Zhuanxu is one of the three emperors and five emperors. However, he has suffered a cold shoulder for a long time, and his image and identity have not been clear. In this paper, through the way of literature intensive reading, we can find that in different periods the pre-Qin documents created various images of Zhuanxu, including the tribal leader before Warring States, sage king in the Warring States period, and one of the Five Lords in the Qin and Han Dynasties. At the same time, tracing back the background of the time to explore the reason of Zhuanxu’s image transformation: the change of Zhuanxu’s image is the result of the comprehensive effect of various factors, such as the literary atmosphere, the struggle of various scholars, the astronomical calendar, and the deification of characters. The study of Zhuanxu’s image evolution is of great significance to recognize and evaluate Zhuanxu again.