Editing Chinese mythology (section)

===Yao and Shun===
{{Main|Emperor Yao|Emperor Shun}}

Yao and Shun were important mythological rulers, exemplars of propriety in rulership. The Great Flood began during the reign of Yao and continued through the time of [[Shun (Chinese leader)|Shun]] (the successor of Yao, who had passed over his own son and made Shun his successor because of Shun's ability and morality). Historically, when [[Qin Shi Huang]] united China in 221 BCE, he used propaganda to acclaim his achievements as surpassing those of mythological rulers who had gone before him. He combined the ancient titles of ''Huáng'' ({{lang|zh|皇}}) and ''Dì'' ({{lang|zh|帝}}) to create a new title, ''Huángdì'' ({{lang|zh|皇帝}}); thus, the Qin emperor used mythology to bolster his claims to be the legitimate and absolute ruler of the whole earth. This reflected what was to become a longstanding belief that all civilized people should have one government, and that it should be Chinese.{{sfn|Latourette|1947|p=3}}