三皇五帝

1. • three sovereigns 三皇 sānhuáng and five emperors 五帝 wǔdì of myth and legend
2. • the earliest system of Chinese historiography

Character by character

• 三(sān)surname San
• 皇(huáng)surname Huang
• 五(wǔ)five
• 帝(dì)emperor