Chinese Æsop:

Shun of Yu was named Chonghua (double splendour); Chonghua's father was Gusou; Gusou's father was Qiaoniu (bridge cow); Qiaoniu's father was Juwang; Juwang's father was Jingkang; Jingkang's father was Qiongchan; Qiongchan's father was Emperor Zhuanxu; Zhuanxu's father was Changyi. From him to Shun we have seven generations. From Qiongchan to Emperor Shun they were all insignificant common people. Shun's father, Gusou, was blind, and his mother having died, Gusou married again and had a son, Xiang, who was arrogant. Gusou loved his second wife, and frequently tried to kill Shun, who avoided him; when he made slight mistakes he was punished, yet he obediently served his father, stepmother, and brother, and was day by day generous, careful, and never negligent. Shun was a native of Jizhou, ploughed on Li mountain, fished in Thunder lake, made pots on the bank of the river, fashioned various articles at Shouqiu, and went now and then to Fuxia. Shun...

Emperor Ku married a daughter of Chen Feng, who bore a son named 'the Highly Meritorious'. He also married a daughter of Zhouzi, who bore a son Zhi. Emperor Ku died, and Zhi reigned in his stead. Zhi reigned badly and died, and his brother 'the Highly Meritorious one' reigned under the title of Emperor Yao. Emperor Yao was highly meritorious. His benevolence was like that of heaven, and his wisdom that of a god; when approached he was genial as the sun, and was looked out for as clouds in dry weather. He was rich without being proud, and esteemed yet not lax. He wore a yellow hat and plain silk dress, and drove a red car drawn by white horses. He was able to display his super-eminent virtue, by bringing into close alliance the nine degrees of kindred, and they being rendered harmonious, he forthwith regulated the people, and his people having become enlightened, the various states were at peace. He then commanded Xi and He in reverent accordance with their observat...

Huangdi (Yellow Emperor) was the son of Shaodian. His surname was Gongsun, and his prename Xuanyuan. Born a genius he could speak when a baby, as a boy he was quick and smart, as a youth simple and earnest, and when grown up intelligent. In the time of Xuanyuan, Shennong became enfeebled. The princes made raids on each other and harassed the people, but Shennong could not chastise them, so Xuanyuan exercised himself in the use of weapons of war, so as to be able to punish irregularities. The princes all came and did homage, but Chiyou (stupid criminal), the fiercest of all, could not be subdued. 'Blazing God'(i.e. Shennong) would oppress the princes, so they turned to Xuanyuan, who practised virtue, marshalled his men, controlled the five elements, cultivated the five kinds of grain, pacified the nations, and went over all parts of his country. Training black bears, grizzly bears, foxes, panthers, lynxes, and tigers,he with their aid, fought with 'Blazing god' in the de...

When  Pan Gu  separated the Heaven and the Earth, the sky likes a canopy covering  and protecting the Earth. As time went by, the columns which supporting the sky began to rot and the land began to crack. Heaven did not completely cover the earth; Earth did not hold up Heaven all the way around its circumference. Lava and putrid water oozed up from underground; Fires blazed out of control and could not be extinguished; The sky would drop rain, hail, and meteors day and night; Water flooded in great expanses and would not recede. Ferocious animals ate blameless people; predatory birds snatched the elderly and the weak. Thereupon, the God sent down His daughter Nüwa to repair the Earth and Sky. Nüwa smelted together five-colored stones to patch up the azure sky, and the surging waters were drained; the Earth was again tranquil; crafty vermin died off; blameless people preserved their lives. ************ One year, the God of Fire Zhu Rong and Gong Gong fought ...

Taihao (Great Brilliant), or Paoxi, of the surname Feng(wind), superseding Suiren(fire producer), succeeded heaven as King. His mother, named Huaxu, trod in the footprint of giant at Thunder lake, and bore Paoxi at Chengji. He had a serpent's body, a man's head, and the virtue of sage. 'Looking up he contemplated the forms exhibited in the heavens, and looking down he observed the patterns shown on the earth: he observed also around him the ornamental markings of the birds and beasts, and the different suitabilities of the soil. As to what was near he found things for consideration in his own person, and as to the remote in things in general. He first delineated the Eight Trigrams in order to show fully the virtues of the gods, and to classify the qualities of the myriads of things. He worked out a system of recording by tablets in lieu of 'knotted cords', and marriage rites were then first instituted, a pair of skins being given as wedding presents. 'He made ne...

The blazing god, Shen Nong, named Nu Deng, was of the Qiang family. His mother was influenced by a sacred dragon, she brought forth the blazing god with a man's body and an ox's head. He grew up on the banks of the Qiang River, whence he derived his surname. As he ruled by the influence of the element fire, he was called 'blazing god', and named his officers by the help of fire. "he cut down trees to make agricultural implements, bending timber into the shape of plough handles and spades, and taught the people the art of husbandry. As he was the first to give lessons in agriculture he was style 'divine husbandman'. Then sacrifices were offered at the close of the year, and red thongs used for garlanding plants and trees. He was the first to taste the different herbs, and first to make use of them for medical purposes. He also made the five-stringed lute." He taught people how to hold mid-day markets, when they bartered their wares and retired, everyone...