Chapter 118: The Five Clans Who Founded China

After the successful mending of the heavens, the Great Goddess Nuwa transformed her physical form into all things, passing away from sheer exhaustion.

As the film reached this point, it offered a sweeping close-up: a linear perspective tracking at the speed of light across oceans, mountains, rivers, lakes, plateaus, and basins. Everything it touched erupted with vibrant life.

The scene shifted to reality. High above Yanjing, the Silver Dragon fighter jet roared along the Heavenly Dragon Avenue. Below, the people marched in place, observing a collective moment of silence. Though their eyes were hidden, the two billion viewers watching the film saw the profound grief reflected on their own faces and the faces of those around them.

The Great Goddess Nuwa had fallen.

Amidst the piercing sound barrier, a tempestuous current of air surged as the Silver Dragon flew from Yanjing to the westernmost border of Fama.

The ceremony concluded, and the screen returned to Mount Kunlun.

The heavens and earth shifted, and wind and clouds churned as Fuxi stood amidst them, observing. One day, he came to the riverbank and saw a creature emerge from the water—a dragon-horse, neither quite dragon nor horse. The patterns on its shell made his eyes light up.

Drawing in the sand, Fuxi created the Eight Trigrams based on this "River Map."

The River Map is the root of the Eight Trigrams. In the ancient era, the great gods observed the cosmos and summarized the universal laws governing all things; this method was called "Yi." Later came the Yi and the Zhou Yi. These four are of one lineage, serving as the head of all classics and the source of the Great Dao.

Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui—representing heaven, earth, wind, thunder, water, fire, mountain, and marsh—Fuxi’s Eight Trigrams are the Primordial Eight Trigrams. Often appearing alongside the Taiji, they constitute the Taiji-style Primordial Eight Trigrams, or the Hunyuan Eight Trigrams.

Hum!

A close-up: Fuxi pressed his right hand into the void, and a Taiji Eight Trigram symbol instantly appeared.

"Wow, this actually makes sense. It finally has logic."
"Indeed, the philosophy within the mythology has emerged."
"This theory seems flawless."

Elsewhere, in a lush landscape with towering ancient trees, primitive humans clad in leaf-garments shrieked and hollered. Suddenly, a man collapsed, convulsing on the ground. As others rushed over, a massive, blood-red snake slithered away, leaving the crowd in sorrow.

The scene cut abruptly. A dozen primitive people fell one after another, victims of snakes and wild beasts. A man holding a spear appeared, introduced as Youchao, one of the Five Clans. Under his direction, the people began to fell trees and climb into the branches, building dwellings above the ground.

On the other side, another group of primitives crouched together, eating the carcass of a beast, their faces stained with blood and fur, looking ferocious. Suddenly, a fire ignited in the nearby bushes, and the crowd began to dance wildly in terror.

One man among them remained calm, his eyes glowing with intensity as he stared at the fire, lost in thought. He was Suiren, one of the Five Clans.

Moments later, Suiren found a piece of broken wood, gripped a sharpened wooden drill in his hands, and rubbed it back and forth against the wood.

Sshh!

A wisp of white smoke appeared. As Suiren accelerated his motion, a flame rose up. Seeing the same fire, the primitives danced with joy.

Elsewhere, an old man holding a hoe appeared. It was Shennong, one of the Five Clans, author of the Shennong Herbal Classic. To the audience's amazement, Shennong’s torso was transparent, his internal organs clearly visible. As he traversed mountains and ridges, he constantly sampled herbs to discern their medicinal properties.

Meanwhile, Fuxi observed a spider weaving a web. His mind raced, and before long, he wove a fishing net, leading the primitive humans to cast it into the sea in a joyous scene.

Suddenly, Nuwa reappeared, and the crowd erupted.

"Waaah, the Great Goddess Nuwa is back!"
"May the Great Goddess Nuwa live forever!"
"The Great Goddess Nuwa is eternal and immortal!"

In just over ten minutes of footage, Nuwa surpassed Pangu, Youchao, Suiren, Shennong, and Fuxi to become the most popular figure.

This time, the footage showed Nuwa crafting musical instruments, with Fuxi joining in. Nuwa made the sheng-huang, while Fuxi accompanied her on the zither. They combined the body of a python, the head of a crocodile, the antlers of a stag, the eyes of a tiger, the scales of a red carp, the legs of a monitor lizard, the claws of an eagle, the tail of a white shark, and the whiskers of a whale—thus, the Dragon Totem was born.

As the third movement of the new "Immortal" began to unfold, the two billion people of Fama were completely immersed, moved by the emotional buildup surrounding Nuwa. Accompanied by the beauty of nature—the forests, grasslands, and rivers—and the appearance of humans, beasts, and monsters, the people were intoxicated, their thoughts drifting with the melody of the flute.

The Silver Dragon reappeared in autopilot. Le Xiaotian, trembling all over, waved his arms, leading the chant with a sacred expression. Although the two billion people of Fama were not shown, their collected voices filled the film. The heavens and earth were filled with a grand, majestic chorus, accompanied by the vibration of horns and drums, while everyone marched in place.

Nuwa smiled, Fuxi stood with his hands behind his back, and the people worshipped them. Youchao stood proudly in his tree-dwelling with his spear; Suiren sat by his log; Shennong hung from a cliff—all were worshipped by the masses.

The Silver Dragon pierced the sky, flying over immortal mountains and divine trees, leaving behind a beautiful rainbow.

Large, gold-leaf characters occupied the main screen: *There are six versions of the Three Sovereigns; this drama honors the version of Pangu, Nuwa, and Fuxi.*

Following the Three Sovereigns were the Five Clans: the Nuwa Clan, the Fuxi Clan, the Youchao Clan, the Suiren Clan, and the Shennong Clan.

Nuwa first mended the heavens, then crafted the sheng-huang. After creating humanity, she followed the way of heaven, concealing her boundless power. She and Fuxi became husband and wife, giving birth to the Luo Goddess. Nuwa’s unparalleled beauty incited a conflict between the Water God Gonggong and the Fire God Zhurong. Defeated, Gonggong struck the Buzhou Mountain in his rage, leading to Nuwa’s mending of the heavens—a testament to the incompatibility of water and fire.

Fuxi divined the River Map, created the Eight Trigrams, taught the people to fish and hunt, tamed beasts, and, along with Nuwa, changed the marriage system, ending blood-relation unions. Youchao taught people to build houses with wood and leaves to shelter from the elements and beasts. Suiren drilled wood to create fire, bringing the flame to humanity. Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs, discovered traditional medicine, founded the field of herbalism, distinguished between medicinal and edible plants, and established the agricultural era.

The dance created the cosmos; music created gods and demons; fire created civilization; electricity created the era. With the emergence of fire and the establishment of the Dragon Totem, the Huaxia civilization was born!

"Haha, I told you Teacher Xiaotian had read 'Water Has No Name,' but you didn't believe me!"
"Hmm, it makes sense. From the looks of it, there are no loopholes in this Huaxia civilization."
"Here we go again. It’s mythology, isn't it? Where would we find Nuwa? Only Teacher Xiaotian knows if she's real or not."
"Exactly, Teacher Xiaotian said it himself—this is an 'Immortal' work, an epic story, a myth."
"I wonder, with Pangu opening the heavens, Nuwa creating the world, humans, and mending the sky, and the Five Clans deriving civilization, what other gods and demons are out there?"
"Just keep watching, they'll all show up eventually."

As the climax exploded, the Silver Dragon circled, the Five Clans gradually ascended into the sky, and ten thousand people bowed in worship as the heavens and earth returned to calm.

However, the images of the Five Clans were already deeply etched into the minds of the two billion people of Fama, never to be erased.