What is the relationship between the Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor? Some historical records say they are half-brothers, and others say their mothers are both Nuwa? However, what is certain is that Huangdi and Yandi belong to different tribes and the same ancestor. They may have a certain blood relationship through intermarriage with each other. There is also the fact that Emperor Yan is the elder of Emperor Huang. As for how much older he is, it is difficult to say clearly. However, the "Historical Records" did not explain in detail what the relationship between the Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor was, which led to divergent opinions!
First, the relationship between Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang is continuous.
According to the "Book of Changes": "After the death of Bao Xi, it was written by Shennong. After the death of Shennong, Huang Di, Written by Yao and Shun." Later, many historical records almost unanimously adopted this view: Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang were in succession. "Hanshu" and "White Tiger Tongyi" almost all copy the original text: "Fuxi died, Shennong wrote it. Shennong died, Huangdi, Yao and Shun wrote." "Doctrine" written by Cai Yong of the Eastern Han Dynasty contains: " "Yi" says: The emperor came from earthquakes. The person who caused earthquakes was wood. It is said that the Mixi family used the virtue of wood to create fire, so the Mixi family succeeded with the virtue of fire. When the Shen Nong clan died, the Yellow Emperor succeeded him with the virtue of earth.
The clan of the earth produced gold, so the Huang Emperor died, and the clan of Shaohao succeeded him with the virtue of gold. Therefore, Zhuanxu's family succeeded him with the virtue of wood. Therefore, Emperor Ku's family succeeded him with the virtue of fire. Therefore, Emperor Shun's family succeeded him with the virtue of earth. . Earth generates metal, so Xia Yu's family follows it with metal virtue. Metal generates water, so Yin Tang family follows it with water virtue. Water generates wood, so wood generates fire, so Gaozu follows it with fire virtue. ." Cai Yong used the Five Elements Theory to explain the change of dynasties, from Fuxi to Han Dynasty. Here, we can also see that in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the inheritance relationship between Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang was not in dispute and was relatively consistent.
Second, the theory of brothers
According to "Guoyu Jinyu": "In the past, Shaodian married the Youyu family and gave birth to Huangdi and Yandi. The Yellow Emperor was born from Ji water, and the Yandi was born from Jiang water. . Success has different virtues, so the Yellow Emperor is Ji and the Yan Emperor is Jiang. The two emperors use their teachers to help each other. This is why they have different virtues. "From this sentence, it seems that the Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor were born from the Shaodian family. of two brothers. In fact, it is not the case. It is recorded in "Emperor Century": "The Yellow Emperor had a Xiong family, the son of Shaodian, and his surname was Ji. His mother was called Fu Bao. His predecessor was the Yan Emperor's mother's family, who had a daughter of the Xiong family, who married Shaodian. "Guoyu" is also called Yan. At the end of the Shennong family, the Shaodian family also took Fubao... Huangdi was born in Shouxiu and grew up in Jishui, so he took it as his surname. "This makes it clear what was unclear in the "Guoyu" narrative. .
Third, the "contemporary theory"
The contemporaneous theory is mainly caused by inaccurate records in "Historical Records", such as: "At the time of Xuanyuan, the Shennong family declined." , "Xuanyuan... fought with Emperor Yan in the wilderness of Banquan, fought three times, and then won his ambition", "The princes respected Xuanyuan as the emperor, and replaced the Shennong clan as the Yellow Emperor", etc. Many subsequent historical records have corrected the inaccuracies stated in "Historical Records". For example, the "Book of Han" records: Huang Di "battled with Emperor Yan at Banquan, and then became king of the world." This means that the battle between Yan and Huangbanquan was not a battle between Huangdi and Yandi, but a battle between Huangdi and Yandi. "Three Emperors" says: "Eight generations after Emperor Yan, the Xuanyuan family took his place for more than five hundred years." It should be said that Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang were not contemporaries, which should be said to be very clear.
To sum up, the author personally believes that the relationship between Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang is that of the same ancestors and successive generations. They each represent an era. They are neither father and son, nor brothers, let alone Alien. The war between Yan and Huang was a battle between annexation and counter-annexation, control and counter-control within the tribal alliance. It was a battle for leadership, that is, the status of alliance leader. It was a civil war, not a national war.