2. The Busy Yellow Emperor
Chapter 1: Establishing the Capital at Zhuolu
After the victory at the Battle of Zhuolu, the Yellow Emperor’s first major task was to establish a capital city. Tribal leaders gathered together, debating the best location.
“It should be built at the old capital of the Shennong clan,” suggested an elder from Yandi’s tribe. “The land there is fertile, suitable for farming.”
“That’s not advisable,” General Limu objected. “The old capital is on a plain, with no natural defenses. It should be built in the mountains, easy to defend and hard to attack.”
Minister Fenghou offered a new perspective: “By observing the heavens, I’ve found that the area around Zhuolu has an aura of kingship. It has mountains at its back and faces the plains, which is good for both defense and governing the land.”
The Yellow Emperor remained silent for a long time before finally deciding: “We will build the capital at the foot of Zhuolu Mountain. We must consider not only military defense but also the people’s livelihood. The capital should be spacious and flat, so people from all tribes can live and work in peace.”
The construction began. The Yellow Emperor personally participated in the planning and design. The capital was divided into an inner city and an outer city. The inner city housed the council hall, altars, and officials’ residences, while the outer city was planned for markets, workshops, and homes. Most notably, the Yellow Emperor ordered large areas of farmland to be opened within the city walls, symbolizing that they would not forget the importance of farming.
Chapter 2: The Cloud Official System
After the capital was built, the Yellow Emperor began establishing a bureaucratic system. One morning during court, he proposed a novel idea:
“I have observed the changes in the clouds. Though they transform endlessly, they always circle the sky and nourish the earth. Officials should be the same—both adaptable and caring for the people. I have decided to name our official system after the clouds.”
The ministers looked at each other, not fully understanding.
The Yellow Emperor explained: “The central government will have Cloud Masters, overseeing military and governance; Cloud Ministers, managing civil affairs; and Cloud Artisans, responsible for engineering and manufacturing. Locally, we will have Cloud Governors to administer various regions. All officials, like clouds, should understand the ways of heaven above and observe the people’s conditions below.”
This system broke tribal boundaries, appointing people based on merit. Even capable individuals from the former enemy Yandi tribe were given important posts. One minister worried: “Your Majesty, isn’t it risky to give power to former opponents?”
The Yellow Emperor laughed: “The world belongs to all; we appoint the talented. If we reject capable people due to suspicion, that is the real danger.”
Chapter 3: Touring the Four Regions
Once affairs in the capital were organized, the Yellow Emperor began long inspection tours. The first eastern tour was the most grand.
When the procession reached the East Sea coast, local fishermen were holding a ceremony to sacrifice to the sea god. Anxious upon seeing the Son of Heaven, the fishing chief offered their best seafood.
But the Yellow Emperor waved his hand in refusal: “I have not come to collect tribute, but to understand the people’s hardships.”
He asked the fishermen in detail about their lives: Was sailing safe? How were their catches? Were there any difficulties?
Hearing that fishermen often lost their lives and boats in storms, the Yellow Emperor immediately ordered his accompanying craftsmen to improve boat designs and taught them methods to predict weather by observing celestial phenomena. He also had his historians record the patterns of the tides, compiling them into “Rhymes of the Tides” for the fishermen to memorize easily.
When conducting the Feng and Shan sacrifices on Mount Tai, the Yellow Emperor did not put on a grand show but sat and talked with the local elders.
“The Feng and Shan sacrifices are not for boasting about achievements,” he explained to his officials. “They are reminders, through worshipping heaven and earth, that we must respect nature and govern diligently for the people.”
Chapter 4: Inventions and Creations
Returning to the capital, the Yellow Emperor vigorously promoted various inventions and creations. The most notable was co-compiling medical texts with Qibo.
“Why does Your Majesty value medicine so much?” a minister asked, puzzled.
The Yellow Emperor answered seriously: “Soldiers bleed and sacrifice on the battlefield; people suffer and struggle with illness. If we can reduce pain and sickness, it is more meaningful than winning ten wars.”
He personally participated in medical experiments, tasting hundreds of herbs and testing acupuncture. Once, he was poisoned during a test, unconscious for three days. His first words upon waking were: “Write this down: this plant is poisonous, but used in small amounts, it can reduce swelling and relieve pain.”
In weaving, finding that people still wore animal skins and leaves, the Yellow Emperor tasked his principal wife, Leizu, with researching clothing. Leizu observed silkworms spinning cocoons. After countless experiments, she finally invented the technique of sericulture and silk reeling.
“Excellent!” the Yellow Emperor exclaimed excitedly upon seeing the first piece of silk. “Now the people can keep warm in winter and covered in summer.”
He also guided Cang Jie in creating characters. When the first pictographic character was carved on a turtle shell, the Yellow Emperor predicted: “These symbols will carry our wisdom for thousands of generations to come.”
Chapter 5: Managing the Floods
In the fifth year of his reign, the Yellow River experienced a major flood. The Yellow Emperor went personally to the front lines of the flood control efforts.
“Your Majesty must not take this risk!” the ministers dissuade. “The flood is fierce; a nobleman does not stand under a precarious wall.”
But the Yellow Emperor said: “If a ruler does not face danger, how can he understand the people’s suffering?”
Braving heavy rain, he surveyed the flood situation. He found the main causes were deforestation upstream and siltation of the river course downstream. Instead of simply building dams to block the water, the Yellow Emperor proposed a strategy of “prioritizing dredging, combining blocking and channeling.”
“Order the upstream tribes to plant trees and restore forests, dredge the river course in the middle reaches, and dig diversion channels downstream.” The Yellow Emperor’s flood control plan was comprehensive and systematic.
He also invented surveying tools, personally teaching the people how to measure terrain height. Three months later, the flood subsided. The affected people were properly resettled, and the Yellow Emperor exempted the disaster area from taxes for three years.
“Governing a state is like managing floodwaters,” the Yellow Emperor told his sons. “You cannot only block without channeling. You must understand the people’s conditions and channel their grievances; only then can they live and work in peace.”
Chapter 6: Culture and Education
After the floods, the Yellow Emperor shifted his focus to culture and education. He established a Bright Hall in the capital, regularly inviting elders from various tribes for discussions.
“Why have people from different tribes deliberate together?” asked the young Prince Changyi.
The Yellow Emperor explained patiently: “Just as a rainbow is beautiful with seven colors, the world is enriched by having many tribes. We must respect differences and seek common ground.”
He ordered Ling Lun to create musical instruments and establish pitch standards. When the first set of bianzhong bells was cast, the Yellow Emperor tried playing them himself.
“Music can harmonize people’s hearts,” he said. “Just as music needs harmony, governing a state requires balance.”
In sacrificial ceremonies, the Yellow Emperor reformed the cumbersome rituals. “The value of sacrifice lies not in extravagance but in sincerity. Rather than slaughtering a hundred oxen, it is better to save them to help the poor.”
He also promoted education, setting up schools everywhere to teach writing, arithmetic, and etiquette. Most touchingly, he allowed even the children of slaves to attend school.
“Talent is not a matter of nobility or baseness,” the Yellow Emperor said. “A slave’s child today might be a capable official governing the state tomorrow.”
Chapter 7: Later Years
In his later years, the Yellow Emperor attended to governance even more diligently. He rose at dawn every day to review memorials; received commoners in the afternoon to listen to their opinions; and observed celestial phenomena in the evening, pondering the way of governance.
His principal wife, Leizu,advised him: “Your Majesty’s achievements already overshadow heaven and earth. Why labor so hard?”
The Yellow Emperor sighed: “Precisely because the world is newly stabilized, we must not slack off. I want to establish rules for future generations, to let this peaceful prosperity continue.”
He summarized his lifelong experience of governance in the “Four Classics of the Yellow Emperor,” covering statecraft, health preservation, military strategy, and astronomy. In the texts, he particularly emphasized:
“Governing a state is like nurturing life; balance is paramount. The way of civil and military rule involves tension and relaxation. Combine leniency and strictness for effective governance and popular support.”
In the one hundredth year of his reign, the Yellow Emperor passed away at Mount Qiao. Legend says that when he died, a yellow dragon descended from heaven to escort him ascendant. The people mourned deeply, and all tribes voluntarily observed a three-year mourning period.
Before the Yellow Emperor’s tomb, the succeeding Emperor Zhuanxu led all officials in an oath: “We will surely follow the Yellow Emperor’s teachings, revere heaven and care for the people, ensuring the peaceful prosperity lasts forever.”
From then on, the civilizational foundation established by the Yellow Emperor, like seeds sown in fertile soil, took root, sprouted, and grew strong on the land of China. His concept of governance, inventions, and cultural education became the inexhaustible source of Chinese civilization.