The Red and the Yellow: China's Foundation Myth

"The Children of the Red and the Yellow" is a phrase one stumbles upon from time to time when listening to the Chinese talk about themselves, particularly since the construction of modern Chinese nationalism starting in the late 19th century.

The phrase refers to China's foundation myth. Some 4,700 years ago, so the story goes, the Red Emperor, the leader of a confederation of ancient tribes, bowed to the Yellow Emperor, the leader of another confederation. The new combined group of tribes under the Yellow Emperor then fought yet another group led by a great warrior called Chi You. The Yellow Emperor's triumph and Chi You's defeat is often remembered as a sort of founding moment for the civilization that became China. It's what Chinese people are referring to when they brag about their country's "5,000 years of history."

In the millennia since then, different ethnic groups in the vast area roughly corresponding to China have variously traced their origins to these mythic figures. The Han Chinese say they're children of the Red Emperor and the Yellow Emperor, but so did the Khitan people who ruled northern China from the 10th to the early 12th centuries. The Miao, a minority group stretching from southern China into Southeast Asia and including the Hmong, claim descent from Chi You.

Is there any truth to the ancient myth? Who knows. And does it really matter? As long as people believe in a myth, it leaves its imprint on the reality of our world, doesn't it?

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