中华始祖——黄帝及炎帝.doc

中华始祖——黄帝和炎帝Earliest Ancestor of the Chinese Nation-Huangdi (Yellow Emperor) and Yandi (Red Emperor)

炎帝像

黄帝像

位于陕西省黄陵县桥山上的黄帝陵
　　黄帝和炎帝是中华民族的共同祖先，海内外的中国人都称自己为“炎黄子孙”。 据传说和古书记载，黄帝是中国历史上第一个帝王，姓姬，号轩辕氏或有熊氏。炎帝也是传说中的一个帝王，姓姜，号烈山氏或神农氏。 黄帝和炎帝都生活在距今4,000多年前中国原始社会后期，是两个部落的首领。当时，黄帝部落和炎帝部落都居住在现在陕西省境内的黄河边上。后来，又先后沿黄河两岸向东部迁移。为了争夺一块土地，炎帝族同住在中国东部的九黎族发生了战争。九黎族的首领蚩尤(ch1y)打败了炎帝族。炎帝族向黄帝求援，他们联合起来打败了蚩尤。九黎族失败后，一部分逃到了南方，另一部分加入了炎黄二族。后来，炎帝族和黄帝族也发生了冲突，炎帝族失败后，加入了黄帝部落，由此黄帝族的力量增大。后来，黄帝族、炎帝族和九黎族的一部分在黄河流域定居下来，繁衍生息，构成了华夏族的主干。他们共同开发了黄河中下游地区，使这里成为中国古代文化的摇篮。从此，这些来自不同部落的居民，都认为自己是黄帝和炎帝的后代，称自己为“炎黄子孙”。 据说，黄帝生下来就非常聪明，当了部落首领后，便教人们建筑房屋、喂养家畜、种植五谷，他还发明了车、船、乐器和文字等。黄帝的妻子嫘祖(leizu)发明了养蚕、抽丝和织锦。炎帝创造了农具，指导人们进行农业生产，他还亲尝百草，发现了治病的药材。聪明能干、热心为大家办事的黄帝和炎帝，深受人们爱戴，他们一直被当作中华民族的杰出代表，成为中华民族的共同祖先。 现在，在陕西省黄陵县松柏常青的桥山上，还保留？黄帝陵和黄帝庙。湖南省炎陵县也保留？炎帝陵。黄帝和炎帝的子孙们，世世代代缅怀这两位中华民族的共同始祖。
　　Earliest Ancestor of the Chinese Nation-Huangdi (Yellow Emperor) and Yandi (Red Emperor)
　　Huangdi and Yandi were the common ancestors of the Chinese nation, and Chinese people at home and abroad all call themselves "descendents of Yandi and Huangdi".
　　As recorded in legends and ancient books, Huangdi was the first emperor in Chinese history. His surname was Ji, and his assumed name Xuanyuan Shi or Youxiong Shi. Yandi was also a legendary ruler whose surname was Jiang and assumed name Lieshan Shi or Shennong Shi.
　　Huangdi and Yandi both lived in the late period of China's primitive society about 4,000 years ago, and were the leaders of two different tribes living along the Yellow River in present-day Shaanxi Province. Later, they expanded their territories along both sides of the Yellow River to the east. The Yandi had invaded the territory of another tribe, the Jiuli, whose leader was Chiyou. The result was a defeat for the Yandi, who then sought help from the Huangdi tribe, and together they defeated Chiyou. After the defeat, some people of the Jiuli fled to the south, while others were assimilated into the Yandi or Huangdi tribes. The alliance did not last and eventually, fighting broke out that led to the Huangdi defeating the Yandi, whose members were forced to join and thus further strengthen the power of the Huangdi tribe. Later, segments of the three tribes (Huangdi, Yandi and Jiuli) settled down in the Yellow River valley, where they began to develop China's ancient culture and eventually formed the mainstay of what we know today as the Chinese people. It is from this time that people began to call themselves "the descendents of Yandi and Huangdi"
　　Huangdi was born clever. After he became the tribal leader, he taught people how to build houses, breed livestock and grow food crops, and invented the cart, boat, musical instrument and written characters. His wife, Leizu, discovered how to breed silkworms, how to reel off raw silk from cocoons, and how to brocade. Yandi, meanwhile, invented various farm implements and taught his people how to engage in agricultural production. He tasted all kinds of plants and discovered various medicinal materials for treating diseases. At present, there are still preserved the Mausoleum and the Temple of the Yellow Emperor on Qiaoshan Mountain planted with evergreen pines and cypresses in Huangling County, Shaanxi Province. And in Yanling County, Hunan Province, the Mausoleum of the Red Emperor is also well preserved. Later generations greatly cherished their memory.