Agriculture is an important theme in
Chinese mythology. There are many myths about the invention of agriculture that have been told or written about in China (Yang 2005:70).
Chinese mythology refers to those myths found in the historical geographic area of
China. This includes myths in
Chinese and other languages, as transmitted by
Han Chinese as well as other ethnic groups (of which fifty-six are officially recognized by current administration of China). (Yang 2005:4) Many of the myths about agriculture involve its invention by such deities or culture heroes such as
Shennong,
Houji,
Hou Tu, and
Shujun: of these Shennong is the most famous, according to Lihui Yang (2005:70). There are also many other myths. Myths related to agriculture include how humans learned the use of fire, cooking, animal husbandry and the use of draft animals, inventions of various agricultural tools and implements, the domestication of various species of plants such as ginger and radishes, the evaluation and uses of various types of soil, irrigation by digging wells, and the invention of farmers markets. Other myths include events which made agriculture possible by destroying an excessive number of suns in the sky or ending the Great Flood.