Lying in the eastern fringes of the Henan Province with a history of over 5000 years, the city of Shangqiu is considered one of the birthplaces of the Chinese people. In ancient times, many of the ancestors of the Chinese people, such as Suiren, Shengnong, Zhuan Xu, and Di Ku, lived here. Suiren and Shengnong were two of “The Three Augusts” while Zhuan Xu and Di Ku were two of “The Five Emperors”. “The Three Augusts” and “The Five Emperors” are considered the legendary founders of China. Thus, the land now recognized as the city of Shangqiu can be considered a founding pillar in the creation of China.
Di Ku once made Shangqiu the capital. His son, E Bo was appointed the fire official here and was responsible for supervising the usage of fire in the city and observing the stars. Shang Tang, a 13th generation descendant of E Bo, established the Shang Dynasty and named Shangqiu (then called Nanbo) as the capital. After ten kings over six generations, the capital of the Shang Dynasty was finally moved to Xiaotun in Anyang city. Nonetheless, Shangqiu remained the capital for 800 years during the Shang Dynasty's 1025 year history. Later, Song state in the Spring and Autumn period and Liang state in the Han Dynasty also made Shangqiu their capital. In the early period of the Song Dynasty, Shangqiu was first named Yingtian, the capital, and then it became a secondary capital called Nanjing. Shangqiu also had other names, such as Bo, Suiyang, Songzhou, Songcheng, Yingtian, Nanjing and Guide. For thousands of years, it was, either as a capital or a prefecture city, an important strategic city in China.
Shangqiu is also famous in China as the place where fire was first discovered. Legend has it that in ancient times, when Shangqiu was named Suiming State, Suiren happened to observe a pecking bird cause a small fire in a piece of wood. Curious, he tried it for himself by drilling a piece of flint into wood. Thus, the art of artificially making fire was discovered. He taught the people how to do it and was honored with the title Suirenshi. This discovery allowed the Chinese people to take the final step on the journey from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a more advanced civilization where they could grow food, raise animals and, now, cook them. Suirenshi was subsequently buried in Shangqiu and worshiped by the later generations. Many national and provincial ceremonies have been held here in honor of the discovery of making fire.
Over 3,800 years ago, in ancient China, Shangqiu was the political center of the Shang tribe. It is here that the idea of “business” first began to develop. The Shang tribe, led by Wang Hai, started to barter goods with neighboring tribes. This greatly promoted economic and social development in the area and was welcomed by all. As a result of the Shang tribe's trade with others, they were given the name “Shang ren” (merchants), the goods being traded were named “Shang pin” (commodities), and the trading they conducted was called “Shang ye” (commerce). These names are still in use today. It is for this very reason that Shangqiu is known as the birthplace of merchants and commerce.
Every step of development in the history of the Chinese civilization has left a deep footprint in Shangqiu. Besides the famous people mentioned above, the are a wealth of other significant names. Wang Hai, in addition to starting the barter system, first tamed oxen to be used by humans and even invented a kind of carriage to be pulled by them. Du Kang invented liquor distillery. Yi Yin, the first prime minister of humble birth invented Chinese cuisine and a method of boiling traditional Chinese medicine. Mo Zi, the great thinker, and Zhuang Zi, the master philosopher, left their immortal works which still have a far-reaching impact on Chinese people even today. The heroine Hua Mulan, a girl who disguised herself as a male warrior to join the army in place of her ailing father, became a general and left a good name forever. There were many more famous politicians, thinkers, literates and artists in the later dynasties. In addition, many renowned scholars stayed in Shangqiu for writing and teaching, including Sima Xiangru, Li Ba, Du Fu, Gao Shi, Li He, Fan Zhongyan, Ou Yangxiu, Wang Anshi, Su Shi and Wen Tianxiang, and left a large number of fine works and beautiful stories in China's history.
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