The headless giant who battles the Yellow Emperor is Xingtian (also written Xing Tian). In Chinese mythology, he continues fighting Huangdi even after being decapitated.
Xingtian was associated with Yandi, the Yan Emperor, who competed with Huangdi for supremacy. After Yandi’s defeat, Xingtian carried on the struggle and was himself defeated by Huangdi. Huangdi buried Xingtian’s head on a mountain, but the giant refused to submit.
The famous account appears in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Without a head, Xingtian uses his nipples as eyes and his navel as a mouth, while wielding an axe and shield. This striking image makes him one of Chinese mythology’s best-known headless figures.
Xingtian is commonly confused with Chiyou, another powerful opponent of Huangdi. Chiyou is a distinct warrior deity, while Xingtian is especially associated with defiance after decapitation. Later Chinese poetry treated his endless martial dance as a symbol of indomitable resistance.