Notes on Historical Records, Biography II, Zhuan Xu

Chang Yi, the second son of Princess Leizu of the Yellow Emperor, was sealed in Ruoshui, married the daughter of a family from Shushan, and gave birth to Zhuan Xu.

Emperor Zhuan Xu, Levin, assisted Shao Hao at the age of 15, managed Jiuli area and was sealed in Gaoyang (now east of Qixian County, Henan Province). After the death of the Yellow Emperor, Zhuan Xu was proclaimed emperor at the age of 22.

Because he wore agate ornaments when he was in office, later generations called him "Zhuan Xu" according to his appearance, which means "a fairy leader with a round head and a fat face and wearing agate". According to myths and legends, he is the Heaven Emperor in charge of the North, taking Shuide as the emperor, also known as Xuan Di.

Zhuan Xu takes Diqiu (now Puyang, Henan Province) as its capital, and has five senses under its jurisdiction, namely, Muzheng, Zheng Jin, Huozheng, Shuizheng and Zheng Tu, with Ju Mang, Ru Shou, Zhu Rong, Xuanming and Julong as their posts respectively.

After he ascended the throne, he strictly followed the policy of the Yellow Emperor and developed it.

Although the Yellow Emperor unified the Central Plains, it formed a long-term confrontation with the Chiyou tribe. It was not until Zhuan Xu that the true unity of all ethnic groups was formed. On this basis, Zhuan Xu made a clear plan for the regional construction of China, and determined the names and areas of Yanzhou, Hebei, Qinghai, Xu, Henan, Jing, Yang, Yong and Liang Jiuzhou, which made China have a territorial boundary for the first time.

In his later years, the Yellow Emperor was in chaos in Jiuli, worshiping ghosts and gods and abandoning personnel. Everything is decided by divination. Competent ministers are not valued, and talented scholars stay away from the ruling and opposition parties. In every family, someone divines like a wizard. People no longer sincerely worship heaven, and they are not at ease with agricultural production. Instead, they left their homes and tried their luck in other places, and the army lost its combat effectiveness.

In order to solve this social problem, Zhuan Xu personally offered sincere sacrifices to the ancestors of heaven and earth, setting an example for all peoples. He also appointed Nan Zhongzheng to make sacrifices to heaven in order to reconcile with the gods. Bei Lizheng was appointed to be in charge of civil affairs, so as to comfort all the people, persuade them to follow the laws of natural change and engage in agricultural production, and encourage people to cultivate more fields and sow crops to give full play to the potential of the land. It is forbidden to associate people with God through divination, so as to restore normal social order.

Zhuan Xu is knowledgeable and sensible, and pays great attention to understanding the next situation to resolve resentment. Based on the experience of predecessors, he made laws to govern the four seasons and the five elements to educate all people. According to the change of astronomical phenomena, he revised the calendar, stipulating that a year is thirteen months, starting from the time when the sun, the moon and the five stars meet in the calendar. When the ice begins to separate, the stinger begins to move, and the chicken crows three times, it is spring. At this time, the weather, geographical location, harmony between people, birds and animals should be harmonious. Therefore, the ancients called Zhuan Xu "Li Zong". He also asked the dragonfly to make music according to the sounds of eight kinds of winds, which was called "Chengyunle" and was used to sacrifice to God. He personally traveled all over the country, from Youling (Youzhou, now Liaoning) in the north, Jiao Jiao (Jiaozhou, now Guangdong and Guangxi) in the south, quicksand (northwest desert area) in the west and Panmu (sunrise) in the east.

Emperor Zhuan Xu once defeated the * * * workers who were good at water warfare with toads as totems, and made them captured and exiled. It is said that Di Ku suppressed the workers' uprising.

Zhuan Xu reigned for 78 years at the age of 98. Buried in Puyang, nine concubines were buried in the north of the cemetery. He gave birth to Qiong Chan, Shun's great grandfather.

Because the records about Zhuan Xu in the Historical Records of the Five Emperors only contain a passage like "the moving things, the gods, the sun and the moon shine on them, are the mainstay", most of this chapter is moved from the Concise Reader of Twenty-five History and the related texts about history on the website.