Shun

Fifth and final of the Wu Di (Five Emperors) per the Shiji canonical-historical framework; foundational filial-piety exemplar of the Confucian-canonical tradition; son of Gusou ("Blind Old Man," mortal) and Wo Deng (mortal). Per Shiji, descended from Huangdi through Zhuanxu via several intermediate generations; the registry models his immediate parents Gusou and Wo Deng in parentIds, with the deeper Huangdi chain documented in notes. The Shun-stepfamily-abuse-and-filial-piety narrative — Shun continuing to honor and serve his father Gusou despite the multiple murder attempts orchestrated by Gusou, the stepmother, and the half-brother Xiang — became the foundational filial-piety case-study of the Confucian-Mencian tradition (Mencius 4A.28, 5A.1-4). The Yao-Shun-Yu abdication chain that completes with Shun's abdication to Yu the Great (the flood-controller minister) constitutes the foundational meritocratic-succession case-study of Confucian-canonical political theory: the throne is the gift of Heaven and the people based on virtue, not heritable property of the sovereign.

Parentage

• paternal: Gusou
• maternal: Wo Deng

Powers

• Escapes the burning granary by gliding down on hats
• Escapes being buried alive in the well

Epithets

• 有虞氏 Chinese · Yǒuyú Shì · nameof the Youyu clanSima Qian, Shiji, 'Annals of the Five Emperors' (primary)
• 重華 Chinese · Chónghuá · name'Double Brightness' (said of his doubled pupils)Sima Qian, Shiji, 'Annals of the Five Emperors' (primary)

Relations

• half sibling: Xiang
• spouse: EhuangElder daughter of Yao, given to Shun in marriage as a test of his virtue; drowned at his death and became a goddess of the Xiang River.Shiji Ch. 1; Shujing Shun Dian (primary)
• spouse: NuyingYounger daughter of Yao, given to Shun in marriage; with her sister Ehuang became a goddess of the Xiang River (Xiang Fei).Shiji Ch. 1; Shujing Shun Dian (primary)

Sources

• existence: Sima Qian, Shiji Ch. 1 (primary); Shujing — Shun Dian (primary); Mencius / Mengzi 4A.28, 5A.1-4 (primary)