Suiren (
Chinese: 燧人, Suìrén, lit. Fire starter Person"), also known as Suihuang (
Chinese: 燧皇, Suìhuáng, lit. "Fire Starter Emperor"), appears in
Chinese mythology and some works which draw upon it. He is credited as a culture hero who introduced humans to the production of fire and its use for cooking.[1][2] He was included on some ancient lists of the legendary
Three August Ones, who lived long before
Emperor Yao,
Emperor Shun, and the
Xia rulers of the earliest historical
Chinese dynasty, even before the
Yellow Emperor and
Yandi. Suiren’s innovation by tradition has been using the wooden
fire drill to create fire. Tradition holds that he ruled over China for 110 years.
Although the Sui in his name is sometimes translated as Flint, Sui in Chinese refers to all firestarters. For example,
Liji separates Sui into Musui(
Chinese: 木燧, Musui, lit. "wood sui") or fire drill wood and Yangsui(
Chinese: 阳燧, Yangsui, lit. "Solar Sui") , usually bronze mirrors used to start fire by reflecting the sun). [3]
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.
Suiren (
Chinese: 燧人, Suìrén, lit. Fire starter Person"), also known as Suihuang (
Chinese: 燧皇, Suìhuáng, lit. "Fire Starter Emperor"), appears in
Chinese mythology and some works which draw upon it. He is credited as a culture hero who introduced humans to the production of fire and its use for cooking.[1][2] He was included on some ancient lists of the legendary
Three August Ones, who lived long before
Emperor Yao,
Emperor Shun, and the
Xia rulers of the earliest historical
Chinese dynasty, even before the
Yellow Emperor and
Yandi. Suiren’s innovation by tradition has been using the wooden
fire drill to create fire. Tradition holds that he ruled over China for 110 years.
Although the Sui in his name is sometimes translated as Flint, Sui in Chinese refers to all firestarters. For example,
Liji separates Sui into Musui(
Chinese: 木燧, Musui, lit. "wood sui") or fire drill wood and Yangsui(
Chinese: 阳燧, Yangsui, lit. "Solar Sui") , usually bronze mirrors used to start fire by reflecting the sun). [3]
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.