The Yellow Emperor, also named Xuanyuan Shi, was the chief of the legendary Five Emperors. He has been regarded as the primogenitor of the Chinese nation together with Emperor Yan, so the Chinese of later generations have claimed themselves as "Yanhuang Zisun (the offspring of the Yellow Emperor and Emperor Yan)". Nowadays the Chinese academic circle universally recognize that the Yellow Emperor was born in Youxiong (present Xinzheng of Henan Province), and buried in Qiaoshan of Shaanxi (in present Huangling County).

The Yellow Emperor successively conquered Emperor Yan and Chiyou, and became the chief of the tribe league. During his reign, a series of things, such as vehicles, silkworm rearing, Chinese characters, swing, medicine etc, were invented and got development. He also taught his people to cultivate crops according to the calendar he calculated. Historical book has it that the Yellow Emperor made lots of creations and inventions in agricultural production, among which a principal one was to carry out the square field system. The Yellow Emperor has been much praised by later generations for his remarkable achievements; therefore, he has been reputed as the "primogenitor of civilization" of the Chinese nation.

Legend has it that the Yellow Emperor had one wife and three concubines. His wife was named Leizu, who taught the common people to plant mulberry trees, rear silkworms and weave cloth. One concubine was Fangleishi (one whose family name is Lei), who is said to have invented the comb. Another concubine Tongyushi (whose family name was Tongyu) is said to have invented chopsticks. The last concubine was named Momu. Ugly appearance as she had, she was noble and virtuous, so the Yellow Emperor was quite respectful to her. The Yellow Emperor had 25 sons, among which 12 were granted to have their own family names.

The Yellow Emperor ruled ancient China for a long time. During his reign, the country enjoyed a powerful force, stable politics, and progressive culture. It is said that wise emperors such as Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang etc were his offspring. Therefore, the Yellow Emperor has been regarded as the forefather of the Chinese nation, and later been deemed as the founder of Taoism.