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04-03-2009 17:22

Yu the Great was the chieftain of the legendary Xiahou clan. He was originally called Yu or Xiayu. According to legend, the Yellow River flooded during the reign of Emperor Yao, and the people were forced to abandon their villages, and go to live in trees or on mountaintops.

The flood brought great misery to the people. Emperor Yao, the chieftain of the Yan-Huang tribal alliance, appointed Gun to harness the flood. Gun built dikes to keep back the water, but failed. Shun, who succeeded Yao, killed Gun, and appointed Gun's son Yu to continue with the flood-harnessing work.

Yu adopted the dredging method to lead the flood waters to flow along river courses into the sea. Yu worked very hard. It was said that during the 13 years he spent taming the floods, he passed his home three times, but did not enter until his task was completed. As a result of his successful efforts, the people bestowed on him the title "Yu the Great" and Shun chose Yu as his successor, with the approval of the tribal chieftains.

Following the taming of the floods, vegetation and wild beasts grew rampant, threatening the survival of the people. Yu taught his subjects the art of agriculture, and thus how to dominate the land and feed themselves in a regular and organized way. He also repelled invasions by the Miao tribe, and consolidated the Huaxia people's supremacy in the Central Plains. Around 2070 BC, Yu established the Xia Dynasty, the first dynasty in Chinese history. After Yu's death, his son Qi succeeded to the throne.

Crushing an attempt to overthrow him by the Youhu clan, Qi established the system of hereditary rulers. The Xia Dynasty lasted over 400 years. Its last king, Jie, vilified in the ancient records as a tyrant, was overthrown by the leader of the kingdom of Shang on the lower reaches of the Yellow River in 1,600 BC.

 

Editor:Yang Jie