Discover the mystical birth of Pao Xi, his transformation of ancient society, and the dawn of a new era in celestial harmony.
The Spring Emperor was an alias for Paoxi, and the country he established included the land of Huaxu clan. One day, Paoxi’s mother was visiting that land, and a green rainbow descended from the sky, surrounding her for a long time before disappearing. Soon after, she became pregnant and gave birth to Paoxi twelve years later. When Paoxi was born, he had a long head with narrow eyes, teeth like a tortoise, lips like a dragon, white hair on his eyebrows, and a long beard that dragged on the ground. Some say that Jupiter completes its orbit in twelve years, and Paoxi’s birth coincided with the celestial cycle. It is said that the birth of a sage is always accompanied by auspicious signs. In ancient times, the Human Emperor had nine serpent heads and a snake’s body, which began when Pangu separated the heavens and earth. When the Human Emperor was born, the light from the sun and moon formed an auspicious halo, and the high mountains shone brilliantly, while the sea was calm. Since then, the world has changed, and the course of history has shifted countless times. Comparing Paoxi’s virtues to those of ancient sages, his moral excellence surpassed that of previous saintly kings. The rites, laws, and moral principles, as well as the systems of rituals and music, began to flourish during his time.
Leaving their primitive habitat, which was damp, low-lying, and infested with insects and snakes, they changed their diet from eating raw meat, and blood to cooked food. They established rituals and education, guiding people to possess cultural virtues, craft weapons, and strengthen military capabilities. They fitted mulberry wood with silk strings to create the se, and they harmonized clay to make the xun. It was during this time that rites and music began to flourish. They harmonized the winds from all directions, drew the Eight Trigrams, deciphered the Six Yao, and determined the worship of six deities. At that time, there was no written language. Paoxi used the sky as a reference and the earth as a model. He observed the natural phenomena of the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth— to determine the standards for the length of shadows, enabling tribal leaders to conduct numerous ritual activities. They surveyed the topography of the land, determining mountains, rivers, and other geographical features, and established societal norms for matters like marriage, enhancing the orderliness of human society.
The character “庖” means to encompass or include everything or all phenomena. He offered sacrifices to various gods, and the ancient people believed in his virtue, so he was called Paoxi, also known as Fuxi. Paoxi transformed the primitive and ignorant nature of the ancient people and educated them with beautiful and profound teachings, which is why he is also called Mixi. Fuxi spread the highest moral principles throughout the world, and the common people all respected him. Paoxi was known as the King of Wood Virtue, which is why he was called the Spring Emperor. His wisdom shone throughout the world, and he was known as Taihao, which means brightness. Paoxi was situated in the east, where his virtue nurtured and revitalized all things, in harmony with the virtue of wood. His music resonated with the “jue” note among the Five Tones and was known as the Wood Emperor.
春皇者，庖犧之別號。所都之國，有華胥之洲。神母遊其上，有青虹繞神母，久而方滅，即覺有娠，歷十二年而生庖犧。長頭修目，龜齒龍唇，眉有白毫，鬚垂委地。或人曰：歲星十二年一周天，今葉以天時。且聞聖人生皆有祥瑞。昔者人皇蛇身九首，肇自開闢。於時日月重輪，山明海靜。自爾以來，為陵成谷，世歷推移，難可計算。比於聖德，有逾前皇。禮義文物，於茲始作。去巢穴之居，變茹腥之食，立禮教以導文，造干戈以飾武。絲桑為瑟，均土為塤。禮樂於是興矣。調和八風，以畫八卦，分六位以正六宗。於時未有書契，規天為圖，矩地取法，視五星之文，分晷景之度，使鬼神以致群祠，審地勢以定川岳，始嫁娶以修人道。庖者，包也，言包含萬象。以犧牲登薦於百神，民服其聖，故曰庖犧，亦謂伏羲。變混沌之質，文宓其教，故曰宓犧。布至德於天下，元元之類，莫不尊焉。以木德稱王，故曰春皇。其明睿照於八區，是謂太昊。昊者，明也。位居東方，以含養蠢化，葉於木德，其音附角，號曰“木皇”。