According to the
Records of Emperors and Kings by
Huangfu Mi, he was the last
Yan Emperor of the
Shennong clan. Born in Chengliu (承留) (present day southeast of
Kaifeng County,
Kaifeng,
Henan Province) as the son of Jiang Ke (姜克), the sixth or seventh Yan Emperor. Their capital was at
Yichuan (present day south of
Luoyang,
Henan). According to the
Records of the Grand Historian by
Sima Zhen, Di Yuwang, the last Yan Emperor and his tribe engaged in the battle with the invading
Chiyou's
Jiuli tribe and were defeated. They retreated from that recent invasion and came into territorial conflict with its neighbouring
Youxiong tribes led by the
Yellow Emperor. The Youxiong tribe engaged the Shennong tribe in a large-scale
Battle of Banquan in Chinese history. After three major engagements, the Yan Emperor lost the battle and surrendered to the Yellow Emperor. He agreed to merge his tribe with the Yellow Emperor's to form a new confederation, the
Yanhuang tribe. The Yellow Emperor and Yuwang the former Yan Emperor then led the newly merged Yanhuang tribe to war with Chiyou and his tribe in the
Battle of Zhuolu and defeated them, thus establishing their cultural and political dominance in
China proper. Therefore, the Yan Emperor, together with the Yellow Emperor and Chiyou, are collectively known as the "Three Patriarchs of China". ==References==