Shen Nong Shi, also called Yan Emperor or Lie Shan Shi, was one of the Three Emperors in remote antiquity legends. He taught the people husbandry. As the father of agriculture, Shen Nong Shi invented wooden ploughs and herbal medicine. He also introduced the concept of markets and trade.
Shen Nong Shi was the first Chinese herbal doctor. It is said that Shen Nong Shi tasted all kinds of herbals, even poison, to make herbal medicines. His representative work,Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing(Shen Nong's Herbal Classic), was the first book on Chinese herbal medicine.
Shen Nong Shi, together with Sui Ren Shi who invented fire and cooked food, and Fu Xi Shi who invented fishery, hunting and animal husbandry are called San Huang -- Three Emperors (3,000 -2,700BC) -- in China. Historical records show that their achievements actually reflected the economic and social development in China's primitive society.
Shen Nong Shi (the Yan Emperor) and the Yellow Emperor are regarded as the ancestors of all the Chinese people.
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