Huang Di or the Yellow Emperor, is a half-historical, half-legendary Chinese sovereign and cultural hero in Chinese history and mythology. He is said to be the ancestor of all Huaxia Chinese.Tradition holds that he reigned from 26972597 BCE. He is regarded as the founder of Chinese civilization. The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors (Sanhuang wudi; WadeGiles: San-huang wu-ti) are a blend of mythological rulers and cultural heroes from ancient China dating loosely from the period from c.3500-2000 BCE. This represents the earliest period of recorded Chinese history and is regarded as largely mythological. In chronological terms it precedes the Xia Dynasty (c.2070-1600 BCE). There are several variations as to who constitute the various Three Sovereigns and Seven Emperors. According to the Diwang Xishi or Record of Imperial Lineages, also called the 'Sovereign Series' in English, the Three Sovereigns were, in chronological sequence: Fuxi, Shennong and Huangdi. The same source lists the Five Emperors, again chronologically, as: Shaohao, Zhuanxu, Gaoxin, Yao and Shun.