Shennong

Shennong, also known as Shen Nong or the Divine Farmer, is a legendary figure in Chinese mythology and early historical tradition. In various sources he is described as a ruler or culture hero and is sometimes counted among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors who laid the foundations of Chinese civilization. He is most associated with agriculture and medicine.

According to myth, Shennong taught people to cultivate crops, domesticate animals, and develop irrigation and tool-making. He is credited with inventing agricultural practices and the hoe as a farming implement. He also is famed for tasting hundreds of herbs to assess their medical properties, a story that anchors the Chinese tradition of herbal medicine. These herb-tasting trials sometimes include warnings about poisonous plants.

The legendary text Shennong Ben Cao Jing, or the Classic of Herbal Medicine, is traditionally attributed to Shennong, though scholars regard it as a compilation from later periods. The work describes numerous medicinal substances, their properties, and uses, and it influenced centuries of traditional Chinese pharmacology and medicine.

In Chinese religion and folklore, Shennong is venerated as a culture hero who represents agricultural mastery and medical knowledge. His exact historicity is debated, and many traditions treat him as a mythic ancestor rather than a historical figure.