Who is Shennong in Chinese mythology?

Shennong, whose name means the Divine Farmer, is a legendary ruler of ancient China said to have taught people farming and herbal medicine. He is often counted among the Three Sovereigns, the culture heroes at the very start of Chinese history.

Is Shennong the same as the Yan Emperor?

Ancient books disagree. From the Han dynasty on, many texts treat Shennong and Yandi, the Flame Emperor, as one figure, often called Yandi Shennong, but some scholars think they began as two separate legends.

Did Shennong write the Shennong Bencao Jing?

No. Later writers compiled it and borrowed his name; it is usually dated to around the Eastern Han dynasty. It lists 365 medicines and is the oldest surviving Chinese book on herbal medicine.

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Chinese myth · 声匠改编 · 4:07

Shennong Tastes a Hundred Herbs

Nobody knew which plants could heal and which could harm, so Shennong climbed the mountains and tasted them one by one, meeting seventy poisons in a day.

Narrator

Shennong

Ah He

Ah He's Mother

The Poison Flower

0:000:00

Other languages · 2 languages

🇨🇳 中文 🇺🇸 English

About this story

Shennong Tastes a Hundred Herbs comes from the Huainanzi, a book compiled at the court of Liu An, Prince of Huainan, in the 2nd century BC. Its chapter Xiuwu says Shennong taught people to sow the five grains and to judge whether land was dry or wet, rich or poor, and that he tasted the flavours of the hundred plants and the sweetness or bitterness of springs, so people knew what to avoid and what to use, meeting seventy poisons in a single day. This version adds the boy Ah He, his sick mother and a talking poison flower; curing poison with a leaf is part of the myth, not real advice.

What it teaches

Shennong takes risks for everyone else, bite by bite, until he finds healing herbs and grains to grow, which is the spirit of working hard for others and daring to explore. It also teaches children that something pretty is not always safe, and that plants they don't know must never go in their mouths.

Suits

Ages 5–10

Tips for telling it

Afterwards, remind children that Shennong is a myth: in real life, never taste an unknown plant, berry or mushroom.
Give the poison flower a smooth, oily voice, so children laugh and stay wary at the same time.
Look at rice, wheat and beans together, and talk about the plants they come from.

Questions people ask

Who is Shennong in Chinese mythology?: Shennong, whose name means the Divine Farmer, is a legendary ruler of ancient China said to have taught people farming and herbal medicine. He is often counted among the Three Sovereigns, the culture heroes at the very start of Chinese history.
Is Shennong the same as the Yan Emperor?: Ancient books disagree. From the Han dynasty on, many texts treat Shennong and Yandi, the Flame Emperor, as one figure, often called Yandi Shennong, but some scholars think they began as two separate legends.
Did Shennong write the Shennong Bencao Jing?: No. Later writers compiled it and borrowed his name; it is usually dated to around the Eastern Han dynasty. It lists 365 medicines and is the oldest surviving Chinese book on herbal medicine.

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