The Origin of Shennongjia

T he name Shennongjia is closely related to Shennong(also known as Yandi or Emperor Yan).In ancient times,in order to try and collect medical herbs as much as possible to benefit the people,Shennong led locals to climb up into the mountains.These mountains were so precipitous and forest-blanketed that Shennong believed there would be magic herbs hidden in them.He first taught them to build houses in an attempt to avoid dangers and disasters,and then instructed them to build a wood ladder with which they could ascend to the mountain tops.Shennong finally gathered 365 kinds of good herbs,which were then compiled into the great work of Chinese medicine,Shennong's Herbal Classic.To inform the Heavenly God of what he did in the secular world,Shennong constructed a wood altar from where he flew to the heaven on a crane’s back.Then the mountain was named after Shennong in honor of his deeds and feats.

Being one of the Three Sovereigns,1.The Three Sovereigns are Suiren,Fuxi,and Shennong.Shennong was born in a stone cave in Lieshan.Legend goes that he had a human body and an ox’s head.When he grew up,he was elected the leader of his tribe because of his distinctive appearance,diligence,and braveness.The tribe was in the“very hot”south,and that’s why he was called Emperor Yan(“Heat”).The leader was inspired when he once saw a bird pick up seeds;later he invented the farming of cereals.In honor of his extraordinary contributions,people started to call him Shennong,“the Immortal Farmer.”Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang were the two legendary ancestors of the Chinese,hence Chinese people still call themselves“the descendants of Yan and Huang”today.

Shennong is one of the great ancestors of the Chinese nation.At Shennongjia,the Shennong Altar was built for people to worship.By the two sides of the altar lie eight wall paintings which recorded the ancient sage’s feats.They include the domestication of cattle for farming,the invention of five-stringed Jiaowei,2.Jiaoweiisa legendary musical instrument of China.linen,pottery and wooden tools,primitive farming,organizing the market at midday, exploitation of wells for irrigation, and practicing fengshui to choose living spaces.Throughout history,these eight contributions of Shennong have greatly permeated into Chinese people’s daily life.

云蒸霞蔚（梅 涛摄）The clouds at sunrise are radiant,colorful,and flourishing(Photo by MeiTao)

神农架之名

神农架，其名与炎帝神农氏有莫大关联。

上古时，神农氏为造福黎民，遍尝百草，率众寻至一座高山，见山势陡峭，森林遍野，认定此处必有奇药。他先教民“架木为屋，以避凶险”；继教民“架木为梯，以助攀缘”；采得良药365种，收录于中国医药名著《神农本草经》，为向天帝复命，才“架木为坛，跨鹤飞天”而去。后人缅怀神农恩德，将这座高山称为神农架。

神农氏，三皇（燧人-燧皇、伏羲-羲皇、神农-农皇）之一，生于烈山一处石洞中。传说，他牛头人身，由于其特殊外貌和勤劳勇敢，长大后被人们推举为部落首领，又因其所率部落居住于炎热的南方，称炎族，故他被称为炎帝。一次，炎帝见鸟儿衔种，他由此发明了五谷农业。因其贡献卓越，后人又称炎帝为神农。炎帝与黄帝并尊为中华民族人文始祖，中国人民自称炎黄子孙。

神农氏是中华民族伟大的始祖之一，神农架林区建有神农坛，供人们祭拜。两侧用八组壁画记录了他的丰功伟绩，即降牛以耕、焦尾五弦、积麻衣葛、陶石木具、原始农耕、日中为市、穿井灌溉、相土择居。从古至今，人们的日常生活中，都离不开神农氏这八大发明的智慧痕迹，他为中华民族的发展写下了辉煌的篇章。