We call ourselves the descendants of Yan Huang, but the relationship between Yan Di and Huang Di is foggy, one of the mysteries is that Yan Di and Huang Di broke out the Battle of Hanquan, indicating that the two were people of the same era, and at that time, the Yellow Emperor's merits exceeded that of Yan Di, why did Yan Di eventually become one of the three emperors of the "Earth Emperor", and the Yellow Emperor was only the head of the Five Emperors?
The "Chinese Jin Language" records: "Xi Shaodian married to the Youyu clan and gave birth to the Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor. The Yellow Emperor was formed by Ji Shui (Shaanxi Wugong Qishui River), and the Yan Emperor was formed by Jiang Shui (Shaanxi Baoji Qingjiang River). So the Yellow Emperor is Ji and the Yan Emperor is Jiang. The Second Emperor used the teacher to help each other, and the reason for the different virtues was also. The Zhou Dynasty's "Chinese" believes that Yanhuang is not only the same era, but also that the two are brothers, and their fathers are both Shaodian.
The "History of the Five Emperors" records: "Emperor Yan wanted to invade the princes of Lingling, and the princes returned to Xuanyuan. Xuanyuan is a Shude Zhenbing, Zhi Wu Qi, Five Kinds of Qi, Fu Wanmin, Du Sifang, teaching Xiong Qi Qi and Qi Hu to fight against Emperor Yan in the wilderness of Hanquan. Three battles, and then its ambition. "Emperor Yan lost a certain amount of morality, because he wanted to invade the princes, the princes defected to the Yellow Emperor, the Yanhuang Emperor fought against each other, and later the Yanhuang Emperor broke out in the Battle of Hanquan, and the Yellow Emperor won the battle, although Yanhuang was reconciled, it showed that the Yellow Emperor's moral discipline was better.
The Three Emperors and Five Emperors are the "emperors" who appeared in legend before the Xia Dynasty of China, whether according to myths and legends or historical records, the three emperors should be in an earlier age than the five emperors. According to the new achievements in archaeology, ethnology, anthropology, combined with documentary materials, scholars have made a more specific definition of the era of the Three Emperors and Five Emperors, believing that the Era of the Three Emperors is the Neolithic Age of "using stone as soldiers", which is much earlier than the Era of the Five Emperors.
However, the Three Emperors were in front and the Five Emperors were behind, so why did the Second Emperor of Yanhuang break out the Battle of Hanquan? The outbreak of war between the Two Emperors of Yanhuang shows that they are in the same era, and the Yellow Emperor is more moral and disciplined than the Yan Emperor, so why is the Yan Emperor one of the three emperors, but the Yellow Emperor has become one of the five emperors?
In fact, the historical Yandi was not a person, but a fixed title of a tribal leader.
Since there is no record of the "Three Emperors" in the "Records of History", Sima Zhen of the Tang Dynasty summarized the materials of his predecessors and wrote the "Three Emperors Benji" to complete the "Records of History", adding the history of myths and legends and tribal leaders in ancient times such as Fuxi, Nuwa, and Shennong. Among them, the source of the Yan Emperor is recorded as follows:
Nuwa clan is not, Shennong clan is made. Yandi Shennong, surnamed Jiang. Mother and daughter. There is the daughter of the Wa clan. Longer than ginger water. Because I thought it was a surname. Fire King. Therefore, he was known as emperor Yan. Officers named after fire. Wood is used to teach thousands of people. Start teaching farming. Hence the name Shennong. First taste the herbs, first there is medicine. (Yan Emperor) Sheng Emperor Kui, Kui Sheng Emperor Cheng, Chengsheng Emperor Ming, Ming Sheng Emperor Zhi, Zhi Sheng Emperor Ji, Yi Sheng Emperor Lai, Wai Sheng Di Ke, Ke Sheng Emperor Yu Yi. Eight generations, five hundred and thirty years. And the Xuanyuan clan is thriving.
Legend has it that the leader of the tribe surnamed Jiang, because he knew how to use fire to get the throne, was called The Yan Emperor. Later, because of his outstanding contribution to agricultural extension, he was called Shennong. After this, the Yan Emperor of the Shennong clan tasted hundreds of herbs and made medicines.
More importantly, from Shennong onwards, the Tribe of Jiang surnames had nine generations of Yan Emperor, Shennongsheng Emperor Kui, Kuisheng Emperor Cheng, Chengsheng Emperor Ming, Mingsheng Emperor Zhi, Zhisheng Emperor, Yisheng Emperor Wai, Waisheng Dike, Kesheng Emperor Yu Yi, and passed on the throne for 530 years. Until the time of the Yan Emperor Yu, the Yellow Emperor of Xuanyuan rose up and ended the Yan Emperor's world.
During the reign of Emperor Dike of Yan, the Dongyi people harassed and invaded the eastern border of the Shennong clan, and the seventeen-year-old Jiang Yuyi was ordered to garrison the old capital Ofichuan, and to prepare an army there, fight against the Dongyi people, defeat the enemy many times, and receive many praises and commendations from Dike. After Di Ke's death, Yu Yi became a new generation of Yan Emperor.
However, soon after Yu Yi succeeded to the throne, until the rise of the Xuanyuan clan, the Yandi tribe declined more and more, so that "the princes invaded each other and abused the people, and the Shennong clan Wasengzheng". For the sake of peace in the world and the people's living and working in peace and contentment, the Xuanyuan clan practiced military training to recruit those princes who did not come to pay tribute, and all the princes came to obey, but among them, Xuanyou was the most violent, and no one could go to him, nor could xuanyuan.
At this time, Emperor Yan wanted to attack and oppress the princes and revive the Yan Emperor Dynasty, but the princes all submitted to the Xuanyuan clan, and there was a serious conflict between the Yan Emperor and the Xuanyuan clan. A few years later, the Xuanyuan clan exerted great efforts to rectify the army, and finally broke out with the Yan Emperor YuYi in the Battle of Hanquan, "three wars, and then won its will". After this, the Xuanyuan clan united with the princes to defeat Xuan You and won the victory in the battle against the deer, so the princes all honored the Xuanyuan clan as the son of heaven and replaced the position of the Shennong clan, that is, "the princes Xianzun Xuanyuan was the son of heaven, and the shennong clan was the yellow emperor".
The author believes that the rise of the Yellow Emperor of Xuanyuan to replace the YanDi Emperor should be a change of power in ancient times, just like the change of dynasties in later generations, bloody violence is indispensable. The history books are full of words that the Yellow Emperor "subdued people with virtue" and should be glorified for future generations. As for some historical books such as the "Chinese", the Second Emperor of Yanhuang is described as a brother, and the Yellow Emperor is the central chronicle, focusing on the glorification of the Yellow Emperor, the ancestor of the Zhou Dynasty.
All in all, Yu Yi was the last Yan Emperor, and the Yan Emperor defeated by the Yellow Emperor of Xuanyuan was the Yan Emperor Yu Yi, not the Shennong Yan Emperor who tasted hundreds of herbs. According to the "Three Emperors Benji", The Shennongyan Emperor was more than 500 years earlier than the Yellow Emperor, and because of his outstanding contributions, he was revered as the Emperor of the Earth by later generations, and was also the last emperor in ancient times after the Furen clan and the Fuxi Nuwa. After the Yellow Emperor unified the world, a new chapter in Chinese history was opened, the era of the Three Emperors ended, the era of the Five Emperors began, and the Yellow Emperor became the head of the Five Emperors.
References: "Three Emperors Benji", "Five Emperors Benji", "Imperial Century"