Delve into ShaoHao's reign, marked by artistic creation, rafting adventures, and his mother's serene life by the Poor Mulberry River.
Shaohao was known as the King of Gold Virtue. His mother’s name was Huang E, and in her earlier years, she resided in a palace constructed of beautiful jade, where she would weave brocade every night. Sometimes during the day, she would also ride a wooden raft to play on the water, passing through the vast and boundless shores of Qiong Sang. At one time, a divine child of extraordinary appearance, claiming to be the son of the White Emperor, the god of the Western Venus, descended from the heavens to the waterside. He met with Huang E, and they conversed, enjoying each other’s company and playing together. They performed beautiful and melodious music, becoming so engrossed in their amusement that they forgot to return home. Qiong Sang is the shore of the Western Sea, where there stands a gigantic mulberry tree with branches reaching eight thousand feet into the sky. The mulberry leaves are red, the mulberries are purple, and it bears fruit only once every ten thousand years. Those who eat the mulberries can achieve immortality.
The son of the White Emperor and Huang E embarked on a raft journey upon the boundless sea. They used branches of cinnamon trees as masts and tied knots of fragrant thatch grass to create flags. At the top of the mast, they placed jade stones carved in the shape of doves. It is said that doves are knowledgeable about the changing seasons throughout the year, hence the reference in the “Spring and Autumn Annals” to them “governing the two solstices of summer and winter.” Today’s weather forecasting, symbolized by crows and wind, traces its origins to these doves. The son of the White Emperor and Huang E sat side by side on the wooden raft. The son of the White Emperor played a zither made from the wood of paulownia trees atop Tongfeng Peak, while Huang E sang with a clear voice, harmonizing with the melody of the zither. She sang, “The weather is clear, the land is vast, the sea is immense and boundless, and all things are in constant change. The water and sky blend into one, extending infinitely. We sail on a wooden raft in the place where the sun rises from the sea. At that time, we didn’t know where we were, but we arrived at the land of Qiong Sang! Our hearts were filled with joy and endless delight.” Later, people referred to places of leisure as “Sangzhong.” The poem “Wei Feng” in the “Book of Songs” includes the line, “I long for the place in Sangzhong,” which likely references this tradition.
The son of the White Emperor sang, “The four corners and eight extremes are vast and boundless, with no visible boundaries. We chase the sunlight to the end of the sea. The night in Xuangong is quiet, and you weave brocade by the window. The paulownia trees on Tongfeng Peak reach thousands of feet high. We cut down paulownia trees to make musical instruments and create qin and se. With clear singing and flowing music, our joy knows no bounds. By the seashore, we nest and breathe together.” Later, Huang E gave birth to Shaohao, and she was called “Qiongsang Shi” or “Sangqiu Shi.” During the era of the Six States, Sangqiuzi, who wrote books on Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, was a descendant of the White Emperor. Emperor Shaohao ruled the western region, hence he was also called “Jintian Shi” or “Jinqu Shi.” At that time, five phoenix birds circled in the sky with colors representing the five directions, and they all landed in Shaohao’s courtyard. Therefore, Shaohao was also known as Fengniao Shi (Phoenix Bird Clan). During this period, there were reports of golden sounds emanating from the mountains, and silver gushing up from underground. The gushing silver took on forms resembling animals like turtles and snakes or occasionally human and ghostly shapes. A winding river, resembling the forms of dragons and phoenixes, flowed, and there was a high mountain with winding contours, resembling the twists and turns of a blue dragon, giving rise to names like Dragon Mountain, Turtle Mountain, and Phoenix River. Because of this, people adopted surnames related to dragons and snakes. In later times, some were known as Longqiu Shi (Dragon Hill Clan), as recorded in Ban Gu’s “Yiwen Zhi.” There were also those with the surname Sheqiu Shi (Snake Hill Clan), as mentioned in the “Legend of the Queen Mother of the West.”
少昊以金德王。母曰皇娥，處璇宮而夜織。或乘桴木而晝遊，經歷窮桑滄茫之浦。時有神童，容貌絕俗，稱為白帝之子，即太白之精，降乎水際，與皇娥宴戲，奏(女更)娟之樂，遊漾忘歸。窮桑者，西海之濱，有孤桑之樹，直上千尋，葉紅椹紫，萬歲一實，食之後天而老。帝子與皇娥泛於海上，以桂枝為表，結薰茅為旌，刻玉為鳩，置於表端，言鳩知四時之候，故《春秋傳》曰“司至”，是也。今之相風，此之遺像也。帝子與皇娥並坐，撫桐峰梓瑟。皇娥倚瑟而清歌曰：“天清地曠浩茫茫，萬象回薄化無方。涵天蕩蕩望滄滄，乘桴輕漾著日傍。當其何所至窮桑，心知和樂悅未央。”俗謂遊樂之處為桑中也。《詩》中《衛風》云：“期我乎桑中。”蓋類此也。白帝子答歌：“四維八埏眇難極，驅光逐影窮水域。璇宮夜靜當軒織。桐峰文梓千尋直，伐梓作器成琴瑟。清歌流暢樂難極，滄湄海浦來棲息。”及皇娥生少昊，號曰窮桑氏，亦曰桑丘氏。至六國時，桑丘子著陰陽書，即其餘裔也。少昊以主西方，一號金天氏，亦曰金窮氏。時有五鳳，隨方之色，集於帝庭，因曰鳳鳥氏。金鳴於山，銀湧於地。或如龜蛇之類，乍似人鬼之形，有水屈曲亦如龍鳳之狀，有山盤紆亦如屈龍之勢，故有龍山、龜山、鳳水之目也。亦因以為姓，末代為龍丘氏，出班固《藝文志》；蛇丘氏，出《西王母神異傳》。