Chinese Traditional Culture Classics: Stories from the Records of the Grand Historian. Illustrated Edition

Author: Story Paradise Studio
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian is the first of the Twenty-Five Histories, hailed as "the peerless song of historians, an unrhymed Lament for the State." This masterpiece records the legends of the Yellow Emperor, the transitions of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, the conflicts among feudal lords during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the rise and fall of the Qin dynasty, and the rise of the Han dynasty, which has been widely for thousands of years. Records of the Grand Historian is written in the annalistic style, focusing on individuals, often featuring the same story in the biographies of multiple characters. To further popularize this classic, this book selects materials from the original work, arranging them in the order of historical events and presenting them in a simple and accessible story format to meet the needs of young readers.
A long, long time ago, in the Yangtze and Yellow River basins of our country, lived the common ancestors of our Huaxia nation—the Yellow Emperor Shennong and the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan. The Yellow Emperor was exceptionally intelligent and compassionate from a young age. Whenever others faced difficulties, he wholeheartedly helped them, earning the deep affection of his tribe members, who elected him as their leader, known in history as the Yellow Emperor.
After becoming the leader, the Yellow Emperor paid special attention to the well-being of his tribe members. In his time, people primarily relied on gathering wild fruits and hunting for their livelihood. During years of famine, most plants withered, fruits became scarce, and prey was hard to catch. Tribe members often traveled for days without finding any food, leading to starvation and death. The Yellow Emperor felt deeply distressed. He constantly asked himself, "How could he help his people escape hunger?"
One day, the Yellow Emperor observed a group of birds pecking at plant seeds on the ground. He picked up a few and examined them—thin yet round, emitting a tempting orange glow. He placed them in his mouth and found them sweet and delicious. His eyes lit up, and he quickly collected more seeds. He wondered, "If birds can eat them, why can't people?" So, the Yellow Emperor planted these seeds in the ground.
With the passage of seasons, the seeds sprouted, grew stalks, and bent under the weight of newly formed fruits. The round, golden fruits danced joyfully in the gentle breeze, revealing bright yellow smiles. The Yellow Emperor named them sù (millet), and after removing the husks, they became xiǎomǐ (small millet). When cooked, the millet was sweet, filling, and satisfying. The Yellow Emperor, filled with joy from his harvest, confidently encouraged his tribe to plant these seeds.
To make farming easier, the Yellow Emperor designed tools like the lěi (plow) and sì (hoe) based on his experience. The widespread cultivation of millet provided people with more abundant food, reducing hunger and marking the beginning of agricultural production.
To find edible plants, the Yellow Emperor personally tasted hundreds of herbs. Many plants were poisonous, but to prevent his people from starving, he risked his life to try every plant and fruit. Several times, he nearly died after ingesting toxic plants, but luckily, he found antidotes and escaped death's grasp. From then on, he warned others not to repeat his mistakes, yet he continued to risk his life to test various plants.
Once, he ate a plant called duànchángcǎo (intestine-breaking grass), which was highly toxic. Soon after, he died from poisoning. Deeply saddened, people honored him as the Shennong for his great contributions to agriculture.
After the Yellow Emperor, another outstanding leader emerged from the Shaodian tribe—the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan. Originally surnamed Gongsun, he later changed his surname to Ji and was named Xuanyuan. His birth was filled with wonder. It was said that his mother, while passing through a field at night, suddenly saw a beautiful light swirling around the North Star. Highly stimulated, she returned home and became pregnant. After a full twenty-four months, she gave birth to a boy with a prominent bump in the center of his forehead, resembling a radiant halo.