Suihuang Mausoleum

About 1.5 kilometres southwest of the Shangqiu old city, according to a regional news page, stands a tall mound identified as the tomb of Suiren, one of the Three Sovereigns and the ancestor credited with fire in Chinese tradition. The story attached to the place is an action rather than a monument: a bird pecking at flint-wood, sparks, and a man learning to drill wood for fire. The tomb has been repaired and expanded into a landscaped park with stone sculpture and plantings, and it is run together with the Huoshen Terrace and South Lake scenic areas.

Suihuang Mausoleum

Suihuang Mausoleum: the rebuilt mound

Drilling for Fire

At the Suihuang mausoleum, the founding act of Chinese culture is a piece of wood, a bird and a spark, told as a story rather than a proven date.

Read