Chinese mythology generally reflects a time when metallurgy had long been practiced. According to the Romanian anthropologist, orientalist, and philosopher Mircea Eliade, the Iron Age produced a large number of rites, myths and symbols; the blacksmith was the main agent of diffusion of mythology, rites and metallurgical mysteries. The secret knowledge of metallurgists and their powers made them founders of the human world and masters of the spirit world. This metallurgical model was reinterpreted again by Taoist alchemists.
Some metalworkers illustrate the close relationship between Chinese mystical and sovereign power and the mining and metallurgy industries. Although the name Huangdi is absent from Shang or Zhou inscriptions, it appears in the Spring and Autumn periods Guoyu and Zuo zhuan'. According to Mitarai (1984), Huangdi may have lived in early antiquity and led a regional ethnic group who worshiped him as a deity; "The Yellow Emperor fought Chiyou at Mount Kunwu whose summit was covered with a large quantity of red copper".
"The seventy-two brothers of Chiyou had copper heads and iron fronts; they ate iron and stones [...] In the province of Ji where Chiyou is believed to have lived (Chiyou shen), when we dig the earth and we find skulls that seem to be made of copper and iron, they are identified as the bones of Chiyou." Chiyou was the leader of the indigenous Sanmiao (or Jiuli) tribes who defeated Xuanyuan, the future Yellow Emperor. Chiyou, a rival of the Yellow Emperor, belonged to a clan of blacksmiths. The advancement of weaponry is sometimes attributed to the Yellow Emperor and Chiyou, and Chiyou reportedly discovered the process of casting. Kunwu is associated with a people, a royal blacksmith, a mountain which produces metals, and a sword. Kui, a master of music and dance cited by Shun, was succeeded by Yu the Great. Yu the Great, reported founder of the Xia dynasty (China's first), spent many years working on flood control and is credited with casting the Nine Tripod Cauldrons. Helped by dragons descended from heaven, he died on Mount Xianglu in Zhejiang. In these myths and legends, mines and forges are associated with leadership.