Harmony abides with the descendants of the Yellow Emperor

Hu Heping, acting governor of Shaanxi province reads orations at the ceremony to worship the Yellow Emperor at the Yellow Emperor Mausoleum in Yan'an in Shaanxi province, April 4, 2016. [Photo by Wang Haopeng/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Despite the fine rain, hundreds of people came to worship the Yellow Emperor, ancestor of Chinese people at the Yellow Emperor Mausoleum in Yan'an in Shaanxi province yesterday on the occasion of Tomb Sweeping Day.

In traditional costume, people danced, played music and read orations, expressing their respect for the Yellow Emperor. At the end of the ceremony, a large dragon-shaped balloon flew into the sky. The "dragon" twisted its body and slowly ascended into the clouds and mist, just like the way it did in the myth.

Chinese people often call themselves the descendants of the Yan and Huang Emperor. In Chinese mythology, it was the Yellow Emperor who unified many tribes that included the clans of the Yan Emperor and Chi You who had a large tribe in South China 5,000 years ago.

When the Yellow Emperor defeated other tribes, he did not cruelly kill them, but let them join into his tribe and formed a unified clan. He created Chinese characters, designed traditional clothes and became the originator of Chinese medicine.

And he designed a totem by combining the totems from other tribes that joined in his clan. This new totem was the dragon, with a snake's body, a cow's eyes, a bird's feet, a fish's scales, and a deer's horns, which later became the symbol of the Chinese people.

And this spirit of living in harmony despite differences has become the base of Chinese culture and a society. The inclusiveness is one of the reasons why Chinese civilization has been kept well for over 5,000 years.

President Xi Jinping also noted that the Yellow Emperor Mausoleum is the spiritual icon of Chinese people during his visit to Shaanxi in 2015.