Wufang Shangdi---Five Forms of the Supreme Deity color

''Chìdì'' ( "Red Deity" or "Red Emperor") or ''Chìshén'' ( "Red God"), also known as the ''Nándì'' ( "South Deity") or ''Nányuèdàdì'' ( "Great Deity of the Southern Peak"), as a human was '' Shénnóng'' ( "Farmer God" or "Plowing God"), who is also the same as '' Yándì'' ( "Flame Deity" or "Fiery Deity"), a function occupied by different gods and god-kings in mytho-history. Shennong is also one of the Three Patrons, specifically the patron of humanity ( ''Rénhuáng''), and the point of intersection of the Three Patrons and Huangdi. In response to Wu Xing thought and Tu Shi, the founder of the Han Dynasty,

Liu Bang Emperor Gaozu of Han (256 – 1 June 195 BC), born Liu Bang () with courtesy name Ji (季), was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning in 202–195 BC. His temple name was "Taizu" while his posthumous name was Empe ...

, is said to be the son of the Red Emperor; in the Han Dynasty God of the Five Directions, the Red Emperor represents the Southern God. Among the Taoist deities, there are also deities that use the title of Red Emperor, such as

Hung Shing Hung Shing wong (), also known as Hung Shing Ye () and Tai Wong () is a Chinese folk religion deity. The most popular tale states that in his lifetime he was a government official in the Tang dynasty (AD 618–907)

. The title has been used to refer to

Yan Emperor The Yan Emperor () or the Flame Emperor was a legendary ancient Chinese ruler in pre-dynastic times. Modern scholarship has identified the Sheep's Head Mountains (''Yángtóu Shān'') just north of Baoji in Shaanxi Province as his homeland and ...

Shennong Shennong (), variously translated as "Divine Farmer" or "Divine Husbandman", born Jiang Shinian (), was a mythological Chinese ruler known as the first Yan Emperor who has become a deity in Chinese and Vietnamese folk religion. He is vene ...

Emperor Yao Emperor Yao (; traditionally c. 2356 – 2255 BCE) was a legendary Chinese ruler, according to various sources, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Ancestry and early life Yao's ancestral name is Yi Qi () or Qi (), clan name i ...

and

Zhurong Zhurong (), also known as Chongli (), is an important personage in Chinese mythology and Chinese folk religion. According to the '' Huainanzi'' and the philosophical texts of Mozi and his followers, Zhurong is a god of fire and of the south. Th ...

. He is also associated with '' Chīyóu'' (), the god of some southern peoples, in both iconography and myth, as both Shennong Yandi and Chiyou fought against the Yellow Emperor, although Chiyou is traditionally considered more violent and has the horns of a fighting bull, while Shennong Yandi is more peaceful and has the horns of a plowing buffalo. He is the manifestation of the supreme God associated with the essence of fire; his animal form is the Red Dragon ( ''Zhūlóng'') and his stellar animal is the phoenix. He is the god of agriculture, animal husbandry, medicinal plants and market. In broader conceptualisation, he is the god of science and craft, and the patron of doctors and apothecaries. His astral body is

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

Yandi

The

Yi Zhou Shu The ''Yi Zhou Shu'' () is a compendium of Chinese historical documents about the Western Zhou period (1046–771 BCE). Its textual history began with a (4th century BCE) text/compendium known as the ''Zhou Shu'' ("Book of Zhou"), which was possibl ...

states that

Chiyou Chiyou (蚩尤, ) is a mythological being that appears in East Asian mythology. Individual According to the Song dynasty history book '' Lushi'', Chiyou's surname was Jiang (), and he was a descendant of flame. According to legend, Chiyou had a ...

was once a vassal of the Red Emperor and was appointed to rule the land of

Shaohao Shaohao or Shao Hao ( "Lesser Brightness"), also known Jin Tian (金天), was a legendary Chinese sovereign. Shaohao is usually identified as a son of the Yellow Emperor. According to some traditions (for example the ''Book of Documents''), he is ...

. As Chiyou became more powerful, he fought with the Red Emperor in Zhuolu. The Red Emperor was defeated and turned to the

Huang Di Huangdi () may refer to: *Yellow Emperor (黃帝), a legendary Chinese monarch who supposedly ruled before the Xia dynasty *Emperor of China (皇帝), the imperial title of Chinese monarchs; and the superlative monarchical title in the Sinosphere ...

for help. The Yellow Emperor defeated Chi You and restored peace to the world.。 According to Wang Fu's "The Theory of Subtlety", the Flame Emperor's , son of the divine dragon, called himself Yan Di, inherited the title of

and replaced

Fuxi Fuxi or Fu Hsi (伏羲 ~ 伏犧 ~ 伏戲) is a culture hero in Chinese legend and mythology, credited along with his sister and wife Nüwa with creating humanity and the invention of music, hunting, fishing, domestication, and cooking as well ...

as the common lord of the world.。

Shennong

Yao and Liu Bang

The saying that Yao was the Red Emperor originated in the Han Dynasty. The Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian), citing the Shippen and the Da Dai Li (Records of the Grand Ritual), states that Yao was one of the Five Emperors. In line with the Five Virtues of the Beginning, Yao is considered to be the Red Emperor. Legend has it that

was the son of the Red Emperor after Yao.班固《漢書》卷1〈高祖紀〉：「高祖被酒……乃拔劍斬蛇……嫗曰：『吾子，白帝子也，化為蛇，當道，今者赤帝子斬之，故哭』」註疏：「應劭曰：『秦襄公以居西，主少昊之神，作西畤，祠白帝。……少昊，金德也。赤帝，堯後謂漢也。殺之者，明漢當滅秦也。』」。

Yandi

Shennong

Yao and Liu Bang

Zhurong

Wufang Shangdi

Hung Shing

References

Bibliography