Which legendary Chinese emperor is credited with discovering the use of fire? Suiren is the culture hero credited with introducing fire-making and cooking.
Suiren, also called Suihuang or the “Flint Emperor,” belongs to China’s legendary age of culture heroes. Tradition credits him with teaching people how to produce fire, particularly by drilling wood, and how to use it for cooking. His name refers broadly to fire-starting tools rather than only to flint.
He appears in early Chinese writings and was included on some versions of the list of the Three Sovereigns. These figures are placed before the better-known Yellow Emperor and Yandi, and far before the historically documented dynasties. Suiren’s reign is sometimes given as 110 years, a legendary figure rather than a verifiable historical record.
The answer is sometimes confused with Shennong, who is associated with agriculture, herbal medicine, and tasting plants, or Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor. Those figures are also culture heroes, but the fire-making innovation belongs specifically to Suiren in this tradition.