The second of the SAN-HUANG to rule over China, SHEN-NONG was a mortal in the very earliest days of China (2800 B.C.). Announcing himself ‘Lord of the Burning Wind’, his slash-and-burn policy of clearing scrublands left the ground rich in potash ready for plowing and planting. He then taught his fellow mortals how to farm, and became known as the Holy Plowman King.
But he’s best known for his knowledge of herbs, drugs and medicine. He single-handedly tasted each and every plant in China to see what was yummy and what would kill you. Legend tells that during his research he was once poisoned no less than seventy-two times in a single day. Amazingly, he suffered no long-term ill effects. Perhaps the medicinal plants and poisonous plants canceled each other out.
Apart from that, he has a transparent stomach, which did come in very handy for seeing what all those plants were doing to his insides. He also has a head of oxen. Does that mean he had an ox’s head or that he drove oxen? Or even that he drank Oxo? It is all very garbled.