One is the actual historical position, that is, its historical role in a certain time and space, which is an objective fact.

Secondly, the historical position in people's minds, that is, the legendary historical position, is essentially an illusion.

In principle, the two should be consistent.

In fact, there is often a great distance between the two, while the former is often covered by the latter, but the legend should be based on facts.

For the history of the period without written records, we have to analyze and explore from the relevant legends.

In ancient times, people could only circulate some names or land titles, such as major wars, floods, droughts and natural disasters. In the legend, the deeds of activities have been greatly enriched and developed with the development of the times. Although it is a phantom, it is more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and plays a huge role.

For a time, these phantom activities were denied and dismissed as false history, but they could not tell the true face of history; So some people think that the legends handed down from ancient times are not the whole truth of ancient history, at least some of them are true, and then think that these legends are beyond doubt.

This problem involves a wide range, which cannot be solved by one or two articles.

Now try to explore the historical position of the Yellow Emperor and Yan Di from ancient legends.

Huangdi and Yandi were both figures in the Five Emperors era.

The word "Five Emperors" was first used by people in the Warring States period.

In ancient China, there were Yu, Xia, Shang and Thursday dynasties. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the earliest period was called "above self-worry".

When the dynasty was not yet formed or semi-formed, it was a multi-ethnic country, in which the stronger ones gradually developed into co-owners of all States, and most of them claimed to be emperors. The Yellow Emperor and Yan Di are such figures.

In the Warring States period, the era without dynasties is generally called the "Five Emperors" period, and "Five" is a function word, not limited to five.

The meaning of this word was later transformed into the succession of five emperors, and together with the later word "Huang San", it was called "Three Emperors and Five Emperors".

In fact, this did not exist at all in ancient history, but the emperor's name was not fake, so it was easy for ordinary people to accept it.

Xunzi was a realistic scholar in the Warring States Period. He clearly pointed out: "There are no descendants and sages outside the Five Emperors, which has a long history.

There was no political communication and good governance between the five emperors, which was a long time ago.

"(Xunzi ChristianRandPhillips) Xunzi said the original meaning of the word" Five Emperors ". When Confucian classics occupied a major position in academic research, Xunzi was regarded as a heresy, and his words naturally went unnoticed, and its influence never stopped. We should treat them correctly.

2. The legends of the Yellow Emperor and Yan Di were first described by Tan Zi in the late Spring and Autumn Period.

"Spring and Autumn Annals" records that in the seventeenth year of Zhao Gong, "Qiu Lai Dynasty.

Zuo Zhuan recorded this in detail. Zhao Zi asked, "Why is Shao Luo a famous bird official?" Tan Zi said, "I know my ancestors.

In the past, Huangdi's family was named a cloud master because of cloud rules.

Yan Di's family adopted fire control discipline, so he became a famous fire master.

Gonggong's surname is based on the water age, so it is named after the navy.

The Dayu family was named after the dragon, so it was called Teacher Long.

My great-great grandfather is young and honest, and the phoenix bird is suitable. I will learn from the bird and name the birdman.

"The so-called" some kind of punishment "should be the badge of his family.

A total of five emperors were listed, that is, five tribes that once co-owned, with Huangdi as the first and Yan Di as the second, indicating that the times and relations between the two clans were relatively close.

Lu Yu, a national land, records the bird exhibition saying: "The holy king rules, the law is applied to the people, and it is sacrificed to the dead, to the labor, to the disaster and to the disaster.

"He added," In the past, the Yellow Emperor was able to accomplish everything and share wealth with the people.

"This is in line with the" law for the people ".

According to Tan Zi, the Yellow Emperor first took Ji Yun as the official. He was the one who put everything under the co-owner and was founded by the Yellow Emperor.

In fact, there was no official name at that time, but some people were appointed to do something specifically.

After Emperor Yan, Gong Gong, Da Lian, or at least Da Lian, were all in charge of specific people.

Tan Zi added: "Since Zhuan Xu, we have not been able to learn from the distant past, but from the near future. We have made a civil administration for people's teachers.

"That is to say, in Zhuan Xu, the official names are set according to their positions, such as Stuart, Sima, Sikong and Sheep herder.

Later generations took the official system as the decision of the Yellow Emperor, and gradually expanded to "everything is destined to be shared by the Ming people", which was regarded as the pioneer of ancient civilization.

These are some old truths revealed by later legends.

Although Yue Jue Shu was compiled in the Eastern Han Dynasty, some ancient historical facts preserved in it are not as good as his book.

For example, Feng Xun's words to the King of Chu at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period recorded in the chapter "The Legend of Yueque Sword": When Xuanyuan, Shennong and Xu He were soldiers, they cut down trees as palaces and hid in dragons after death, and their husbands were gods.

In the period of the Yellow Emperor, jade was used as a military symbol, trees were cut down for palaces, and land was chiseled. Jade is also sacred, and it was forced to die by the Lord and hidden in the dragon.

In the cave, use copper as a soldier, chisel the easy gap, open the Longmen, set the river to draw water from it, inject it into the East China Sea, level the world, and rule the palace. Isn't it the power of the Lord? At this time, being an iron soldier and intimidating the three armed forces will be heard all over the world, and you dare not refuse. This is also the god of iron soldiers, and the king has virtue.

This passage is mixed with many myths, but the four eras are based on the tools used, namely, stone, jade, copper and iron, which is completely consistent with the division of ancient society into Paleolithic Age, Neolithic Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age by modern archaeologists. This is not an accidental coincidence, but an ancient truth preserved in ancient legends.

Accordingly, Xuanyuan, Shennong and Hershey are all equivalent to the Paleolithic Age, and the Yellow Emperor is equivalent to the Neolithic Age. After the Yellow Emperor, Emperor Yan naturally belonged to the Neolithic Age.

Everything is done wrong once said that Yinzhou is over 700 years old and Yu Xia is over 2,000 years old ("Everything is done wrong"). Zhou refers to the Western Zhou Dynasty. By the end of the Warring States period, it had a history of more than 3,000 years, and by the end of the twentieth century, it had a history of more than 2,000 years. Even before Yu Xia, the Yellow Emperor was about five or six thousand years ago, which is consistent with the number of years in the Neolithic Age in archaeology.

Emperor Yan was the monarch of another country and was defeated as the enemy of the Yellow Emperor, but after the Yellow Emperor, he also became a co-owner and maintained the scale of the co-owner established by the Yellow Emperor.

The Yellow Emperor had two wars, a pair of Yan Emperor and a pair of Chiyou.

The Historical Records of the Five Emperors is written as follows: At the time of Xuanyuan, the Shennong family declined, the vassals invaded the people, and Shennong was able to levy.

Therefore, Xuanyuan is used to Ge, and he does not enjoy it, so the princes and salty guests all come from it.

Chiyou is the most violent, so you can't cut it.

Emperor Yan wanted to invade the princes of the mausoleum, and the princes returned the Xuanyuan with salt.

Xuanyuan is Xiu De's army, with five arts, five arts, five arts, five arts, five arts, five arts, five arts, five arts. Tiger, in order to fight Emperor Yan in the wild of Hanquan.

Fight three battles, and then win the battle.

Chiyou's insurrection does not require the life of the emperor.

So the Yellow Emperor became a vassal and fought against Chiyou in the land of Zhuolu, so the birds killed Chiyou.

And the ministers respected Xuanyuan as the son of heaven and represented Shennong as the Yellow Emperor.

It is a later theory to call the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, but Yan Di is not Shennong, and this article is still correct.

The battle of Hanquan is recorded more accurately in ancient legends.

King Xiang of Zhou was forced by the rebellion of his children and lived in Zheng. Jin Wengong will quell the rebellion, accept the king, and predict that "the Yellow Emperor will fight in Hanquan" (Zuo Zhuan was twenty-five years old).

This was an important war in ancient times, so it was included in Oracle Bone Inscriptions. There are many such examples in today's hexagrams in Zhouyi, which can prove that they are not fiction.

3. According to the legends about Huangdi and Yan Di recorded by later generations, explore their actual historical deeds. What is the status of Huangdi and Yan Di in people's minds? In Mandarin IV, he said to his son, "In the past, Shao Dian married a man with a surname of Gao and gave birth to Huang Di and He.

The Yellow Emperor took pumping water as his success, while Yan Di took Jiang Shui as his success, with different virtues. Therefore, the Yellow Emperor is Ji, not Jiang.

The two emperors helped each other with their teachers.

"This legend spread in the early Spring and Autumn Period, and it is an earlier legend.

What he said seems to be a hint, reflecting the relationship between Ji and Jiang.

The establishment of the Western Zhou Dynasty was helped by the Chiang family. After the success of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Jiang Shang was sealed in Qi, a big country at that time, and received preferential treatment. Guan Zhong, who helped establish hegemony, said: "Yesterday, Shao Kanggong ordered me to be the first gentleman, saying,' Uncle Five Kings and Nine uncles, you really want to enlist it to help Zhou Shi.

Before the founding of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the two clans may have had conflicts, and then they reconciled.

Therefore, Huangdi and Yan Di are brothers. Huangdi and Yan Di once led troops to meet each other and later became co-owners. Therefore, they said, "The two emperors helped each other with their teachers.

"To yu 2, style. The gens, although there have been contradictions and frictions, finally reconciled.

After Ji and Jiang's political success, they declared their ancestors as gods, and their events were all seen in the Book of Songs.

"Daya Sheng Min" says: "Jue Sheng Min, when Yuan Weijiang.

What about strangers? The childless Kesi, after Di Xin, has another one, including earthquake, fertility and education, and Hou Ji.

"Zhou identified its ancestor as Hou Ji.

Hou Ji was originally an agricultural official in Xia Dynasty, and seemed to be a branch of Ji's surname, so Zhou people became the ancestors of this branch.

In addition, there are many Ji families, such as Li Rong, who was destroyed, and the sojourners. They are all surnamed Ji, and they are regarded as Rong Di because their cultural life is different from that of Chinese people.

The same is true of Jiang's surname. Daya Takamatsu said: "Takamatsu Yue Wei, the third runner-up is in the sky.

Yue Wei descended to God, and he was born and blessed.

Fu, Fu, Si Guo Fan, Sifang Xuan.

"The descendants of Yue are called Taiyue or Siyue.

For example, in the twenty-second year of Zuo Zhuan, Zhuang Gong said, "Jiang is behind Taiyue.

"Another song" Fourteen Years of Xiang Gong ",Jiang Rong said:" I, Zhu Rong, am descended from four mountains.

"In short, the establishment of Jishi and Chiang Kai-shek in the Zhou Dynasty was all due to God's will.

Although myth is not a fact, it is natural for all ethnic groups to turn it into myth in order to publicize the difference between their ancestors and other ethnic groups, and there is no need to discuss it.

The legend of Jiang surname is more complicated. For example, at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, Zhao Shi of the State of Jin said, "Emperor Yan was the fire master, and Jiang followed.

"("Zuo Zhuan "mourned for nine years) The prince said that when Yu was in charge of water control, Gong Gong assisted Sun Siyue. "Qian Siyue after success, sealing, word day river, word day lu.

"("Mandarin Zhou ") According to the above statement, Gong Gong's family is behind the scenes of Yan Di, and their relationship is unknown.

Shanhaijing and Neijing call Gonggong the fifth grandson of Emperor Yan. If it is justified, the four mountains are even behind Emperor Yan.

4. "Historical Records" and "Zen Quotations" contain: "Qin Linggong became a monk in Wuyang to worship the Yellow Emperor; Sacrifice to Emperor Yan.

"It is the result of the deification of ancient emperors. The combination of the Yellow Emperor and Yan Emperor shows that the relationship between the two emperors is similar.

During the Warring States Period, hundred schools of thought's theories were different, but they all liked to prove his theories with the events of the ancients, which inevitably led to many exaggerations and influenced ancient history. There are two situations.

One is that the names of ancient emperors are often merged.

Since the Spring and Autumn Period, nobles in various countries have not only surnames, but also names. During the Warring States period, people were influenced by this. In the ancient emperors who were originally single names, most of them combined the two names into one.

For example, Huangdi combined with Xuanyuan, Yan Di combined with Shennong, Taipi combined with Baoxi, Shaopi combined with Jintian, Zhuan Xu combined with Lai, and Di Ku combined with Gaoxin.

It turned out that Yan Di was after the Yellow Emperor and Shennong was before the Yellow Emperor, so Yan Di was changed to before the Yellow Emperor. The story of Shennongjia is also under the name of Emperor Yan, but the legend about Emperor Yan himself has disappeared.

Xuanyuan family was originally before Shennong, but because of its little fame, it has been behind Shennongjia since it merged with Huangdi.

After Emperor Yan, the prince and Bao family combined, even before Emperor Yan and Shennong family.

In the middle and early period of the Spring and Autumn Period, the State of Lu, Shike, used sixteen phases to divide the four evils, and at the same time listed Zhuan Xu and Levin. There is no doubt that two people are not one person. By the time of the Warring States Period, no one mentioned this kind of thing any more, and the combination of the names of ancient emperors had been fixed in the legendary ancient history.

During the Warring States period, the theory of five gods was popular. The names of emperors are all taken from famous ancient emperors, such as Taidi in the East, Yan Di in the South, Huangdi in the Middle, Shaoluo in the West and Zhuan Xu in the North, which also helps to strengthen the knowledge of ancient history in people's minds.

Although the Warring States period was a separatist situation, the idea of "merging into one" has become a consensus, which is reflected in ancient history and has another important influence, that is, summing up ancient history vertically and forming a unified form.

Headed by the Yellow Emperor, all the important ancient emperors and rulers in the past dynasties were the Yellow Emperor and his descendants.

In the form of Confucius answering the question of slaughter, he wrote two articles, the virtue of the five emperors and the surname of the emperor.

The "Five Emperors" were not limited to five people, so the article talked about the Yellow Emperor, Emperor Zhuan Xu, Emperor Yao, Emperor Shun and Yu, but Yu didn't call himself the emperor, which was vague.

Emperors of past dynasties are all after the Yellow Emperor, such as Zhuan Xu, the grandson of the Yellow Emperor; He is the great-grandson of the Yellow Emperor; Yao is the son of Qi; Shun is the ninth grandson of the Yellow Emperor and the seventh grandson of Zhuan Xu. So Zhuan Xu's grandson.

This chaotic world has shown that it is not enough to win people's trust, and Sima Qian's Biography of Five Emperors adopted this information and changed Yu to Xia Benji, so Biography of Five Emperors became a veritable ancient five emperors.

Because The Five Emperors was written in the name of Confucius, and Sima Qian's Historical Records is also very authoritative, this ancient history system, although obviously contradictory, has adopted the attitude of "telling the past and listening to the past" in people's minds, so it has been impossible to jump out of this circle since 2000.

In the new ancient history system, the Yellow Emperor occupies the main position, Emperor Yan is hidden in the name of Shennong, and there is no legal arrangement under the Yellow Emperor.

Before the unification of Qin Dynasty, Huang San said it was popular, but there was no specific emperor name ⑦, so he pushed Emperor Yan Shennong into the name of "Huang San".

In the Spring and Autumn Period, Huangdi and Yan Di were called "Huangyan".

Such as "Chinese Zhou Yuxia": "The dead are not favored, all behind Huangyan.

"Since the names of Emperor Yan and Shennong were combined, even when referring to the Yellow Emperor, they were changed to' Yanhuang'.

For example, Han Wei Bao Zan: "There are many descendants of Yan Huang and Tang Yu.

"Is an example of it.

The school of ancient skepticism, which is popular in modern times, denies all ancient history and legends, and even says that all ancient emperors are mythical figures, all of which are humanized by legends.

Too much is not enough, which is the weakness of this kind of statement.

Although it is arduous to discuss ancient legends realistically and reasonably, it is the only feasible way to correctly and reasonably understand the historical status of Huangdi and Yandi.

Since the Warring States Period, although the historical status of the Yellow Emperor and Yan Di in people's minds is far from their actual historical status, people have interpreted ancient historical issues with a positive attitude and according to subjective requirements, and at the same time show that the narrators are deeply respected and admired by the world.

This situation shows the following facts.

Chinese culture is a fine tradition of the Chinese nation, and its formation and development can be traced back to the Yellow Emperor and Yan Di. Therefore, people often say that "we are all descendants of Huangyan" (or "descendants of the Yellow Emperor") and have a sense of intimacy and pride.

This sentence really plays a great role in inspiring the national spirit and enhancing the national consciousness.

A clear understanding of the historical status of the Yellow Emperor and Yan Di is more helpful to show that this is not empty talk, but has a solid factual basis.