Mountain and obtained the large celestial script from the Inner Writings of the Three Sovereigns, a Daoist scripture. The Baopuzi says that this book consists of three volumes and can be used to summon and command the myriad spirits, and to set the spirits of plants and trees to work.

He traveled south to the Dark Ravine of the Five Zhi, climbed Dark Ridge, and rested beneath Jianmu. He watched the many spirits moving up and down, gathered and dried zhi herbs, a kind of medicinal fungus associated with immortals, and drank water from Red Ridge. Traveling west, he paid a visit to Master Zhonghuang and obtained the method of the nine eggplants. Traveling north, he reached Hongdi and climbed Mount Juci. In Mixian, he paid a visit to Lord Dayuan, the Great Chen Spirit, and the lad Yellow Canopy, and obtained the twelve scrolls of the Illustrated Guide to Immortal Zhi. Later, he climbed Mount Ji and went to Mount Wangwu. There he opened a stone coffer, took out a jade casket, and obtained the alchemical scripture Nine Elixirs of the Golden Cauldron. He also learned from the Mysterious Maiden the method of refining the elixir through nine cycles. Afterward, he crossed the Yangtze River southward and climbed the area around Xiong and Xiang. Xiong Mountain lies in Shaoling, and Xiang Mountain in Yiyang, Changsha. He then went to Mount Tiantai and obtained the method for refining the divine elixir of golden liquid.

The Yellow Emperor heard that Master Guangcheng was cultivating the Dao on Mount Kongtong, thirty li east of Yucheng in the state of Liang. When he met Master Guangcheng, the Yellow Emperor said, “I have heard that you understand the highest Dao. I venture to ask about its essential principles. I wish to draw upon the vital energy of Heaven and Earth to help the grain grow and nourish the people. I also wish to govern Yin-Yang so that plants and trees flourish. How should I do this?”

Master Guangcheng replied, “What you ask about concerns only the outward forms of things; what you wish to govern is the source of their harm. Since you began governing the world, clouds have brought rain before they have gathered, plants and trees have withered before turning yellow, and the light of the sun and moon has grown dimmer day by day. Your mind is preoccupied with pursuing worldly affairs, and your thinking is so shallow. How could you be fit to discuss the highest Dao?”

The Yellow Emperor withdrew, set aside his duties, and built himself a quiet room. He spread white thatch for a mat and lived in seclusion for three months before going again to visit Master Guangcheng.

Guangchengzi, a legendary immortal of high antiquity, faced south with his back to the Yellow Emperor. Following the direction of the wind, the Yellow Emperor knelt and made his way to Guangchengzi. He bowed twice, touching his head to the ground, and said, “I have heard that you understand the Supreme Dao. I presume to ask you: how should I cultivate my body so that I may live long?”

Guangchengzi sprang to his feet and said, “A good question. Come, and I will tell you. The subtlety of the Supreme Dao is profound and hard to fathom; its ultimate reaches are dark and still. You must be quiet and clear, neither tiring your body nor disturbing your vital energy. Only then can you live long. Do not let your eyes crave to see, your ears crave to hear, or your mind wander into idle thoughts. Let your spirit remain within your body, and then you can live long. Guard your inner self with care and restrain the activity of your outward senses. Knowing too much only invites harm.

“I will take you up to the bright heights, to the source of utmost Yang, and lead you through the deep gate, to the source of utmost Yin. Heaven and Earth each have their own sovereign; Yin and Yang each have their place of return. Guard yourself with care, and all things will grow and flourish of their own accord. I hold fast to the One, the root of the Dao, and dwell in harmony between Yin and Yang. Thus I have cultivated my body for twelve hundred years, and it has never grown old.”

The Yellow Emperor bowed to the ground again and said, “What Guangchengzi has said is truly the Way of Heaven.”

Guangchengzi continued, “All things are without end, yet people think they must eventually end. All things are unfathomable, yet people think they have reached their limit. Those who attain my Dao may rise to become rulers; those who lose it will not escape old age. Those who lose my Dao may shine at first, but in the end they turn to dust. All things now come forth from earth and, at last, return to earth. So I will lead you through the gate of the infinite, to roam the boundless realm. I shine with the sun and moon and endure as long as Heaven and Earth. Who can make me manifest? Who can make me obscure? When all people have died, will I alone remain forever?”

After receiving the essentials of seeking the Dao, the Yellow Emperor traveled widely in every direction. Traces left by his chariots and horses can often be found in various places, along with the remains of wells where he practiced alchemy. Mount Tianshe in Shu has an elixir well; Mount Changli, Mount Qingcheng, and Mount Jinyun all have traces of chariot tracks; Mount Yongjia has a spring of elixir water; and Mount Qingcheng and Mount Luofu preserve ancient altars.

The Yellow Emperor crossed the Dark Gateway and paid a visit to the Elder of the Central Yellow Realm. He then climbed Mount Yuntai and entered the Heavenly Capital on Mount Qingcheng, where he met Master Yu and received the Dragon Jiao Scripture. On the mountain, he built an altar and honored Master Yu as the Elder of the Five Sacred Peaks. He also required the spirits of each peak to come and pay their respects twice a month. The peak spirits sprinkled spring water at six intervals each day, using it in place of sundials and water clocks for telling time.

The Yellow Emperor asked Master Yu about the “Way of the True One,” a Daoist cultivation method for preserving one’s original nature and returning to unity. Master Yu said, “Only after attaining the Dao did I become an immortal. I was not an official in the celestial realm who administered the true Dao during the age of the Three Sovereigns, so I truly do not understand this scripture about the True One. Recently, an August Personage was sent by Lord Fusang to govern the immortal officials of Mount Emei. He has not yet left; you can go and ask him.”

The Yellow Emperor then went to Mount Emei and observed purification and stillness for three months before he was able to meet the August Personage. No one knew what age he came from. He was nine feet tall, his body covered in black hair more than a foot long, while the hair on his head was only a few inches long. He lived in a cave beneath a steep cliff on the north side of the mountain. His dwelling was made of blue-green jade, the surrounding trees seemed to be made of gold, and a thousand measures of incense were burning. He was attended by immortals and jade maidens, and three guests seated with him were all called the Taiji Immortal Kings. When the August Personage met the Yellow Emperor, he welcomed him with the finest essence of cinnabar blossoms and let him rinse his mouth and drink the spring waters of a jade well.

The Yellow Emperor crawled forward, performed two great bows, touched his head to the ground, then stood and asked for the way to long life. The August Personage said, “You have already governed the four seas, yet you still seek to live forever. Is that not too greedy?” The Yellow Emperor replied, “Without a ruler, the people of the world would oppress and abuse one another. I have now established laws and institutions, hoping they will be sufficient to pass down to later generations. My heart longs for the Great Dao, so I have journeyed far in every direction. Fortunately, I have met the Lord of the Dao. I hope you will show me compassion and offer your guidance.”

I privately read The Scripture on the Perfected Ones’ Consumption of Essence. I only grasped its words and failed to understand their meaning. I saw its phrases but did not understand the methods of cultivation it describes. I earnestly beg you to instruct me.”

The Sovereign Immortal (a legendary Perfected One) was greatly startled. After a long while, he replied, “How could you know of this? It is the first text in the Golden Register of Heaven (the celestial records and books of secret methods), a numinous talisman from Heaven and a precious scripture of the Most High, a revered Daoist deity. Cultivating it can enable one to ascend to Heaven in broad daylight and fly through the void; water and fire can arise from the body, and its transformations are endless. This is the true method of the Celestial Immortals, attainable only through the Ninefold Elixir of Dragon Embryo and Golden Liquids, a legendary advanced alchemical method.

“Guarding the body and abstaining from the five grains can drive away every kind of evil influence and command ghosts and spirits, allowing one to live long and endure. When cultivation has made the blood and Qi flow freely and transformed the bowels into sinews, one will be immune to a hundred kinds of calamity and live for countless thousands of years. But to reach the state of a Celestial Immortal, in which water and fire arise from the body and transformations are endless, one must cultivate The Text on the True One’s Consumption of the Five Teeth, a method involving the absorption of Qi and visualization.

“These two methods are recorded and kept by the Lord of the Southern Dipper, a deity who governs longevity and the registers of immortals, and fall under the authority of the Great Thearch, a revered celestial deity. They must never be disclosed in violation of the precepts, except at the appointed transmission, which comes only once every four thousand years for the immortals. The Queen Mother of the West has also hidden this book within the Five Cities, guarded on every side and surrounded by twelve immortal towers. It is stored in a purple jade case, written on golden slips, sealed with the radiance of cinnabar fungus, and stamped with the seal of the Most High. Those without a place in the registers of immortals cannot hear of this book. You should not have heard the secrets of Heaven in the mortal world. You may leave now.”

The Thearch replied, “I previously received the divine elixir method from the Mysterious Maiden, a female immortal of Daoist legend, but I have not yet obtained The Scripture on Consuming the Five Teeth and Absorbing the True Essence. Fortunately, today the time and the circumstances have aligned, and I have been able to meet the Lord of the Dao. If you do not pass this salvific method on to me, I fear I will have no chance in this lifetime to transcend the ordinary world.” As he spoke, he kowtowed until he bled, pleading only for mercy and help.

The Three Immortal Kings of the Great Clarity Heaven once again took pity on him and came to his aid.

The Three Immortal Kings of Taiqing Heaven, moved by compassion, spoke in support of the Yellow Emperor: “His ancestors once performed virtuous deeds that extended to crows and wild beasts. Their blessings have shone down through the generations, reaching even the imperial throne. Why conceal this precious scripture instead of passing it on? Teach him, and he will be able to attain the Way.”

The Venerable One invited the Yellow Emperor to sit and said: “The scripture you mentioned teaches how to gather the Qi of Heaven within oneself and bring clarity to every part of body and mind, so that one may endure for a long time. Human beings are the most perceptive and intelligent of living creatures, yet they cannot preserve their spirit or avoid the many calamities that befall them. Those who understand this need not pray to Heaven for protection. It is enough to work on themselves.

“A person’s body is like a state: the chest and abdomen are like its palace; the limbs, spread outward, are like its suburbs and borders; and the joints are like its officials. The spirit is like the ruler, the blood like the ministers, and Qi like the people. So one who knows how to nurture the body also knows how to govern a state. When the people are cared for, the state is secure; when the use of Qi is kept in check, the body is preserved. When the people scatter, the state perishes; when Qi is exhausted, life ends. A state that has perished cannot be restored, and the dead cannot return to life.

“Therefore, a perfected person removes hidden dangers before calamity arises and tends the body before illness sets in. They guard it firmly while all is peaceful, rather than waiting until trouble has passed to regret what happened and try to make amends. The people are hard to nurture but easily scattered; Qi is hard to preserve but easily dispersed. Only by exercising clear judgment and balancing authority with kindness can governance be secured; only by restraining one’s appetites and desires can one fulfill one’s true nature. In this way, the True Unity—the pure, undivided Qi within body and mind—can remain, and the Three Ones, the spirits and Qi that each maintain unity in three parts of the body, can be kept in their places.

“The Mudball, the Crimson Palace, and the Dantian are the dwelling places of the Three Ones. Guard them diligently, and you will not be troubled by the harm of the many poisons. Rinse and refine the Flower Pool, the saliva in the mouth, and consume the Five Teeth, the Qi of the five directions used in Daoist visualization and breathing practices; then you can become a true immortal. I received this scripture from the True King of the Nine Heavens, and now I pass it on to you. Keep it in your mouth, and it is called the ‘Cinnabar of the Red Crow’; draw it from within yourself, and it is called ‘True Unity.’ Practice diligently and guard it with care. Its meaning is profound.”

The scripture says: “The five grains are the tools that drive people toward death; the Five Teeth are the foundation of long life.”

After receiving the Dao, the Yellow Emperor traveled east through Mount Lu and appointed the Envoy of the Nine Heavens to office, with rank equal to that of the Elder of Qingcheng. His duties resembled those of a censor: he oversaw the registers of immortal officials and served as inspector of the Five Sacred Mountains.

The Yellow Emperor also appointed Lord Wan Mountain as the Nine Heavens’ Director of Fate, the deity who oversees human lifespans and the registers of life and death. Lord Wan Mountain was placed in charge of the records of life and death. The Yellow Emperor observed that each of the Four Sacred Mountains had attendant mountains that assisted its mountain deity, while the Southern Sacred Mountain stood alone without any subsidiary peaks. He therefore submitted a memorial and made offerings to the Supreme Dao Elder of the Three Heavens, a revered Daoist deity, asking him to oversee the registers of immortal officials and serve as inspector of the Five Sacred Mountains. He then appointed Mount Huo as the Southern Sacred Mountain’s heir and Mount Shan as its deputy, to assist the Southern Sacred Mountain with its affairs.

The Yellow Emperor drew the contours of the mountains, rivers, and products of the Nine Provinces, and also made maps of the Five Sacred Mountains, which he passed on to the people. He once refined stones on Mount Jinyun, where auspicious signs appeared. A hall called Jinyun Hall was built there, and Danchiu also remained at that site. The Yellow Emperor stored at Mount Miao diagrams and formulae on victory and defeat from the art of war, along with books on the Yin-Yang of the Six Jia cycles. Mount Miao lies in what is now Yuezhou and is also called Mount Yubu. Yu the Great once convened the spirits of plants and trees there to hear their reports on their achievements in controlling the floods; for this reason, the mountain is called Mount Kuaiji.

The Yellow Emperor also assembled auspicious tokens at Mount Fu and made offerings to the Primordial Lord Taiyi, a revered Daoist deity. From him, he received techniques for transforming one’s appearance, which he stored in a cave on Mount Kongtong. At Mount Tai, the Yellow Emperor examined and worked out methods for calculating the calendar and tracking the movements of the heavens. He studied the secrets of examining the body with Qibo and Leigong, discussed the climate with Fenghou, and investigated musical pitch, weights, and measures with Rongcheng. He healed the sick and injured, organized the techniques of smelting and casting, mastered the full range of hidden essentials, and probed deeply into the truth of the Dao. He passed these teachings on to Qibo, Leigong, and others. The Yellow Emperor taught the Yin Talisman Classic, bringing inner cultivation into accord with the Way of Heaven and outward conduct into harmony with human affairs.

The Yellow Emperor ruled the realm, reaching south to Jiaolu, north to Youling, west to the Flowing Sands, and east to Pantaо. Pantaо lies on Mount Dusuo, according to the Classic of Mountains and Seas. The Yellow Emperor said, “I have heard of letting all things under Heaven grow freely, but never of bringing peace to the world by governing it. I have labored for the realm for too long. I should halt my carriage, go to Xuanyuan, and return to my original nature.” Xuanyuan lies on Mount Kunlun, where the Yellow Emperor’s palace stands.

After completing the Feng and Shan sacrificial rites, the Yellow Emperor gathered copper from Mount Shou and cast a ding, a ritual vessel symbolizing the myriad things. When it was finished, he used it at Yongzhou to symbolize Taiyi, the origin of the cosmos or the Supreme Deity.

Hucheng County in Haozhou was formerly called Dingzhou. Jingshan in Fenglan Huaide County is now known as Huangtianyuan. The tripod could foretell good and ill fortune, survival and death; it could become lighter or heavier, remain still or move. It boiled without being heated by fire and filled without water being drawn. It could even produce the Five Flavors on its own. It was indeed a divine tripod. Huangdi therefore refined the elixir of the Nine Tripods, took it according to the alchemical method, and passed the method on to Xuanzi, entrusting it to him after a solemn oath.

The alchemical scripture was kept on Mount Weiyu, north of Mount Jiuyi. A slab of patterned jade lay beneath it, and a great stone covered it above. Its text was inscribed in golden script on metal slips and jade tablets. Yu the Great obtained the book, compounded the elixir, and attained the Dao. He later hid it on Mount Kuaiji. Zhang Daoling obtained the book, compounded the elixir, and ascended to Heaven, hiding the alchemical scripture on Mount Yuntai.

Huangdi also copied the True Text of the Five Talismans of the Numinous Treasure in golden script, placing one copy on Mount Zhong and another on Mount Wanyi. The swords, mirrors, tripods, and other implements he cast were inscribed with ancient celestial characters, and some bore hidden prophecies.

At that time, a warm southern breeze arose, and divine beings gathered. Huangdi had already resolved to leave the human world, so he left his crown, ornaments, and sword on Kuntai, the most precipitous place on Dinghu Mountain, and built a lodge at the foot of the mountain.

A man named Ma Shihuang was skilled in treating horses and also understood the affairs of spirits. One day, a dragon suddenly came to his courtyard, opening its mouth and closing its eyes. Shihuang saw that it was ill. He pierced its mouth with a needle, then boiled licorice in cow’s milk and poured it into the dragon. The dragon recovered at once, and Shihuang rode away on its back. When Huangdi heard of this, he personally chose the day wuwu for his ascension. Just as foretold, a yellow dragon lowered its whiskers to welcome him. Huangdi rode the dragon up to Heaven with Wuweizi and seventy-two officials who ascended alongside him.

Those ministers who could not follow the Yellow Emperor as he departed clung to the dragon’s whiskers, but the whiskers broke off. Another minister held on to the Yellow Emperor’s bow and wept without stopping. For this reason, the bow came to be called the “Crow’s Cry Bow.” The people cried out toward the sky, and named this place the Plain of the August Heaven, also called Dinghu. It is the site of today’s Hucheng County.

Later, the minister Zuo Che carved an image of the Yellow Emperor from wood and led the regional lords there to pay homage and make offerings. Remembering the Yellow Emperor, his ministers set up a shrine with tables and staffs and made offerings there. They also placed his robes and headgear in a tomb to guard them; thus the tomb at Qiao Mountain came to be. There is a Qiao Mountain in Zhouyang County of Shang Commandery, a shrine to the Yellow Emperor in Fushi County, and a tomb of the Yellow Emperor at Qiao Mountain in Fangzhou. Shrines were built in every place the Yellow Emperor had visited or lived.

Five hundred years later, the tomb at Qiao Mountain collapsed, leaving the burial chamber empty. Only a sword and a red crow remained; a day later, these too had disappeared. Both the Classic of Mount Jing and the Record of the Dragon’s Head recount this event. The Yellow Emperor lived for a total of 210 years and reigned for 100. After ascending to Heaven, he became the Lord Taiyi and also the star Xuanyuan. He took the form of a yellow dragon and dwelt in the Southern Palace. At the grand ceremony of sacrifice to Heaven, Xuanyuan was among the celestial deities worshipped.

In later generations, people continued to sacrifice to the Yellow Emperor, ranking him among the Five Emperors and honoring him as the ruler who dwells at the center and is joined with Heaven. The Yellow Emperor embodied the Virtue of Earth, occupied the central position, and governed the four directions. The Azure Emperor Taihao ruled the east, the Red Emperor Shennong the south, the White Emperor Shaohao the west, and the Black Emperor Zhuanxu the north. Together with the Yellow Emperor, these four were known as the Five Human Emperors of the Directions. The Yellow Emperor’s son was the Zhen Star (Saturn); in Heaven he corresponded to the Five Elders, and on Earth to the Five Emperors.

The Yellow Emperor’s son Changyi lived by the Ruo River. Changyi’s younger brother Shaohao was born to the Yellow Emperor and his consort Di Fei Nüjie. The Yellow Emperor had a daughter who drowned in the Eastern Sea and was transformed into a bird named Jingwei. She would often carry wood and stones from the western mountains, hoping to fill in the Eastern Sea.

Shaohao, whose personal name was Zhi and courtesy name Qingyang, was the Yellow Emperor’s son. After succeeding to the imperial throne, he took the title Jintian. Zhuanxu took the title Gaoyang; he was the Yellow Emperor’s grandson.

That virtuous sage ruler reigned for seventy-eight years and lived to the age of ninety-eight. His mother belonged to the Shushan clan, and his capital was at Shangqiu Puyang.

Yuqiang was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor and a son of Zhuanxu. He attained the Dao together with Zhuanxu. Zhuanxu became Xuanming, the deity who governed the north and winter, while Yuqiang became the water deity of the north. From Zhuanxu onward, later generations used the places where they rose to prominence as their titles.

Emperor Ku (also known as Emperor Yu, of the Gaoxin clan) was the Yellow Emperor’s grandson, born to Jiaoji. From birth he showed unusual intelligence and wisdom, and could speak his own name. His capital was at Yanshi, in what is now Henan. He reigned for seventy years and lived to the age of one hundred and five.

Emperor Yao, of the Taotang clan, was the Yellow Emperor’s great-great-grandson. His surname was Yiqi and his personal name was Fangxun. He rose to prominence at Dingtao and later became emperor as the Marquis of Tang. Dingtao was in Jiyin Commandery, while Tang County was in Dingzhou. His capital was at Pingyang, in the area of present-day Jinzhou. He reigned for ninety-eight years and lived to the age of one hundred and eighty-eight.

Emperor Shun, of the Youyu clan, had the surname Yao and the personal name Chonghua. He was the Yellow Emperor’s eighth-generation descendant. The Liang state had a Yucheng, in the area of present-day Caizhou. Shun’s capital was at Puban. He lived to the age of one hundred, and after attaining the Dao, ascended to heaven from Mount Jiuyi and departed.

Yu the Great of the Xia, of the Xiahou clan, was the Yellow Emperor’s great-great-grandson. His surname was Si and his personal name was Wenming. According to the genealogy, Shun was the Yellow Emperor’s eighth-generation descendant, and Yu came after Shun, yet Yu too is said to have been the Yellow Emperor’s great-great-grandson. Why is this? The Dunjia Kaishan Tu says that Yu was an immortal who had attained the Dao. In ancient times there was a Great Yu, the nineteenth-generation descendant of Nüwa, who lived for three hundred and sixty years before entering Mount Jiuyi. Three thousand six hundred years later, in the time when Yao governed the realm, floods ravaged the land and the people suffered as they were inundated. Taking pity on them, Great Yu came into being from a spring on Mount Shiniu. One evening, Nüdi went to draw water and found a pearl-like stone. She admired it and swallowed it; afterward she became pregnant and gave birth to Yu fourteen months later. When Yu grew up, he could trace the sources and courses of springs, so he was given the name “Yu.” He took over from his father Gun in the work of controlling the floods. After three years, he succeeded, and Shun appointed him Minister of Education in recognition of his achievement. Later, Shun abdicated the imperial throne in his favor. By this account, Yu was the Yellow Emperor’s great-great-grandson.

Tang of Yin was the Yellow Emperor’s seventeenth-generation descendant. The Yellow Emperor’s son Shaohao fathered Jiaoji, who fathered the Gaoxin ruler. Fourteen generations later, Tianyi became king of Yin.

The descendants of the Yellow Emperor received different surnames according to the roles they took up. The Yellow Emperor played the pitch pipes to establish surnames, creating twelve in all, which are recorded in the middle volume.

Shahao had a son named Man, who belonged to the Zi lineage; Zhuanxu’s surname was Ji. The Yellow Emperor lived near the Ji River, so his descendants took Ji as their surname. Among Emperor Ku’s descendants, Hou Ji also bore the surname Ji. Yao’s surname was Yiqi, Shun’s was Yao, Yu’s was Si, and Tang’s was Zi.

The surnames Zhang, Deng, Xuan, Lu, Huang, Kou, Song, Li, Bai, Xue, Qian, Zi, Yiqi, Shentu, Huanggong, Tuoba, and others also came from the Yellow Emperor’s descendants. Changyi’s son was enfeoffed in the north. Since the Yellow Emperor embodied the Virtue of Earth, the local people in the north called “earth” “tu” and “lord” “ba,” so he took Tuoba as his surname.

The Yellow Emperor had many sons, each of whom received an enfeoffment and established a state; the details are recorded in the middle volume. These descendants formed thirty-three clans, all descended from the Yellow Emperor. Their lineage was passed down from generation to generation for a total of 1,250 years.

From the Yellow Emperor’s year of Jiyou to the Xinchou year, the second year of Guangming in the Tang dynasty, a total of 3,472 years elapsed.