The Five Grains or Cereals are a grouping of five farmed crops that were all important in ancient China. Sometimes the crops themselves were regarded as sacred; other times, their cultivation was regarded as a sacred boon from a mythological or supernatural source. More generally, wǔgǔ can be employed in Chinese as a synecdoche referring to all grains or staple crops of which the end produce is of a granular nature. The identity of the five grains has varied over time, with different authors identifying different grains or even categories of grains.
Zao Jun the Kitchen God to whom Wǔgǔ offerings are made in some traditions.
Shennong ploughing fields in a mural painting from the Han dynasty.
Yellow Emperor (Huangdi)
Broomcorn millet head
Boyi and Shuqi were two Dongyi brothers from Guzhu, a Dongyi vassal state under the Shang Dynasty. According to tradition, they lived at the time of the transition between the Shang dynasty and the Zhou dynasty. They are remembered in literary culture for their personal and moral virtue, loyalty, and pacifist idealism. Sometimes they are referred to together just as "Boyi", after the elder brother.
Di Xin (King Zhou) of the Shang dynasty accompanied by consort Daji, in the midst of their abominable acts. Nevertheless, Boyi and Shuqi indirectly swore loyalty to the dynasty after they fled their land of birth.
Depiction of King Wen of Zhou, originally a vassal of the Shang dynasty to whose territory Boyi and Shuqi fled after hearing reports of his able governance
Fiddlehead ferns, said to be Boyi and Shuqi's diet in exile, shown newly picked and washed. They are generally considered to be toxic before cooking.
Fiddlehead ferns, prepared dish.
