After Pan Gu's death followed the Heavenly Emperors, Earthly Emperors and the ancestors of the Chinese rulers. The most important ones were three legendary rulers (Fu Xi, Shen Nong and Huang Di) and the five emperors.

 Fu Xi

Fu Xi was born in present-day Gansu Province. According to legend, Fu was carried in his mother's womb for twelve years before he was born. He taught people how to hunt, fish, domesticate animals and tend to their flocks. Fu also instituted marriages and taught people how to produce tools to split wood, kindle fire and cook food. In addition, he devised the mysterious Trigrams, which evolved from markings on tortoise shells. The Trigrams served as the basis for mathematics, medicine, divination and geomancy, and as clues to the secrets of creation, such as the evolution of nature and its cyclical changes. Fu was considered the first real ruler.

Fu was succeeded by his own sister Nuwa , who made man and mended the heaven.

 Shen Nong

Shen Nong, the Divine Farmer, succeeded Fu Xi. According to legend, Shen Nong was conceived through the influence of the Heavenly Dragon. Shen is credited for inventing the wooden plow and teaching people the art of agriculture. By experimenting with various plants, he discovered which plants were useful, harmful and poisonous. Shen absorbed himself deeply in the study of herbs to find remedies for his people, and he was very successful in his investigations. Shen was regarded as "The Prince of Cereals" by farmers, and his Classics of Shen Nong's Botany (Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing) are still in circulation. Shen also expanded the system of the eight trigrams into sixty-four hexagrams.

 Huang Di

Huang Di, who was considered the ancestor of the Chinese nation, was the most famous tribal chieftain of ancient China. It is said Huang had a full command of the language when he was still an infant. Apart from inventing the wheel and discovering the art of pottery making, Huang improved communications by building roads, bridges and ships. He also divided time into 60-year cycles.

Huang led an army to fight Chiyou -- the leader of barbarian tribes in Zhuolu, present-day Hebei Province -- where he captured and killed him. With Chiyou overthrown, Huang was elected a powerful chieftain and equipped with wise ministers to help him with the reforms. Huang instructed his assistants to build houses for his people, compose a farming calendar and make musical and astronomical instruments. Huang also invented carts drawn by oxen. Rivers and lakes were covered in barges in Huang's time, and he furnished his soldiers with bows, arrows and swords. Under Huang's administration, precious stones, gold and copper were introduced as currency. Huang governed for about 100 years.