Who is the ancestor of mankind?

The ancestor of mankind refers to the emperor. The Yellow Emperor is regarded as "the ancestor of mankind" in China. He made many inventions in agricultural production, including calculating the calendar, teaching people to sow grain, inventing drilling wells and Chu Jiu.

Lei Zu is said to be the wife of the Yellow Emperor, the inventor of sericulture and clothing, and regarded as an outstanding representative of our ancestors. Dayu was the first hero in the history of China to successfully control the Yellow River flood. According to legend, in order to control water, Dayu passed by the house three times, but he was very busy and didn't go home.

Main information:

In the 1920s, Gu Jiegang and Hu Shi pointed out that the "emperor" before the Qin Dynasty was a god, and the "Yellow Emperor" was the god of the northwest Qin State, not a human emperor.

There are many words "emperor" in Oracle Bone Inscriptions and inscriptions on bronze in Shang Dynasty. To sum up, the usage of these words can be divided into three kinds: first, as a sacrificial verb, it refers to sacrifice; Second, as a noun, it refers to god; Third, the temple number indicates that the Shang king is not called "emperor".

From this point of view, since the Shang Dynasty 3,000 years ago, the "emperor" still refers to God, and the king of the Shang Dynasty did not claim to be the emperor, then the so-called Yellow Emperor, who is said to have lived 4,000 to 5,000 years ago, does not refer to the human emperor.