More fully called
燧人氏 ('Mr Suiren'). One of the
三皇 (Three Sovereigns) of mythological prehistory, alongside Fuxi (
伏羲) and Shennong (
神农). His invention of fire-by-friction (
钻木取火) supposedly took humanity from raw food to cooked, marking the start of civilization. The character
燧 itself originally meant a fire-making implement.
