of China. It is said in the book of rites that he ruled winter and was in charge of things with large shells and water was the foremost element of the season kidneys were the foremost sacrifice his attending spirit was hsuan ming and other changes during the three months of winter. Wives and Descendants Ku had several wives. The best-known of his consorts are four ladies: Jiang Yuan, Jiandi, Changyi(常宜), and Qingdu(庆都). Once each of these ladies had given birth to a son (Houji, Xie, Zhi, and Yao, respectively) Ku had a diviner foretell for him which of the sons was destined to rule the empire, and he received the answer that all four would. Another source mentions a lady with whom he had eight sons, each one born after she had dreamed of swallowing the sun; although her name is uncertain, she was said to be from Zoutu. Shiji also recorded the lineage names of Zhi's mother as Juzi () and Yao's mother as Chenfeng (). According to some traditions, each of these four sons inherited Ku's empire or was ancestral founder of a Chinese dynasty. The first of Ku's sons to rule the kingdom was Emperor Zhi, who was the son of Changyi. Another of his sons later became the Emperor Yao. Ku's son Xie, born miraculously to Jiandi after she swallowed the egg of a black bird, became the predynastic founder of the ruling family of the Shang dynasty. Ku's son Houji, born miraculously to Jiang Yuan after she stepped in the footprint of a god, became a predynastic founder of the lineage of the Zhou dynasty. According to Samguk Sagi, the kings of Goguryeo regarded themselves as a descendant of Chinese heroes because he called his surname "Go" (Hanja: ) as they were the descendant of Gao Yang (Hanja: ) who was a grandchild of the Yellow Emperor and Gaoxin (Hanja: ) who was a great-grandchild of Yellow Emperor. Bamboo Annals In the Bamboo Annals, one of the earliest sources, it is mentioned that when Emperor Zhuanxu died, a descendant of Shennong named Shuqi(術器) organized a rebellion, but was destroyed by a descendant of Huangdi, Ku (of the Gaoxin lineage) the Prince of Xin; Ku then ascended to the throne. It also states that Ku "was born with double rows of teeth, and had the wisdom of a sage", and that he "made blind men