Yi

Yi (; millennium BCE) was a tribal leader of Longshan culture and a culture hero in Chinese mythology who helped Shun and Yu the Great control the Great Flood; he served afterwards as a government minister and a successor as ruler of the empire. Yi is also credited with the invention of digging wells (although Shennong is also credited with this). He was the ancestor of the ruling houses of the Zhao, Qin, Xu and Liang states.

Names Yi was also known as Boyi or Bo Yi, written variously as , , , and . He was also known as Fei the Great (, ).

History In the Records of the Grand Historian, Sima Qian's account of the origins of the House of Ying states that Fei the Great was the son of Ye the Great and Lady Hua.

Then, after the successful struggle against the flood, and the subsequent reorganization of government, Yi was appointed Minister of Animal Husbandry. According to the more mythical accounts, Yi could domesticate animals and birds due to knowing their languages.

Alternately, Yi is credited by creation of the canon of laws, while his relationship to the flood quelling is not underlined. This presentation is provided in the "Lü xing" chapter of the Book of Documents, where he is listed together with Yu the Great and Houji as "three princes" .

After the succession of Yu as sole emperor, Yu initially designated Yi as his successor, in preference to his son Qi. Versions vary as to whether Yu later changed his mind or if instead Yi was killed in the course of a struggle for the throne, as well as to whether Yi ever served as emperor. According to Sima Qian, Boyi's children by a 'jade lady of the Yao' included Lian the Great and Ruomu.

Descendants His son Ruomu was appointed lord of Xu in approximately 2061 BC by King Qi of Xia. Yi was believed to be the ancestor of Zhao clan and Qin clan as well. The state of Zhao and Qin were ruled by the two clans respectively. Descendants of Zhao clan were known as Zhao clan of Tianshui. Qin Shi Huang was one of his descendant from Qin clan. Other Ying clansmen, descended from Ruomu, formed Pei clan of Hedong.