Shennong’s Family Tree

About Shennong →

Family

• Nüdeng(parent),Shaodian(parent),Jingwei(sibling)— Consort · Miraculous

  Nüdeng, consort of Shaodian, conceived Shennong after being touched by a sacred dragon at Huayang, giving the Divine Farmer his ox-headed appearance. Their granddaughter Jingwei, who drowned in the Eastern Sea and became a bird, was born of this line.

• Jingwei(child)

  Shennong's youngest daughter Nüwa drowned while playing in the East Sea and was transformed into the bird Jingwei, who ceaselessly carries twigs and pebbles to fill the ocean that took her life.

Allied with

• Huangdi

  After their contest at Banquan, Huangdi and Shennong united their tribes to face the monstrous Chi You at Zhuolu, forging the alliance that Chinese tradition remembers as the origin of the Yan-Huang people.

Enemy of

• Huangdi

  Huangdi and Shennong clashed three times at the Battle of Banquan, each sovereign commanding his tribes in a struggle for supremacy over the Central Plains, until Shennong yielded and the two peoples merged under the Yellow Emperor's rule.

Member of

• Three Sovereigns

  The Three Sovereigns comprise Fuxi, Nüwa, and Shennong, the primordial sage-rulers who established the foundations of Chinese civilization in the mythical age before recorded history.

  ⚠ Sources disagree on the composition: Fengsu Tongyi names Fuxi, Nüwa, and Shennong; Shangshu Dazhuan substitutes Suiren for Nüwa; Baihutong offers Fuxi, Shennong, and Zhurong; other traditions include the Yellow Emperor.