Suiren

The Fire Drill Sage

Legendary sovereign who taught humankind to make fire and cook food.

Suirenshi, “He Who Drills Wood for Fire,” taught the first people to make fire by friction and to cook their food. Before his discovery they ate raw flesh and grew sick; after it, warmth, light and the hearth entered human life. Later ages ranked him among the Three Sovereigns as the founder of cooked food — the first step of civilization named for a spark.