Suiren, Fuxi and Shennong are known as the Three Sage Kings. They are the leaders of their time and they made many contributions and sacrifices to improve the lives of the people of their time.

The first sage King was Suiren (approx. 16,000 BC) who reputedly discovered how to make fire by drilling wood. With fire mankind could eat cooked food, keep warm and protect themselves from wild animals.

Fuxi taught people to domesticate animals and make nets to catch fish, birds and wild animals, ensuring a continuous supply of food. He also laid down marriage laws and invented a 35 string musical instrument. However most important of all, he create the Eight Trigram or Bagua which became the basis of the I Ching or Books of Changes.

Shennong, also known as Yandi, invented the ancient rake, spade, plough and sickle and taught people to grow five types of cereals, rice, two types of millet, wheat and beans. He also invented barter trade and further modified Fuxi's 35 strings musical instrument into a 5 strings one.

Shennong risked his life by tasting hundreds of berries to seek remedies for illnesses. Despite being poisoned on many occasions, he carried on. One of the berries eventually took his life.

The emperors after Shennong were Huangdi, Zhuanxu, Diku, Yao and Shun and they are collectively known as the Five Legendary Rulers.

Huangdi have many achievements attributed to him. He had good management skills and knows how to use men of ability to help him rule the country and come out with innovations.

He commissioned his subject to develop a written language which contributed to the growth of Chinese Culture. With another he studied the art of healing and compiled the Yellow Emperor's Medicine Classic? Yet with another he developed the 60 year cycle Jia Zi?calendar that aided in farming.

Huangdi advocated peace and avoided war. During his reign, the people enjoyed peace and prosperity and it ushered in the age of civilization for the Chinese people.

Huangdi's successor was Zhuanxu. Zhuanxu was not his son but he was chosen over many of Huangdi's son because of his special ability. Zhuanxu's contribution was for bringing law and order to his people and for strengthening the power of the central authority.

After Zhuanxu comes Diku who was a great grandson of Huangdi. Diku was a benevolent king who placed the people's welfare above self. He created new official posts and ministries with clearly demarcated duties such as the Ministry of Land, Forestry, Water, Metal Ores and Fire. And he personally conducted inspections frequently to ensure that the country was well run. He also further improved the calendar which contributed to farming.

After Diku come Yao, his son. Yao was very like his father ?industrious and benevolent. He contributed by enhancing the calendar and making changes to planting that yielded bumper harvests.

Shun was a young boy when his mother died. Despite ill treatment by his step mother and father, he remained filial to them. This is a virtue revered by the Chinese and it made his quite famous. When Yao heard about this he summoned Shun to his service. He was just 30 years old. Eventually Shun became Yao's son in law when he married King Yao's daughter.

Shun divided the country into 12 states and appointed administrators for each of them. He continued to make further changes including setting up departments for land, music, farming, rites and works. Shun many contributions include drafting the five rules of etiquette for the dukes and princes to follow.

With the end of the reign of the Five Legendary Kings comes the Xia Dynasty founded by Yu. Yu most important contribution was for controlling the floods that caused a lot of problem for his people.