In August 1982, Hu Chongjun was given a songbook by an old local farmer. The booklet was written in brush and ink with about 3,000 lines of seven Chinese characters each. It was split into four sections: the beginnings of the Universe; the Birth of Pangu; the Great Flood; and the birth of mankind until the beginnings of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Hu began to study and gather the manuscripts from accounts of old people living in Shennongjia.