Is “Whether Danzhu ever claimed the title of emperor and enjoyed imperial status” true?
The Records of the Grand Historian, in the 'Annals of the Five Emperors,' explicitly records Yao's low opinion of him: 'Yao knew that his son Danzhu was unworthy and could not be entrusted with the empire, so he temporarily entrusted it to Shun.' In the official histories, he never succeeded to the throne. In the novel, however, his status is elevated, and he is directly given the title of emperor. The Classic of Mountains and Seas, in the 'Classic of Regions Within the Seas: South,' records that he enjoyed a burial specification equal to that of Emperor Shun: 'On Mount Cangwu, Emperor Shun is buried on the sunny side, and Emperor Danzhu is buried on the shady side.' Elevating the loser to the imperial throne is the talk of novelists.
The official histories characterize him as an unworthy son who did not inherit the throne; the novel, however, refers to him as an emperor and grants him imperial burial rites.
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