Huangdi was the son of Shaodian.
His surname was Gongsun, and his prename Xuanyuan.
Born a genius he could speak when a baby, as a boy he was quick and smart, as a youth
simple and earnest, and when grown up intelligent.
In the time of Xuanyuan, Shennong became enfeebled.
The princes made raids on each other and harassed the people, but Shennong could not chastise
them, so Xuanyuan exercised himself in the use of weapons of war, so as to be able to
punish irregularities.
The princes all came and did homage, but Chiyou, the fiercest of all, could not be subdued.
Yandi wished to oppress the princes, so they turned to Xuanyuan, who practised virtue,
marshalled his men, controlled the five elements, cultivated the five kinds of grain, pacified
the nations, and went over all parts of his country.
Training black bears, grizzly bears, foxes, panthers, lynxes, and tigers, he, with their
aid, fought with 'Flame emperor' in the desert of Banquan, and, after three battles, realised
his wishes.
Chiyou was a rebel, who did not obey the Emperor's command, so Huangdi, levying an army of the
princes, fought against Chiyou, captured, and slew him in the desert of Zhuolu.
The princes all agreed that Xuanyuan should be the Emperor in place of Shennong, under
the title Huangdi.
Those in the empire who would not submit, Huangdi pursued and chastised, and when they
were subdued he left them.
He made cuttings in hills, opened roads, and was never at rest.
Eastward his empire extended to the sea, Ball hill, and the ancestral Dai mountain; westward
to 'Hollow cave' and Cock's-head hills; southward to the Yangtze river and Xiongxiang hill;
while in the north he drove out the Xunyu.
He made a treaty on Kettle hill, and built a city on the slopes of Zhuolu.
He was constantly changing his residence, while his troops formed an encampment about
him.
He ordered his officers to be named after cloud omens.
He appointed a chief and deputy superintendent over international affairs, and the various
states being at peace, he worshipped the demons and spirits of the hills and streams with
the feng and shan ceremonies in numbers.
He obtained a valuable tripod, and made calculations of future events, appointing 'Chief of the
winds,' 'Strength-governor,' 'Everfirst,' and 'Great Swan,' to direct the people to
act in accordance with the celestial and terrestrial arrangements, the dark and bright prognostications,
the disputations on life and death, the planting of the crops, plants, and trees in their seasons,
and the transformations of birds, beasts, insects, and moths.
He also prepared a record of the movements of the sun, moon, and stars; the flow of the
tides; and the properties of clay, stones, metals, and gems.
He devoted much careful attention to these things, and his observation was applied to
ascertaining how fire, water, wood, and other elements could be used economically.
There was an auspicious omen of the earth's energy, and he was therefore called 'Yellow
god.'
Huangdi had twenty-five sons, of whom fourteen received surnames.
Huangdi lived at Xuanyuan hill, and married a woman of 'Western range' land called Leizu,
who was his principal wife, and bore him two sons, both of whose descendants held Imperial
sway.
The eldest, named Xuanxiao, or Qingyang, dwelt on the Jiang stream, and the other, who was
named Changyi, dwelt on the Ruo stream.
Changyi married a woman from the Shu hills named Changpu, who bore him a son, Gaoyang,
who possessed the virtue of a sage.
Huangdi died, and was buried at Qiaoshan, and his grandson, Changyi's son Gaoyang, came
to the throne under the title Emperor Zhuanxu.