Chapter 42: Youchao — 有巢 — Who Watched Birds and Taught Humanity to Build Shelters
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A RECORD OF ALL THINGS UNDER HEAVEN
As gathered from the oldest accounts that remain
PROLOGUE — CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
On the Matter of Youchao — 有巢 — Who Watched Birds and Taught Humanity to Build Shelters
His name is Youchao — 有巢.
You — 有 — means to have. To possess. To exist.
Chao — 巢 — means nest. The thing birds build in trees. The thing animals build for their young. The place where life is sheltered.
Together — 有巢 — the One Who Has a Nest. The One Who Possesses Shelter. The One Who Taught Humanity to Build.
He is also called Youchao Shi — 有巢氏 — the Lord of the Nest. The one who built the first shelter. The one who taught humanity to live in houses. The one who took humanity out of the wilderness and into the safety of walls and roofs.
He is one of the legendary figures of the age before the Three August Ones — 三皇 — San Huang. He lived before Fuxi — 伏羲. He lived before Shennong — 神農. He lived before the Yellow Emperor — 黃帝 — Huang Di. He lived in the time when humanity was still learning to be human. He lived in the time when humanity was still learning to survive.
The texts do not agree on who he was. Some call him a ruler — 君主 — junzhu. Some call him a sage — 聖人 — shengren. Some call him an inventor — 發明家 — famingjia. All accounts agree that he taught humanity to build shelters. All accounts agree that he was the first to build a house. All accounts agree that without him, humanity would still be sleeping in the open, exposed to the elements, exposed to the beasts, exposed to death.
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On the oldest records of Youchao.
The name Youchao appears in the earliest Chinese texts.
The Zhuangzi — 莊子 — written by Zhuang Zhou — 莊周 — approximately 350 to 300 before the common era — mentions Youchao in Chapter 9.
It states: In ancient times, the people lived in the wilderness. They did not know how to build houses. They slept in caves. They slept in holes in the ground. They slept under trees. They were cold in winter. They were wet in rain. They were attacked by beasts. Then Youchao arose. He watched the birds. He saw how they built nests in the trees. He saw how the nests protected them from the rain. He saw how the nests protected them from the cold. He saw how the nests protected their young. He built the first shelter. He taught the people to build. He taught them to build houses. He taught them to build villages. He taught them to build walls. He taught them to build roofs. The people were no longer cold. The people were no longer wet. The people were no longer attacked by beasts. They lived in safety. They lived in peace. They lived in the age of Youchao.
The Zhuangzi does not describe Youchao as a god. It describes him as a human. A human who observed. A human who learned. A human who taught. A human who changed the world.
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On the second record. The Han Feizi — 韓非子.
The Han Feizi — 韓非子 — written by Han Fei — 韓非 — approximately 250 before the common era — records Youchao as one of the ancient sages.
It states: In ancient times, the people were few. The beasts were many. The people could not defeat the beasts. They could not protect themselves from the cold. They could not protect themselves from the rain. They could not protect themselves from the beasts. Then Youchao arose. He built the first house. He built it from wood. He built it from leaves. He built it from branches. He taught the people to build. The people built houses. They built villages. They built walls. They lived in safety. The beasts could not reach them. The rain could not reach them. The cold could not reach them. They honored Youchao as their ruler. They honored him as their teacher. They honored him as the one who saved them from the wilderness.
The Han Feizi also records that Youchao was followed by Suiren — 燧人 — who taught humanity to make fire. Together, Youchao and Suiren gave humanity the two foundations of civilization: shelter and fire. Without shelter, humanity would die of cold. Without fire, humanity would die of hunger. Youchao gave shelter. Suiren gave fire. Both are honored as the first sages.
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On the third record. The Shiji — 史記 — Records of the Grand Historian.
The Shiji — 史記 — by Sima Qian — 司馬遷 — written approximately 100 before the common era — does not include Youchao in its main narrative. Sima Qian begins his history with the Yellow Emperor. But in the commentaries to the Shiji, references to Youchao appear.
The Tang dynasty — 唐朝 — Tang Chao — commentator Sima Zhen — 司馬貞 — wrote a supplement to the Shiji called the Sanhuang Benji — 三皇本紀 — the Basic Annals of the Three August Ones. In this supplement, he records the ancient sages who came before the Three August Ones.
He states: In the beginning, there was Youchao. He taught the people to build nests. He taught them to build houses. He was followed by Suiren. He taught the people to make fire. He was followed by Fuxi. He taught the people to hunt and fish. He was followed by Shennong. He taught the people to farm. These four sages — Youchao, Suiren, Fuxi, Shennong — laid the foundations of civilization. They are the ancestors of the Chinese people. They are the ones who taught humanity to be human.
This ordering is the most complete account of the ancient sages. Youchao is first. He is the beginning. He is the one who took humanity out of the wilderness and into the safety of shelter.
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On how he learned from birds.
The accounts all agree on one point. Youchao learned from birds.
He watched the birds. He saw them gathering twigs. He saw them weaving branches together. He saw them lining the nest with soft materials. He saw them building their nests high in the trees, safe from predators. He saw them building their nests with roofs to keep out the rain. He saw them building their nests with walls to keep out the wind.
He imitated them.
He gathered branches. He wove them together. He made a structure that could hold his weight. He covered it with leaves. He covered it with grass. He made a roof. He made walls. He made a door. He made the first house.
He taught his people to do the same.
They built houses. They built them in trees at first, like the birds. Then they built them on the ground, using the same techniques. They built villages. They built walls around the villages. They built a civilization.
He learned from birds. He taught humanity. He is the bridge between the natural world and the human world. He is the one who saw what nature offered and gave it to humanity.
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On the first house.
The accounts describe the first house in simple terms.
It was made of wood — 木 — mu. Branches and twigs were woven together to form walls. Leaves and grass were layered to form a roof. The roof kept out the rain. The walls kept out the wind. The structure kept out the beasts.
It was built in a tree — 樹上 — shu shang — in the earliest accounts. The people lived in trees like birds. They were safe from the beasts that walked on the ground. They were safe from the floods that covered the land. They were safe from the snakes that crawled in the grass.
Later, they built on the ground — 地上 — di shang. They learned to build walls that beasts could not break. They learned to build roofs that rain could not penetrate. They learned to build doors that could be closed against the night. They learned to build villages that could be defended against enemies.
The first house was the seed of civilization. From the first house came the village. From the village came the town. From the town came the city. From the city came the state. From the state came the empire. All of it came from Youchao watching birds build nests.
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On the different types of shelters.
The texts record that Youchao taught two types of shelters.
The first type was the nest — 巢 — chao. This was built in trees. It was for safety. It protected against beasts. It protected against floods. It protected against enemies. The people who lived in nests were called the nest people — 巢民 — chao min. They lived in the trees. They came down to gather food. They climbed up to sleep. They were safe.
The second type was the house — 屋 — wu. This was built on the ground. It was for comfort. It had walls. It had a roof. It had a door. It could be heated. It could be furnished. The people who lived in houses were called the house people — 屋民 — wu min. They lived on the ground. They farmed. They raised animals. They built villages. They built civilization.
Both types were taught by Youchao. Both types were used by the people. The nest came first. The house came later. The nest was for survival. The house was for civilization.
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On his reign.
The texts record that Youchao reigned for a long time. The numbers differ across accounts.
The Han Feizi states that he reigned for 100 years — 一百年 — yi bai nian.
The Taiping Yulan — 太平御覧 — Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era — compiled during the Song dynasty — 宋朝 — Song Chao — states that he reigned for 200 years — 二百年 — er bai nian.
Some texts say 300 years — 三百年 — san bai nian. Some say 500 years — 五百年 — wu bai nian. The numbers are not historical. They are symbolic. They indicate that he ruled for a very long time. They indicate that his age was long. They indicate that his age was stable.
During his reign, the people learned to build. They learned to build houses. They learned to build villages. They learned to build walls. They learned to build a civilization. They grew from scattered individuals into communities. They grew from communities into a people. They became the Chinese people.
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On his place in the sequence of sages.
The texts record a sequence of sages who taught humanity the arts of civilization.
The first was Youchao. He taught shelter — 巢居 — chao ju.
The second was Suiren. He taught fire — 火 — huo.
The third was Fuxi. He taught hunting and fishing — 漁獵 — yu lie.
The fourth was Shennong. He taught farming — 耕種 — geng zhong.
Together, these four sages gave humanity everything needed for civilization. Shelter. Fire. Food from hunting. Food from farming.
Without Youchao, humanity would have no shelter. They would sleep in the open. They would be cold. They would be wet. They would be eaten by beasts. They would not survive.
He is the first. He is the foundation. He is the one who made all the others possible.
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On the meaning of his name.
His name is Youchao — 有巢 — the One Who Has a Nest.
The character Chao — 巢 — shows three birds sitting in a tree. Above them is a roof. The birds are protected. The birds are safe. The birds are sheltered.
The name means: the one who gave humanity a nest. The one who gave humanity shelter. The one who gave humanity safety. The one who gave humanity a place to be.
Before Youchao, humanity had no place. They wandered. They slept where they fell. They woke where they slept. They had no home. They had no village. They had no city. They had no civilization.
After Youchao, humanity had a place. They had a home. They had a village. They had a city. They had a civilization. They had a nest.
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On what he represents.
He represents the beginning of human settlement.
Before Youchao, there were no houses. There were no villages. There were no cities. There was no civilization. There were only wandering groups of people. They slept in caves. They slept under trees. They slept in holes in the ground. They had no fixed place. They had no permanent home.
After Youchao, there were houses. There were villages. There were cities. There was civilization. People lived in one place. They built structures. They stored food. They raised children. They built walls. They built communities. They built a people.
He is not a god. He is a human. He is the first human to build a shelter. He is the first human to live in a house. He is the first human to create a home. He is the first human to give humanity a place to belong.
He watched birds. He learned from them. He gave what he learned to his people. He is the first teacher. He is the first builder. He is the first architect. He is the one who taught humanity to build.
He is Youchao. He is the One Who Has a Nest. He is the foundation of civilization.
END OF CHAPTER FORTY-TWO