Suiren
Fire maker in Chinese mythology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Suiren (Chinese: 燧人, Pinyin: Suìrén, "Fire-maker"), also known as Suihuang (燧皇, Suìhuáng, "The Great Fire-maker"), in Chinese mythology credited with introducing fire-making to human.[1][2][3]
| Suiren | |||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 燧人 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 燧人 | ||||||
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| Sui Emperor or Suihuang | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 燧皇 | ||||||
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| Suiren Shi | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 燧人氏 | ||||||
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Whether Suiren was a single individual or a community (燧人氏, Suìrénshì, "Fire-makers"), and whether he used wood-drilling (鑽木取火) or flint-striking (擊石取火) to make fire—the accounts vary. He is included firstly on some lists of Three August Ones (三皇).[4]
Tradition holds that he ruled over China for 110 years. He is sometimes identified as the father of Fuxi (伏羲) through his wife Huaxu (華胥). His legendary capital is associated with Shangqiu in Henan.
Sources
He is mentioned in ten books from the Han dynasty or before. Those crediting him with the introduction of drilling wood for fire include three Confucian works (Bai Hu Tong, Zhong Lun, and Fengsu Tongyi), the legalist book by Han Feizi, and the historical textbook Gu San Fen (古三墳). He is also mentioned more generally in the Zhuangzi or Chuang-tzu, in two of the Confucian “Outer Chapters” (Xunzi and Qianfu Lun), a legalist book (Guanzi), and an early etymological dictionary Shuowen Jiezi.