The history of Shangqiu is closely related to the very beginning of Chinese history. The tradition dates back to the Three August Ones and Five Emperors periods (c. 25th century BC), when the semi-legendary Emperors Shennong, Zhuanxu and Ku were said to be living in the present Shangqiu area. The son of Emperor Ku, Qi (), who helped Yu the Great to control floods, was enfeoffed the area of Shang (which is the current day Shangqiu area), who also became the ancestor of the ancient nationality of "Shang". It is said that the "Shang" people first started trading with neighboring countries by shipping the goods with ox wagons. Since then, people doing business are called "Shang people" (), which is still the case now, although people are not likely to know the origin of the words. Shangqiu was also reportedly one of the capitals defended by the Xia emperor Xiang, troubled by rebellions in his reign. The thirteenth generation grandson of Qi (), Tang overthrew the ruling Xia Dynasty and founded the Shang Dynasty, with its first capital at Nanbo (, currently south of Shangqiu). Around the 11th century BC, the Shang Dynasty was replaced by the Zhou Dynasty. The royal descendants of the Shang Dynasty were enfeoffed the area of Shangqiu, which later became the state of Song.