The Mythic Age 03 : Huangdi's Epic War

Last time, we talked about the Three Sovereigns. Now, it's time to continue with the Five Emperors.

Let’s start with Huangdi.

Huangdi and the Yan Emperor were half-brothers. Their father was Shaodian, and Huangdi's mother was Fubao. Fubao had long been childless and, as she grew older, began to worry. One sleepless night, she went out for a walk under the stars. As she wandered, she noticed a powerful bolt of lightning circling the Northern Star of the Big Dipper, the first star in the constellation. Suddenly, a ray of light shot straight from the star and struck her. Startled, she hurried home, unaware that this would change history forever.

To her astonishment, she became pregnant. Even more remarkably, her pregnancy lasted twenty-five months. When she finally gave birth, she bore a boy—Huangdi. His birth, tied to the Big Dipper (the constellation Ursa Major), was said to signal his destiny: the stars themselves could mark the seasons, hinting that Huangdi would one day rule over all lands.

Huangdi, also called Gongsun Xuanyuan, was extraordinary—able to speak shortly after birth, intelligent, and gifted in combat. On the lands left by his grandfather Fuxi, he developed rapidly.

As populations grew in the late Neolithic era, inter-tribal friction increased. Tribes began to form alliances for survival, eventually consolidating into three major groups: Huangdi's Huaxia tribe, the Yan Emperor's Shennong tribe, and Chiyou's Miao—or Jiuli—tribe.

Conflicts among these tribes were frequent. In the past, the Yan Emperor would mediate disputes, but as he aged, he lacked the strength. Problems piled up, and Huangdi—though not yet the ruler—began to consider replacing him to unify and manage the tribes effectively.

Huangdi then searched for talented people to strengthen his tribe. One night, he dreamt of a great wind sweeping away the dirt from the earth. He interpreted this as a divine sign, pointing to a man named Fenghou. In another dream, he saw a powerful shepherd, signaling someone named Limu. He sent envoys to search and found them both. Recognizing their extraordinary talents, Huangdi appointed Fenghou as prime minister and Limu as general. With their guidance, his tribe grew stronger.

Seeing that the Yan Emperor could no longer manage tribal conflicts, Huangdi made a decisive move: he challenged him for the position of ruler. Bringing his warriors and herds, he confronted the Yan Emperor at Banquan, engaging in what became humanity's first great battle: the Battle of Banquan.

Curiously, though it was the first recorded war, few details remain. History only notes that Huangdi fought three times and emerged victorious. Perhaps, because they were brothers, the battle resembled a contest more than a brutal war. Of course, we can't rule out another possibility—that the war itself was insanely brutal. But since the Huangdi and the Yan Emperor were half-brothers, and because later generations called ourselves descendants of both, people kind of chose to overlook just how savage it really was. They only recorded the basics: that after the Battle of Banquan, the Huangdi became the ruler of all under heaven.

So what happened to the Yan Emperor? After that battle, he and his descendant, Zhu Rong, retreated south. But not everyone was cool with the Huangdi becoming the supreme ruler. Take Chiyou, for example—he was totally against it. Chiyou wasn't just the leader of the southern Miao tribes, he was also head of the Nine Li tribe. Before this, he'd served as a general under the Yan Emperor and was even considered the originator of many weapons, earning him the title "Ancestor of Arms." He went to the Yan Emperor and said, "I'm not okay with this outcome. If the Huangdi can take the throne just with his strength, well, the Nine Li tribe is just as strong. Why should I listen to him? Let's have another battle and see who's really the final winner."

The Yan Emperor replied, "Forget it. I think the Huangdi 's abilities are pretty solid. If we fight again, a lot of innocent people will die. I don't want to see that happen, so let him take the throne."

Hearing this, Chiyou wasn't satisfied. He went back and gathered all 81 of his brothers with bronze heads and iron foreheads—that is, all the tribe leaders of the Nine Li. He told them, "I've decided—we're going to formally challenge the Huangdi."

Now, just hearing "bronze heads and iron foreheads" tells you that Chiyou's tribe already had the technology to make metal armor and weapons. At that time, that was super advanced. Firing pottery only required a kiln over 800 degrees Celsius. But smelting copper needed more than 1,000 degrees, and making iron had to go over 1,500 degrees. Compare that to the Huangdi's forces, who were still swinging sticks and throwing stones, the gap in military power between the two sides was absolutely massive.

News of Chiyou's rebellion quickly reached the Huangdi. He immediately rallied his troops and set out to crush Chiyou. The two armies met at Zhuolu, sparking what later generations called the epic Battle of Zhuolu. To defeat Chiyou, the Huangdi's side brought in the heavenly dragon Yinglong to help. Yinglong, they say, was a dragon with wings—and according to legend, dragons had to train for a thousand years before they could grow wings. In other words, Yinglong was a dragon with some serious skill and experience.

Facing Chiyou's massive army, Yinglong immediately unleashed his power once the battle began, flooding Chiyou's troops with a massive wall of water. But here's the twist—Chiyou had already anticipated that the Huangdi would bring Yinglong. So he went to the heavens himself and called in two other gods: the Wind God and the Rain God.

Now, the two of them were stoked. They specialized in water attacks, and the more water, the more damage. Using this to their advantage, they turned Yinglong's flood right back onto the Huangdi's forces. The army got swept around, totally disoriented.

Thankfully, there was Li Mu, a great general, holding the line. Thanks to him, the Huangdi's army didn't completely collapse, even under this relentless water assault.

Seeing all this, the Huangdi's heart sank. "Oh no! I didn't expect Chiyou to call in two gods to help. If I keep fighting with Yinglong, wouldn't that just make their powers stronger? At this rate, there's no way I can win."

Realizing he needed more help, he told Li Mu to hold the line while he himself rushed off to ask for more backup.

Back at the Zhuolu battlefield, Chiyou's attacks were relentless. But Li Mu, who had studied the "Woqi Jin" written by Fenghou—a military manual on troop formations and strategies—was holding strong. Even in this almost impossible situation, he managed to keep the Huangdi's army from being completely overrun. Though they had lost nine battles in a row, the army was still standing.

Seeing this, Chiyou thought, "Time to bring out my secret weapon." And that weapon was a giant—an enormous humanoid powerhouse. Even Li Mu, with his godlike strength, couldn't hope to handle it.

Just as Li Mu's army was about to break and scatter, the Huangdi returned with reinforcements. Who did he bring? One was the goddess Hanba, and the other was the Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens. On top of that, the Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens gave the Huangdi a military manual and a precious sword. Since the sword didn't have a name at the time, and the Huangdi's personal name was Xuanyuan, later generations called it the "Xuanyuan Sword."

At the same time, she suggested he make a drum out of the skin of the Eastern Kui beast—a creature like a dragon but with only one leg. Paired with a drumstick made from the leg bone of the Thunder God, when struck, the drum's sound could carry through the sky. This would both boost the morale of the Huangdi's soldiers and scare Chiyou's troops. With these new tools, the Huangdi launched his counterattack.

First on the scene was Hanba. Her power was to turn the earth completely dry. She transformed into a massive fireball, scorching the land like the sun. With water gone, Chiyou's allies—the Wind God, and the Rain God—couldn't use their powers at all. In the end, Hanba successfully drove them off. But it wasn't easy; fighting two gods at once drained her powers completely, leaving her unable to return to heaven.

The effects of Hanba's attack didn't stop there. Chiyou's soldiers, who had been relying on metal armor and weapons, suddenly found their advantage gone. The extreme heat and dryness worked against them. Many soldiers started suffering severe dehydration. And the worst hit of all? The giant. Needing a ton of water to stay strong, he finally collapsed from exhaustion. Yinglong seized the moment and struck him with a lethal attack.

But the giant wasn't down for the count just yet. Even as he fell, he managed a final, deadly strike, wounding Yinglong seriously. With the giant finally defeated, Chiyou's troops were demoralized. "Oh no... the two gods are gone, the giant's down—let's get out of here!" they panicked, abandoning all order and fleeing in chaos.

Seeing the enemy in disarray, the Huangdi seized the opportunity and launched a full-scale final assault.

But don't think Chiyou was done. He wasn't an ordinary opponent. They say he had four eyes, six arms, and he ate rocks and sand. He wasn't going to be taken down easily. After retreating a bit to make sure the Huangdi wasn't right on him, Chiyou reorganized his scattered forces and quickly stabilized his formation. Then he used his magic to summon a thick fog, which completely blinded the Huangdi's army and stopped them in their tracks.

The Huangdi thought, "Oh no... if Chiyou escapes now, it's over. What do I do?"

At that moment, his minister Fenghou said, "My lord, there is a device called the south-pointing chariot. It uses a complex mechanism of gears to ensure that a figurine on the chariot always points in the same direction, no matter how the chariot turns."

The Huangdi's eyes lit up. "Perfect! Can you get one ready ASAP? Our army really needs this cart right now."

After receiving the order, Fenghou immediately built the legendary "south-pointing chariot". This invention didn't just shape future generations—it was also pivotal in deciding the outcome of the battle. With the compass pointing the way, Huangdi was no longer disoriented by the thick fog. Victory was within reach.

Huangdi commanded his soldiers: "Beat the Kui drums! Prepare for the final assault!"

Boom… boom… boom! The sound rang through the skies, just as the Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens had said it would. Shaken to their core, Huangdi shouted, "Charge!" The soldiers surged forward as one, crashing into Chiyou's forces.

Chiyou's army, blinded by the fog, could not see the attack coming. When the deafening Kui drums boomed across the battlefield, the already terrified soldiers thought divine reinforcements had descended from heaven to aid Huangdi. Panic spread like wildfire, and they fled in chaos.

Seeing his army collapsing, Chiyou realized the battle was lost and tried to retreat. But escape was not so simple. Yinglong, still injured, broke through the clouds and engaged Chiyou directly. Huangdi soon arrived, wielding the Xuanyuan Sword. With a single strike aimed at Chiyou's head, the Huangdi ended the rebellion—Chiyou fell, beheaded.

Not only Chiyou, but his eighty-one allied leaders were pursued by Huangdi and Limu until none survived. With that, Huangdi achieved an overwhelming victory at the Battle of Zhuolu. Yet the cost was high: Yinglong and Hanba lost their divine powers and could never return to the heavens, roaming the mortal world instead. Droughts and floods became the lingering echoes of the war.

Though the battle had ended, Huangdi knew resistance remained. To prevent uprisings, he had Chiyou's image painted on a massive banner and displayed across the lands, tricking people into believing Chiyou had surrendered. A few dissenters still rose, but they were swiftly subdued.

At last, Huangdi unified the three major tribes and became the ruler of all under heaven. His domain stretched east to the sea, west to Kongtong, south to the Yangtze river, and north to Bushan(present-day Hebei province ). With a new power structure established, Huangdi chose to abandon rule by force. He understood that conquest could only temporarily suppress hearts; true stability required inclusiveness.

He told everyone that he and the Yan Emperor were half-brothers, sharing the same father. So, strictly speaking, everyone was part of the same family. As for the Jiuli tribe, since Chiyou had the same surname, Jiang, as the Yan Emperor, that meant they were family too. Because of that, Huangdi hoped everyone would care for them and treat them as their own. And since Huangdi eventually united his tribe with the Yan Emperor's people, later generations came to call themselves the "descendants of Yan and Huang.".

With the tribes united, Huangdi followed the path of his grandfather Fuxi, using wisdom to improve human life. He created boats, carts, bows and arrows, palaces, calendars, and arithmetic. His wife, Leizu, invented silk weaving from the silkworm. Minister Cangjie systematized written characters, creating the first writing system, while Huangdi and ministers like Qibo developed medicine, producing the foundational text "Huangdi Neijing."

Through uniting tribes, establishing boundaries, and creating culture, Huangdi earned the title of the "founding sovereign of Chinese civilization." In his later years, he studied the secrets of immortality with Guangchengzi, who instructed him to extract copper from Shoushan to cast a great ding (ritual cauldron), placing it beneath Jing Mountain. On the day the ding was completed, a golden dragon descended from the heavens, lowering its long whiskers.

Huangdi climbed the dragon, ascending to the heavens as an immortal. Over seventy others joined him, including his wife Leizu, and descendants of the Yan Emperor, such as Zhurong, the fire god.

The casting of the ding at Jing Mountain symbolized more than divine authority—it marked Huangdi's mastery of metalworking, the dawn of the metal weapon era, or what we now call "the age of cold weapons."

As Huangdi's age came to an end, the story now shifts to the second of the Five Emperors—Zhuanxu.

And how would this story unfold?

You'll have to tune in next time to find out.