Shennongshi is one of the Three Sovereigns, also known as Emperor Yan, who lived around the late Neolithic period. His greatest contributions were the inventions of agriculture and medicine.

The Book of Changes‧Xi Ci II states: "After Fuxi passed away, Shennongshi arose, carving wood to make plowshares and bending wood to make plow handles; the benefits of plowing and weeding were taught to the world." This indicates that Shennongshi invented farming tools such as plowshares and plow handles to teach the people how to cultivate.

Huainanzi‧Xi Wu Xun: "Shennong began to teach the people, tasting the flavors of various herbs, recognizing the sweetness and bitterness of Shuiquan (KI5),... At that time, he encountered seventy poisons in a single day, and thus the art of medicine arose." The Chronicles of Emperors and Kings states: "Emperor Yan Shennongshi,... tasted various plants, promoted medicinal treatments to cure diseases, saved lives from premature death, and the people used these remedies daily without knowing their origins, compiling four volumes of materia medica."

Due to Shennongshi's contributions to agriculture and medicine, China's first systematic treatise on medicinal substances—Shennong Bencao Jing—was named after Shennong, embodying the reverence and gratitude towards the Shennongshi lineage.