Shennong (Chinese: t 神農, s 神农, p Shénnóng; Japanese: Shinno, 神農; Korean: 신농, Sinnong; Vietnamese: Thần Nông), which names mean "Divine Farmer", but also known as the Emperor of the Five Grains (t 五穀先帝, s 五谷先帝, p Wǔgǔxiāndì), was a legendary ruler of China and culture hero reputed to have lived some 5,000 years ago. Shennong has been thought to have taught the ancient Chinese not only their practices of agriculture, but also the use of herbal drugs[1].
"Shennong" can also be taken to refer to his people, the Shennong-shi (t 神農氏, s 神农氏, p Shénnóngshì) or "Clan of Shinong". Since shì can mean both "clan" and "maiden name" and serve as a masculine honorific such as "mister" or "sir", it also is used sometimes in reference to his people, sometimes in reference to the individual.
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In Chinese mythology Shennong, besides having taught humans the use of the plow together with other aspects of basic agriculture, the use of medicinal plants, and having been a god of the burning wind (perhaps in some relationship to the Yan Emperor mythos and/or slash-and-burn agriculture[2], in which the ash produced by fire fertilizes the fields), was sometimes said to be a progenitor to, or to have had appointed as one of his ministers, Chi You; and like him, they were both ox-headed, sharp-horned, bronze-foreheaded, and iron-skulled.[3] One difference between mythology and science is exemplified in Chinese mythology: Shennong and Huangdi (often known as "the Yellow Emperor") were supposedly friends and fellow scholars, despite the 500 years or seventeen or eighteen generations between the first Shennong and Huangdi; and, that together they shared the alchemical secrets of medicine, immortality, and making gold.[4]
According to the eighth century CE historian Sima Zhen's commentary to the second century BCE Shiji (or, Records of the Grand Historian), Shennong is a kinsman of the Yellow Emperor and is said to be an ancestor, or a patriarch, of the ancient forebears of the Chinese. The Han Chinese regarded them both as their joint ancestors.
Shennong cannot be said to be a completely historical figure. However, Shennong, individual and clan, are very important, in the history of culture -- especially in regards to mythology and popular culture. Indeed, Shennong figures extensively in historical literature.
Sima Qian mentions that the rulers directly preceding the Yellow Emperor were of the house (or societal group) of Shennong.[5] Sima Zhen, who added a prologue for the Shiji, said his surname was Jiang (姜), and proceeded to list his successors. An older and more famous reference is in the Huainanzi; it tells how, prior to Shennong, people were sickly, wanting, starved and diseased; but he then taught them agriculture, which he himself had researched, eating hundreds of plants — and even consuming seventy poisons in one day.[6] Shennong also features in the book popularly known in English as I Ching. Here, he is referenced as coming to power after the end of the house (or reign) of Paoxi (Fu Xi), also inventing a bent-wood plow, a cut-wood rake, teaching these skills to others, and establishing a noonday market.[7] Another reference is in the Lüshi Chunqiu, mentioning some violence with regard to the rise of the Shennong house, and that their power lasted seventeen generations.[8]
The various subsequent notices of Shennong include Anthony Christie's Chinese Mythology, which references Shennong (as Shen-nung) six times, three times with pictures, according to the 1968 index.[9]
As noted above, Shennong is said in the Huainanzi to have tasted hundreds of herbs to test their medical value. The most well-known work attributed to Shennong is The Divine Farmer's Herb-Root Classic (simplified Chinese: 神农本草经; traditional Chinese: 神農本草經; pinyin: Shénnóng běncǎo jīng), first compiled some time during the end of the Western Han Dynasty — several thousand years after Shennong might have existed. This work lists the various medicinal herbs, such as lingzhi, that were discovered by Shennong and given grade and rarity ratings. It is considered to be the earliest Chinese pharmacopoeia, and includes 365 medicines derived from minerals, plants, and animals. Shennong is credited with identifying hundreds of medical (and poisonous) herbs by personally testing their properties, which was crucial to the development of Traditional Chinese medicine. Legend holds that Shennong had a transparent body, and thus could see the effects of different plants and herbs on himself. Tea, which acts as an antidote against the poisonous effects of some seventy herbs, is also said to have been his discovery. Shennong first tasted it, traditionally in ca. 2737 BC, from tea leaves on burning tea twigs, after they were carried up from the fire by the hot air, landing in his cauldron of boiling water.[10] Shennong is venerated as the Father of Chinese medicine. He is also believed to have introduced the technique of acupuncture.
Shennong is said to have played a part in the creation of the Guqin, together with Fuxi and the Yellow Emperor. Scholarly works mention that the paternal family of famous Song Dynasty General Yue Fei traced their origins back to Shennong.[11]
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Shennong
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| Regnal titles | ||
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| Preceded by Fuxi |
Emperor of China c. 2737 BC – c. 2698 BC |
Succeeded by Yellow Emperor |