Which legendary emperor is known as the Flame Emperor in Chinese mythology?

The legendary emperor known as the Flame Emperor in Chinese mythology is the Yan Emperor.

The Yan Emperor, or Yandi, is a major culture hero of ancient Chinese tradition. The Chinese character yan means “flame” or “fire,” which explains the title. He is often connected with Shennong, the Divine Farmer, a figure credited with teaching agriculture, discovering useful plants, and tasting medicinal herbs.

Traditional accounts place the Yan Emperor among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, a group of semi-mythical rulers who stand near the beginning of Chinese civilization. In stories of early tribal confederacies, Yandi’s people eventually came into conflict with the forces of the Yellow Emperor, Huangdi. The Yan Emperor was defeated at the Battle of Banquan, after which the two groups were said to have merged.

The identity of Yandi and Shennong has been debated, although many modern Chinese accounts treat them as the same figure. The Yan and Yellow Emperors together became ancestral symbols for Chinese civilization, reflected in the phrase “descendants of Yan and Huang.”