Shennong

How to recognise Shennong

1. Small hornsTwo short horns rise from the forehead of an otherwise human head, a trait that echoes older texts describing him as ox-headed.
2. Cape of leavesHis shoulders and waist are covered in broad leaves rather than cloth robes, showing his early, close-to-the-land age.
3. Herb sprigOne hand holds a leafy herb, often raised as if to taste it, recalling his tasting of the hundred plants.
4. Rice earsMany statues hold rice stalks, which show his rule over the five grains and the gift of farming.
5. Seated, barefoot, round-belliedHe sits at ease on a rock or hillock with bare chest, round belly and bare feet, in a mountain-and-field look.
6. Natural hair and beardHis long hair and full or untidy beard are unadorned, and he wears no crown.

Names and titles

• Emperor of the Five GrainsWugu Xiandi (五穀先帝), the First Emperor of the Five Grains, his title as patron of farming
• The Medicine KingYaowang Dadi (藥王大帝), honoured by herbalists and medicine traders
• Tasting the Hundred HerbsThe legend that he tasted many plants so people would know which were safe, recorded in the Huainanzi
• Maker of the First PloughHe is credited with creating farming tools and teaching people to cultivate the land
• Lord of the Burning WindA title linked to slash-and-burn field clearing and the fire of the Yan Emperor

Feast days

• Shennong Dadi's Birthday (神農大帝聖誕)26th day of the 4th lunar month (next: 30 May 2027)

  The birthday of Shennong Dadi, the Divine Farmer honoured as Wugu Wang, "King of the Five Grains". Devotees revere him as the teacher of farming and herbal medicine. Farmers, grain traders and herbalists keep the day especially.

  How it's celebrated. Temples in Taiwan hold a morning three-offering rite (sanxian li) and a birthday banquet for the god. At Xianse Temple in Sanchong, other temples' deities are invited as guests of honour. Practice varies: a Chinese-Indonesian temple in West Java is recorded keeping his birthday on the 25th of the fifth lunar month. Some calendars place the celebration on the 28th of the fourth month instead (see the attainment-of-the-Way day).

  Sources: CNA: Xianse Temple Shennong birthday rites and banquet · Liberty Times: Xianse Temple birthday rites · Baoan Temple (Dalongdong): Shennong Dadi birthday ceremony

• Sanchong Grand Festival at Xianse Temple25th day of the 4th lunar month (next: 29 May 2027)

  The main public festival of Xianse Temple in Sanchong, New Taipei, the Shennong Cultural Festival. It is a procession in honour of Shennong, held on the eve of his birthday. It is part of the same birthday celebration as the first feast, not a separate observance.

  How it's celebrated. The festival grew out of the older Sanchong "big worship" (da baibai). In 2024, the temple's 270th anniversary, deity generals from temples across Taiwan walked through Sanchong behind Beiguan musicians. The festival runs about a week, and other years have included free herbal-medicine consultations and tastings of rice foods.

  Sources: CNA: Sanchong Xianse Temple Shennong Cultural Festival · Min Bao: Shennong Cultural Festival at Xianse Temple

• Shennong's Attainment-of-the-Way Day (得道日)28th day of the 4th lunar month (next: 1 June 2027)

  A day on which some temples remember Shennong's attainment of the Way (dedao), kept on the 28th of the fourth lunar month. Some calendars and temples list the 28th as his birthday or "longevity" day instead, so it can be the same celebration as the first feast, kept on a different date.

  How it's celebrated. Little detailed practice is recorded for this day. Of roughly 130 Taiwanese temples dedicated to Shennong, most keep the 26th as his birthday, while some mark the 28th as the day he attained the Way. Taiwanese calendars list the 28th as "Shennong Xiandi wanshou". Taoist-influenced calendars use "wanshou" because Taoism reads him as the Earth Sovereign among the Three Sovereigns.

  Sources: Temple TW: Shennong Xiandi wanshou, 28th of the fourth month · Shenlu: Gods' birthdays in the almanac · Chinese Wikipedia: Shendan (deity birthdays)