The Zhou dynasty claimed legitimacy through a founder born from a giant's footprint
The Zhou dynasty of ancient China traced its royal lineage to a miraculous conception involving a woman stepping into the footprint of a giant.
According to the 'Shijing', or 'Classic of Poetry', the Zhou ancestor Houji was conceived when his mother, Jiang Yuan, trod in a divine footprint—possibly left by the high god Di—while performing a sacrifice. This immaculate conception resulted in the birth of a child so resilient that he survived being abandoned in narrow lanes and on ice. Houji eventually became the 'Lord of Millet', teaching the Chinese people how to cultivate grain and establishing the agricultural foundations of the state.
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