Diku

Diku, the great-grandson of the Yellow Emperor Huangdi, was styled Gaosin-shi and counted among the Five Emperors. Born in Qiongsang, he ascended the throne at age thirty and established his capital at Bo. Historical records describe him as 'universally bestowing benefit upon all things without seeking personal gain; possessing acute wisdom to comprehend distant matters and penetrating insight to discern subtle phenomena.' His benevolent virtue was as boundless as Heaven—covering all beneath it—and his grace as all-sustaining as Earth—bearing all upon it; he pacified and nurtured the four quarters, and all lands illuminated by the sun and moon or reached by wind and rain submitted to his rule. He commissioned the official Chongxian to revise the calendar, 'regulating the sun and moon to welcome and usher in the seasons,' thereby mastering seasonal shifts to benefit agriculture. Moreover, Diku was the progenitor of both the Shang and Zhou peoples: his son Xie became the founding ancestor of the Shang lineage, while his son Qi—born when the goddess Jiangyuan stepped upon the giant’s footprint—became the founding ancestor of the Zhou lineage, a legend that has endured for millennia. Revered throughout history for his benevolent virtue, Diku was enshrined posthumously, and his mausoleum in Shangqiu remains a site of continuous veneration.