The Emperor Yao was an ancient Chinese ruler who was listed among the Three Sovereigns and the Five Emperors. With birth name being Yi Fangxun, the Emperor was born in southern China in the 23rd century BC as the second son of Emperor Ku, who had two sons. The elder one was named Zhi.

After Emperor Ku’s death, the throne was initially passed on to Zhi. Zhi, however, was not capable of leading his people and taking care of his country. Meanwhile, though Yao was still very young, he was proved to be extremely clever and able and was appointed as a Lord at age 13 to assist Zhi. Zhi understood that Yao was a better leader than he ever could be, and thus after nine years of reign, he passed on the throne to Yao. Some said that Yao was 21 when he became Emperor, others said that he was only 16.

Yao proved to be a hardworking yet humble Emperor, not wasting a single penny of his people’s by eating only coarse food just so that he wouldn’t be hungry. Yao was known to be benevolent and diligent. As Emperor, he laid out many laws prohibiting treachery. It can also be said that he was a democrat as he encouraged common people to speak their views on political issues as well. He was also extremely persistent on issues related to morals and family values. Emperor Yao also encouraged the study of astronomy, as he believed that noting the changes in the stars and the weather will inform his people when or when not to sow their crops.

Years later when the Emperor Yao was an old man, a flood happened in China that did great damage. Yao asked his advisors to nominate someone who can tend the flood and his advisors suggested Gun. Yao was initially reluctant on this choice as he thought that Gun as a rather immoral person. However, putting his people’s safety in the first place, Yao decided to let Gun try. There was no success after 9 years of dealing with the flood and the work was eventually finished by Gun’s son, Yu the Great.

Since Yao was getting old, it also became clear to him that he should start looking for a successor as he knew that none of his nine sons were capable leaders. Once again, he turned to his advisors, who suggested Shun, a young man at the time who was well known for his emphasis on family values. Though mistreated by his stepmother and half-brother, Shun still honoured his entire family.

The Emperor Yao therefore summoned Shun to court and put him through various trials. He first married his two daughters to Shun so that he could observe Shun’s behaviour more closely. To his pleasant surprise, Shun was able to convince his two rather pampered daughters to live a humble life together with him. Yao then asked his nine sons to work under Shun’s lead, and all nine of them ended up being more righteous people. Citizens on the piece of land that Yao gave Shun also lived a peaceful and comfortable life. Yao was extremely satisfied with Shun’s leadership skills and eventually, in the year of Jiwei, he passed his throne to Shun.

The Emperor Yao eventually died at the age of 118, after being on the throne for about 100 years. He was then buried in what is today the Shandong province and was revered greatly by his people, future Emperors and various Chinese scholars, even today.