Suiren ( zh, , ''Suìrén'',
lit. "
Flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
Man") appears in
Chinese mythology
Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions.
Much of t ...
and some works which draw upon it. He is credited as a culture hero who introduced humans to the production of fire and its use for cooking. He was included on some ancient lists of the legendary
Three August Ones, who lived long before
Emperor Yao,
Emperor Shun
Emperor Shun () was a legendary leader of ancient China, regarded by some sources as one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors being the last of the Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he lived sometime between 2294 and 2184 BC. Tradition a ...
, and the
Xia rulers of the earliest historical
Chinese dynasty, even before the
Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...
&
Yandi. Suiren’s innovation by tradition has been using the wooden
fire drill to create fire. Tradition holds that he ruled over China for 110 years.
Sources
He is mentioned in ten books from the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
or before. Those crediting him with the introduction of drilling wood for fire include three
Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...
works (''
Bai Hu Tong'', ''Zhong Lun'', and ''
Fengsu Tongyi
''Fengsu Tongyi'' (), also known as ''Fengsu Tong'', is a book written about 195 AD by Ying Shao, who lived during the later Eastern Han period. The manuscript is similar to an almanac
An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is ...
''), the legalist book by
Han Feizi
The ''Han Feizi'' or ''Hanfeizi'' (" ritings ofMaster Han Fei") is an ancient Chinese text named for its attribution to the political philosopher Han Fei. It comprises a selection of essays in the Legalist tradition on theories of state power, ...
, and the historical textbook ''Gu San Fen'' (). He is also mentioned more generally in the
''Zhuangzi'' or ''Chuang-tzu'', in two of the Confucian “Outer Chapters” (
''Xunzi'' and ''
Qianfu Lun
The ''Qianfu Lun'' ( zh, , ''Qiánfū lún'', "Comments of a Recluse"), also known by its Wade-Giles romanization ''Ch'ien-fu Lun'', is a political-metaphysical text by the Later Han philosopher Wang Fu. It contains criticisms of contemporary so ...
''), a legalist book (
''Guanzi''), and an early etymological dictionary ''
Shuowen Jiezi''.
References
* Christie, Anthony (1968). ''Chinese Mythology''. Feltham: Hamlyn Publishing.
*
Wu, K. C. (1982). ''The Chinese Heritage''. New York: Crown Publishers. .
* Christie, Anthony (1968). ''Chinese Mythology''. Feltham: Hamlyn Publishing.
* Yang Lihui, An Deming, & al. (2005). ''Handbook of Chinese Mythology''. New York: Oxford University Press.
{{Authority control
Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors