The Yellow Emperor is regarded by the Chinese to be the ancestor of all of the Han people and the originator of the civilization of China. He was called Huang Di and he was the last of the Sanhuang, or Three Noble Emperors, who taught the Yellow River Chinese the essential skills of civilization. The Yellow Emperor is a mythical character, known only through histories from the Shang dynasty as writing did not exist in the Yellow River period.

Huang Di ruled from 2697 to 2597 BCE according to legend. He is believed to have originated the cart, the boat, and the south-pointing chariot, which had a mechanism that allowed it to point south no matter how it was turned. His wife, Lei Zu, is said to have invented silk cultivation. Huang Di also apparently sponsored the sciences; Warring States period accounts said that under Huang Di's reign, Cang Jie invented pictographs (although the earliest known Chinese writings date to the much later Shang dynasty), Li Shou created various measurements and tools as well as the number system, Danao created the lunar calendar, and Ling Lun, the flute and the Chinese musical scale. Huang Di also supposedly wrote the classic book of Chinese medicine, the Nei Jing, which laid down the basis for acupuncture and the rest of Chinese medicine, although the book is generally regarded as having actually been written much later, around 200 BCE.

Myth holds that he was born to Fubao, who went into the city and saw lighting flashing around the Big Dipper. She immediately gave birth to the Yellow Emperor, who was born with the three characters "Yellow Emperor Son" on his chest (despite the fact that according to other legends, writing had not yet been developed.) Huang Di is also associated with the later semi-mythical philosopher Lao Tzu, who wrote the Tao Te Ching. Taoism did not originate with Lao Tzu; many earlier philosophers had formulated much of it, apparently including Huang Di.

One of the stories about Huang Di concerns tribal wars fought against Chi You, sometimes characterized simply the leader of the enemy Miao tribe and sometimes a god. Chi You created weapons from bronze that were superior to any others of the period and he defeated Huang Di's army several times. During the battle at Zhuolu, however, Huang Di eventually began to hold his own: when Chi You created a thick fog to block the Yellow Emperor's soldiers, the south-pointing chariot allowed them to navigate. Huang Di crafted musical instruments out of horns that mimicked the sound of dragons which left Chi You's demon soldiers paralyzed with fear. Finally, Chi You created a tempest but Huang Di's daughter produced great heat which dried up the storm.

Eventually Chi You was defeated and beheaded. Huang Di sent his head to be buried far away so that it could never reunite with his body. After this victory, Huang Di became the emperor of the central plains, uniting all of the tribes into what is considered by the Chinese to be the beginning of the nation of China. After this unification, the Yellow Emperor created the system of separate city-states, each of which led by a leader subordinate to the Emperor, a system that has been compared to European feudalism.

Huang Di was said to have ruled for one hundred years, after which he abandoned his throne as was raised to immortality. He rode a dragon sent from heaven and became one of the Five Emperors of Heaven. Recently, a meteorite was found in Shaanxi province that according to the Chinese media, may explain the shattering of the land which was said to accompany Huang Di's ascent to Heaven.