Five Chinese cereals

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The Five Chinese cereals (sometimes known as the five sacred grains or crops; Chinese: 五谷) are a group of five grains important in ancient China and regarded as sacred. They are first listed in Fah Shên-chih's text on farming circa 2800 BCE entitled Fah Shên-chih Shu.^{[citation needed]}

There are various versions of which five crops are represented in the list. One version includes soybeans, rice, wheat, proso millet, and foxtail millet. Another version, given in the Classic of Rites, excludes rice and includes hemp. All but soybeans are cereal grains.

The ancient Chinese gave them their own god, Houji (后稷).^{[citation needed]}