Jiandi

Jiandi (traditional Chinese: 簡狄; simplified Chinese: 简狄; pinyin: Jiǎndí), also with variants 簡易/简易 and 簡逷/简逷, is an important figure in Chinese history and Chinese mythology. She was the second wife of Emperor Ku,^[1] who was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. Jiandi was the mother of Qi, the predynastic founder of the Shang dynasty (note that this is a different Qi than the Qi Ji born to Di Ku's first wife Jiang Yuan). Her pregnancy miraculously occurred following her swallowing or holding in her bosom the egg of a black bird (玄鳥).^[2] Jiandi was said to be of the Yousong clan.^[3] Jiandi is mentioned in various sources, including the poems "Eulogy of Shang", in the Shijing, and the "Heavenly Questions" in the Chuci.^[4]

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References[]

• Yang, Lihui, et al. (2005). Handbook of Chinese Mythology. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-533263-6