In the time which followed Chi You’ s defeat in his great war against the Yellow Emperor, a nameless giant appeared in the land. Possessed of unprecedented power this giant’s head brushed the sky when stand-ing at his full height; he was capable with just the merest wave of his arms of reducing enormous mountains to dust and rubble. His softest sigh was enough to cause a hurricane which could uproot a forest of vast and an-cient oak trees from the ground. He paid hom-age to the sun god Yan Di and when Yan Di ruled the universe, he spent his days compos-ing beautiful, fair-sounding music, the most sweet-sounding of which was named Holding the Plough. He was also a greatly talented poet. His verses, the most celebrated of which was named Abundant Year, celebrated his devotion to the great Yan Di, his love for the people and for life. His melodious singing voice was eulogized in all lands and his sweet songs were the eternal happy accompaniment to the people’s hard toil in the fields, easing the hardship of their labor.
However, this blissful existence came to an end when the Yellow Emperor defeated Yan Di in a cataclysmis conflict. The defeated Yan Di was banished to a minor realm in the south. The aged, kindhearted Yan Di submit-ted meekly to his humiliation and the unques-tioned dominance of the Yellow Emperor meant that all of Yan Di’s subjects had no other choice but to submit and pay homage to this new master. The insignificant realm now ruled by Yan Di was dominated by the almost tangible atmosphere of humiliation and de-feat: the confidence and laughter of previous days became a distant, almost unreal memory. The great artistic giant wrapped up his music and put away the pen he used to write his po-etry. More important priorities now existed.
The giant marched to Yan Di’s palace and submitted an earnest entreaty to the en-feebled emperor,“Your Majesty, how peaceful and happy our lives were in the former days. The land prospered under your benevolent and fearless hand and all the people loved and esteemed you and composed great songs in your honor. Now we reside in this worthless insignificant, southern realm, living solitary and shameful existences. Your great servant Chi You refused to bear this shame and with enormous honor and courage, he raised the proud banner of revolution. He was felled by the hand of our great tormentor, the Yellow Emperor. It is our duty to seek revenge; to spill our blood in recognition of his valor. We must kill the Yellow Emperor and reclaim the paradise we once enjoyed.”
The aged emperor replied with sad eyes, “Your words touch my very heart but alas I am already old and have no strength remain-ing in my soul to oppose the Yellow Em-peror. Our collective power stands at naught compared with his. It would be utterly futile to embark on such a hopeless war.” Hearing these words and beholding the grey hairs and defeated eyes of his former idol, the giant realized no words in the universe could rouse the king’s beaten spirit. As contempt rose in him for the infirm Yan Di, an equally power-ful bitter determination grew inside the ginat’s heart to end the tyrannical rule of the Yellow Emperor.
In fact, he had wanted with all his heart to join Chi You’s revolt against the Yellow Emperor, but Yan Di had expressly forbidden him from doing so. Now, however, burning with an incandescent rage, no force in the uni-verse could stop him. With a massive shield in his left hand and a sharp broad axe brandished in his right, he set out alone but undaunted for the northern Heavens to challenge directly the mighty power of the Yellow Emperor.
