179. 自羲農

Tzu4 hsi1 nung2 

From vapour till 

From Fu Hsi and Shen Nung 

Tzu see line 93. 

Hsi is composed of 兮 hsi separation of vapour, later a particle of emphasis (an old radical), with 義 i (line 14) as phonetic. It originally meant vapour, but here stands for the name of the legendary Emperor 伏 Fu (or 庖 P'ao) 羲 Hsi, who reigned B.C. 2953 — 2838, and is said to have developed the Diagrams (line 135) from the marks on the back of a tortoise. It is now classed under radical 羊 yang a sheep. 

Nung appears under a dozen different forms, the original composition of which is obscure. It is now classed under radical 辰 ch'en heavenly bodies, and seems to have been originally associated with the dim light of dawn, but here stands for the name of the legendary Emperor 神農 Shen Nung, the Divine Husbandman, who reigned B.C. 2838 — 2698, and is said to have first taught the art of agriculture. 

180. 至黃帝

Chih4 huang2 ti4 

Arrive yellow ruler 

on to the Yellow Emperor, — 

Chill see line 94. 

Huang is composed of 田 tien fields and 光 kuang (line 51) under an old form. It is one of the five colours ( 青 ch'ing blue and green, 黃 huang yellow, 赤 ch'ih red, 白 pai white, 黑 hei black), and is assigned to earth. It is now the Imperial colour, which under the Chou dynasty (line 141) was red. 

Ti is now classed under radical 巾 chin a napkin, but in early ages it was classed under 上 shang above, with 束 tzu a thorn as phonetic. It originally meant to investigate judicially, the ruler of the world, and so came to mean the Supreme Being, God, and also the deified spirits of Imperial ancestors. Some have traced it to the eight-pointed star of Babylon, but in the old form given in the Shuo Wen dictionary there are but seven points. [The Yellow Emperor reigned B.C. 2698—2598, and is the reputed inventor of clothes.] 

181. 號三黃

Hao4 san1 huang2 

Name three ruler

these are called the Three Rulers, 

Hao see line 137. 

San see title. 

Huang was originally composed of 自 tzu from, with 王 wang prince (as though de par le roi) as radical, and means great. It is classed under radical 白 pai white (hence a suggested connection with the White Tsar), and is part of the term 皇 帝 huang ti Emperor. [Mr. Demetrius Boulger made an amusing blunder in his History of China, vol. I, p. 6, note, by confounding Huang ti Emperor, as above, with Huang ti the Yellow Emperor of line 180:— "Huangti means the Yellow Emperor; but it henceforth became a usual title for the first ruler of a new dynasty to take."] 

182. 居上世

Chu1 shang4 shih1

Abide top generation 

who lived in the early ages. 

Chu is composed of 尸 shih a corpse as radical, and 古 ku ancient. It originally meant to squat on the heels, and is now classed under radical 口 k'ou mouth. 

Shang see line 75. 

Shih see line 177.