Shennong is the legendary Chinese emperor credited with discovering tea. In Chinese tradition, he is also called the Divine Farmer and is remembered as a culture hero associated with agriculture, herbal medicine, and the testing of plants.
The best-known story says that Shennong was boiling water when tea leaves blew into the pot, changing the water's color and flavor. Another version connects tea with his experiments on medicinal herbs: after testing poisonous plants on himself, he supposedly discovered that tea could counteract their effects. Traditional accounts often place the event around 2737 BCE, though the date is legendary rather than historically verified.
Shennong belongs to Chinese mythology, not securely documented early history. Archaeological and written evidence cannot confirm that a historical emperor personally discovered tea. Tea drinking may instead have developed gradually in southwestern China before spreading more widely.
The other options are important legendary or historical Chinese rulers, but they are not the conventional figure associated with tea's discovery. Huangdi, or the Yellow Emperor, is also linked with medicine and civilization, which can cause confusion; the tea-discovery legend specifically names Shennong.