Zhuanxu

Zhuanxu (Chinese: trad. 顓頊, simp. 颛顼, pinyin Zhuānxū), also known as Gaoyang (t 高陽, s 高阳, p Gāoyáng), was a mythological emperor of ancient China.

In the traditional account recorded by Sima Qian, Zhuanxu was a grandson of the Yellow Emperor who led the Shi clan in an eastward migration to present-day Shandong, where intermarriages with the Dongyi clan enlarged and augmented their tribal influences. At age twenty, he became their sovereign, going on to rule for seventy-eight years until his death.

Family

Zhuanxu was the grandson of the Yellow Emperor and his wife Leizu by way of his father Changyi. His mother was named Changtsu according to Sima Qian, Niuqu according to the Bamboo Annals.

Zhuanxu was subsequently claimed as an ancestor by many of the dynasties of Chinese history, including the Mi of Chu and Yue, the Yíng of Qin, and the Cao of Wei.

Reign

Zhuanxu was held by many sources to be one of the Five Emperors.

According to Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, upon the passing of the Yellow Emperor, Zhuanxu's uncle Shaohao never actually reigned as king, as in other reports. Rather, Gaoyang was chosen as the tribe's new leader, with the regnal name Zhuanxu, in preference to his father and all his uncles. Zhuanxu defeated Gonggong, a descendant of the Emperor Yan.