The Yellow Emperor was an important god in ancient times. He was a very powerful figure and had many children some of whom were gods and some humans. He took a great interest in the human race and because he protected them and helped them to lead a peaceful, settled life, he was often considered to be an earthly emperor, the first to rule over China.
One of his greatest deeds was his defeat of a monster named Chiyou. Chiyou started life as - quite a lowly god whose task was to be a runner for the Yellow Emperor, one who cleared the way for him when he went on a journey. Chiyou was, however, very ambitious and he planned to overthrow the Yellow Emperor and take his throne. Chiyou gathered as his followers some eighty minor gods who were discontented with the Yellow Emperor's reign. These gods were terrible to look at: they had iron heads and copper faces with four eyes, six hands and cloven feet. Their food was stones and metal and their special skill was making iron weapons of every kind- sharp lances, spears, axes and strong bows. When Chiyou had trained and organized these demon gods in Heaven, he went down to earth. There he visited the barbarian tribe of the Miao in the south of China, stirring up rebellion and discontent against the Yellow Emperor.
All this time the Yellow Emperor was living comfortably in his palace in Heaven, unaware of the scheming and plotting that was going on all around him. It was therefore a great surprise when Chiyou suddenly attacked with his fearsome army of copper-faced demons. At first the Yellow Emperor tried to reason with Chiyou, but Chiyou was too obsessed with ambition and refused to listen.
The battle began in earnest. Swords and armour clanged and clashed and the peaceful air was filled with battle cries. Chiyou was determined to win by any means and at the height of the battle he used his magic powers to surround the Yellow Emperor's army in a thick fog. The Yellow Emperor tried to muster his men and break out of the all-enveloping cloud, but it was no use. Try as they might, they simply found themselves marching in circles, while the sinister fog swirled around them.
Just when everything looked desperate, one of the Yellow Emperor's ministers who was fighting with him in the royal chariot, had an idea. 'If only we could see the stars through this cloud we could find our direction easily. Now, I wonder. What if we had something that would keep its direction like the North Star. Something that would guide us all out of the mist . . .'
The minister set to work at once with his magical powers and within minutes he had invented and made the first compass. With this marvellous new instrument the Emperor and his army easily found their way out of the fog and the battle began again as fiercely as ever.
Now the Yellow Emperor summoned another of his warriors, Yinglong (his name means Dragon Ying), a god who could make rain at will. 'Bring me a storm that will flood this rebel out of Heaven,' he commanded. But Chiyou was once again too clever for him. Before Yinglong had even started his magic, Chiyou brought a downpour of rain that stranded the Yellow Emperor's entire army. Still the Yellow Emperor was undismayed. He called one of his daughters, a goddess who was always burning hot, and as soon as she arrivd the heat from her fiery body dried up the rain, leaving only small, steaming puddles which quickly evaporated. The army was saved but the Yellow Emperor's daughter had quite exhausted her powers and could no longer remain in heaven. No-one on earth wanted her either, for wherever she went she dried up the rivers, wells and fields and people drove her from village to village, a feared and hated outcast. Yinglong, the rain-maker, was also unable to remain in Heaven, for he had been beaten by a superior force and was therefore discredited. He, too, stayed on earth, where he became king in the south. To this day the south of China is frequently wet from his. rain-making.
The Yellow Emperor now seemed to be winning the war but his army was exhausted and their morale was very low. Chiyou was still a threat and the Yellow Emperor knew that he must. find some way to encourage his soldiers. After much thought he decided that what he needed was a war drum louder and more powerful than ever heard before, a drum that would really put heart into his army and fear into his enemies.
In the Eastern Sea lived a monster called Kui, a strange creature rather like an ox with one foot which lived floating in the sea, keeping company with the storms, opening its great mouth to spit out fangs of lightning and roaring like the thunder itself.
'From this Kui I will make my drum,'said the Yellow Emperor and he sent his strongest warriors to capture and kill the monster. A great drum was made from its skin but though the men beat upon it with their hands, the sound was not loud enough to please the Yellow Emperor. Then he thought of the Thunder God. With hardly a moment's hesitation he commanded the Thunder God to be killed, removed his thigh bone and gave it to the principal drummer. The great drum thundered at last, the Yellow Emperor's forces marched into battle and the copper-faced demons were routed.
The war was over in Heaven but the Miao tribes on earth were still in revolt. It did not take the Yellow Emperor long to overpower them, however, and at the same time to capture Chiyou and bind him with manacles and chains. Still Chiyou refused to surrender and the Yellow Emperor had no alternative but to have him executed.
Chiyou struggled so fiercely that the manacles around his wrists were stained with his blood and after Chiyou had been killed, the Yellow Emperor threw the manacles into the wilderness. There they became maple trees and when the leaves turned bright red each year, people said the colour was the blood and anger of Chiyou.