Shennong (神農), variously translated as "Divine Farmer" or "Divine Husbandman", born Jiang Shinian (姜石年), was a mythological Chinese ruler known as the first Yan Emperor who has become a deity in Chinese and Vietnamese folk religion. He is venerated as a culture hero in China and Vietnam. In Vietnamese, he is referred to as Thần Nông.
Shennong as depicted in a 1503 painting by Guo Xu
Shennong Yan Emperor (炎帝) is well known as the first Emperor of Ancient China, who not only invented the farming tools for his people, but also herbs for treating his people's illnesses. Depicted in a mural painting from the Han dynasty.
Communal worship of Shennong at the Great Temple of Yandi Shennong (炎帝神农大殿) in Suizhou, Hubei.
Shennong holding tea leaves, by Hasegawa Nobukata, early 17th century, Japan.
Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion, comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled with the contents of institutionalised religions such as Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and Chinese syncretic religions". This includes the veneration of shen (spirits) and ancestors. Worship is devoted to deities and immortals, who can be deities of places or natural phenomena, of human behaviour, or founders of family lineages. Stories of these gods are collected into the body of Chinese mythology. By the Song dynasty (960–1279), these practices had been blended with Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist teachings to form the popular religious system which has lasted in many ways until the present day. The present day government of mainland China, like the imperial dynasties, tolerates popular religious organizations if they bolster social stability but suppresses or persecutes those that they fear would undermine it.
Qing dynasty painting of the Chinese pantheon.
Xuanyuan Temple in Huangling, Shaanxi, dedicated to the worship of the Yellow Emperor.
The Temple of the City God of Wen'ao, Magong, Taiwan.
Temple of Hebo ("River Lord"), the god (Heshen, "River god") of the sacred Yellow River, in Hequ, Xinzhou, Shanxi.