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Yu the Great

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Yu the Great
Đại Vũ
Song-eradepiction of Yu
King of the Xia dynasty
PredecessorShun
SuccessorQi
DiedMount Kuaiji
SpouseLady Tushan
IssueQi of Xia
FatherGun
MotherNüzhi
Chinese name
ChineseĐại Vũ

Yu the Great(Chinese:Đại Vũ;pinyin:Dà Yǔ) orYu the Engineerwas a legendary king inancient Chinawho was famed for "the first successful state efforts atflood control,"[1]his establishment of theXia dynastywhich inaugurateddynastic rule in China,and his upright moral character.[2][3]He figures prominently in the Chinese legend titled "Great Yu Controls the Waters" (Đại Vũ trị thủy;Dà Yǔ zhì shuǐ). Yu and other "sage-kings" of ancient China were lauded for their virtues and morals byConfuciusand other Chinese teachers.[4]He is one of the few Chinese monarchs who is posthumously honored with the epithet "the Great".

There is no contemporary evidence of Yu's existence as traditionally attested in theRecords of the Grand Historian.Yu is said to have ruled as sage-king during the late 3rd millennium BCE, which predates theoracle bone scriptused during the lateShang dynasty—the oldest known form of writing in China—by nearly a millennium.[5]Yu's name was not inscribed on any artifacts which were produced during the proposed era in which he lived, nor was it inscribed on the later oracle bones; his name was first inscribed on vessels which date back to theWestern Zhouperiod (c. 1045–771 BCE).

Name[edit]

TheShuowen Jiezi(c. 121 CE) gives the earliestChinese dictionarydefinition ofyuVũ:"a 'bug, reptile', under the⽱ 'TRACK'radical, apictograph.[6]

Historical linguist Axel Schuessler reconstructsVũ'sOld Chinesepronunciation as*waʔ,and compares it to eitherProto-Tibeto-Burman*was('bee', 'honey') orProto-Waic*wak('insect') (further fromProto-Palaungic*ʋaːk).[7][8]

Ancestry and early life[edit]

For a family tree, seeFamily tree of ancient Chinese emperors.
Han dynastydepiction of Yu from theWu Liang shrine

Transmitted sources uniformly asserted that Yu was the son ofGun,a kind of mythical fish,[9]though they differed on Gun's origins. According toSima Qian'sRecords of the Grand Historian,Yu's father wasGun,grandfather wasZhuanxu,great-grandfather wasChangyi,and great-great-grandfather was theYellow Emperor,Changyi and Gun being mere officials, not emperors.[10][11][12][13]Book of Han,quoting Lord Yu Imperial Lineage, stated that Yu's father Gun was a five-generation-descendant of Zhuanxu.[14]TheClassic of Mountains and Seasstated that Yu's father Gun (also known asCon ngựa trắng;'White Horse') was the son of Luómíng, who in turn was the son of the Yellow Emperor.[15]

Yu's father, Gun, was enfeoffed at Shiniu of Mount Wen (Vấn sơn), in modern-dayBeichuan County,Sichuan,Yu was said to have been potentially born there,[16]though there are debates as to whether he was born inShifanginstead.[17]Yu's mother was of the Youxin clan (Có sân thị) named either Nüzhi (Nữ chí) or Nüxi (Nữ đùa). HissurnamewasSi,laterXiaafter thestatehe was enfeoffed with, while his personal name was Wenming (Văn mệnh), according to theRecords of the Grand Historian.[18][19][20]

When Yu was a child, EmperorYaoenfeoffed Gun as lord of Chong, usually identified as the middle peak ofMount Song.Yu is thus believed to have grown up on the slopes of Mount Song, just south of theYellow River.[21] Yu was described as a credulous, hard working, quick witted person with morals.[22]He later married a woman from Mount Tu (Đồ sơn) who is generally referred to as Tushanshi (Đồ sơn thị;'Lady Tushan').[23]They had a son namedQi,a name literally meaning "revelation".[23]

The location of Mount Tu has always been disputed. The two most probable locations are Mount Tu inAnhui Provinceand the Tu Peak of theSouthern Mountain of Chongqing.[citation needed]

A separate legend of Yu's birth is attested in an excavated manuscript with provenance provisionally assigned to theWarring States period.In this legend, Yu's mother became pregnant after consuming the grains of aJob's tearsplant, and gave birth to him through her back after a three-year gestation period.[24]: 132–133, 145 

Great flood legend[edit]

Main article:Great Flood (China)
Yu as depicted in the albumPortraits of Famous Menc. 1900,housed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art

During the reign ofEmperor Yao,the Chinese heartland was frequently plagued byfloodsthat prevented further economic and social development.[25]Yu's father, Gun, was tasked with devising a system to control the flooding. He spent more than nine years building a series of dikes and dams along the riverbanks, but all of this was ineffective, despite (or because of) the great number and size of these dikes and the use of a specialself-expanding soil.As an adult, Yu continued his father's work and made a careful study of the river systems in an attempt to learn why his father's great efforts had failed.

Collaborating withHou Ji,a semi-mythical agricultural master, Yu successfully devised a system of flood controls that were crucial in establishing the prosperity of the Chinese heartland. Instead of directly damming the rivers' flow, Yu made a system ofirrigation canalswhich relieved floodwater into fields, as well as spending great effort dredging the riverbeds.[12]Yu is said to have eaten and slept with the common workers and spent most of his time personally assisting the work of dredging the silty beds of the rivers for the thirteen years the projects took to complete. The dredging and irrigation were successful, and allowed ancient Chinese culture to flourish along theYellow River,Wei River,and other waterways of the Chinese heartland. The project earned Yu renown throughout Chinese history, and is referred to in Chinese history as "Great Yu Controls the Waters" (Đại Vũ trị thủy;Dà Yǔ zhì shuǐ;Daai3Jyu5zi6seoi2). In particular,Mount Longmenalong the Yellow River had a very narrow channel which blocked water from flowing freely east toward the ocean. Yu is said to have brought a large number of workers to open up this channel, which has been known ever since as "Yu's Gateway" (Vũ cửa).[12]

In a retold version of this story as presented inWang Jia's 4th-century CE workShi Yi Ji,Yu is assisted in his work by a yellow dragon and a black turtle (not necessarily related to theBlack TortoiseinChinese mythology).[26]Another local myth says that Yu created theSanmenxiain theYellow Riverby cutting a mountain ridge with a divine battle-axe to control flooding.[27]This is perhaps a reference to a meteorite stone—something hard enough to etch away at the hard bedrock ofMount Longmen.

Traditional stories say that Yu sacrificed a great deal of his body to control the floods. For example, his hands were said to be thickly calloused, and his feet were completely covered with calluses. In one common story, Yu had only been married four days when he was given the task of fighting the flood. He said goodbye to his wife, saying that he did not know when he would return. During the thirteen years of flooding, he passed by his own family's doorstep three times, but each time he did not return inside his own home. The first time he passed, he heard that his wife was in labor. The second time he passed by, his son could already call out to his father. His family urged him to return home, but he said it was impossible as the flood was still going on. The third time Yu was passing by, his son was more than ten years old. Each time, Yu refused to go in the door, saying that as the flood was rendering countless number of people homeless, he could not rest.[23][28]

Yu supposedly killedGonggong's ministerXiangliu,a nine-headed snake monster.

Nine Provinces[edit]

Main articles:Yu Gong,Nine Provinces,andNine Tripod Cauldrons
Map showing the Nine provinces defined by Yu the Great during the legendary flood

Emperor Shun,who reigned after Yao, was so impressed by Yu's engineering work and diligence that he passed the throne to Yu instead of to his own son. Yu is said to have initially declined the throne, but was so popular with other local lords and chiefs that he agreed to become the new emperor, at age 53. He established a capital at Anyi (An ấp), the ruins of which are in modernXia Countyin southernShanxiand founded what would be called theXia dynasty,traditionally considered China's first dynasty.[29]

Yu's flood control work is said to have made him intimately familiar with all regions of what was thenHuaxiaterritory. According to hisYu Gongtreatise in theBook of Documents,Yu divided the Chinese "world" into ninezhouor provinces. These wereJizhou(Ký Châu),Yanzhou(Duyện Châu),Qingzhou(Thanh châu),Xuzhou(Từ Châu),Yangzhou(Dương Châu),Jingzhou(Kinh Châu),Yuzhou(Dự Châu),Liangzhou(Lương Châu) andYongzhou(Ung Châu).[30]

According to theRites of Zhou,there was no Xuzhou or Liangzhou, instead there wereYouzhouandBingzhou,but according to theEryathere was no Qingzhou or Liangzhou, instead there was Youzhou (U Châu) and Yingzhou (Doanh châu).[30]Either way there were nine divisions. Once he had received bronze from these nine territories, he createdding vesselscalled theNine Tripod Cauldrons.[31]Yu then established his capital atYang City(Dương Thành).[32]It is said in theBook of Documentsthat theMiao peoplerebelled under their leader, but he treated them harshly and so many abandoned him. He fought with Yu, who had the intention to kill him, but after defeating him spared him and reformed him for 3 years. He became wise and ruled well and the people returned.[33]TheBamboo Annalsclaim Yu killed one of the northern leaders,Fangfengto reinforce his hold on the throne.[34][35]

Yu mausoleum in Shao xing

Death[edit]

Yu temple in Yu mausoleum

According to theBamboo Annals,Yu ruled the Xia Dynasty for forty-five years and, according toYue Jueshu(Càng tuyệt thư), he died from an illness.[35][36]It is said that he died atMount Kuaiji,south of present-dayShao xing,while on a hunting tour to the eastern frontier of his empire, and was buried there. The Yu mausoleum (Đại Vũ lăng) known today was first built in the 6th century AD (Southern and Northern Dynastiesperiod) in his honor.[37]It is located four kilometers southeast of Shao xing city.[37]Most of the structure was rebuilt many times in later periods. The three main parts of the mausoleum are the Yu tomb (Vũ lăng), temple (Vũ miếu) and memorial (Vũ từ).[38]Sima Qianonce "went to Kuaiji and explored the cave of Yu". The tomb faces east and west and has a grate gate, a canal and a pavilion for the Great Yu Tomb.[39]In many statues he is seen carrying an ancient hoe (Cái cày). A number of emperors in imperial times traveled there to perform ceremonies in his honor, notablyQin Shi Huang.[36]

Historicity[edit]

Because no contemporary documentary evidence about Yu survives, only a body of accumulated myth and legend, there is significant doubt as to thehistoricityof this figure. No inscriptions on artifacts dated to the supposed era of Yu, or the later oracle bones, contain any mention of Yu. The first archeological evidence of Yu comes from vessels made about a thousand years after his supposed death, during theWestern Zhoudynasty.[40]: 77 

TheDoubting Antiquity Schoolof early-20th-century historians, for example, theorized that Yu was not a person in the earliest legends, but rather a god or mythical beast who was connected with water and possibly with the mythical legendDragon Kingsand their control over water. According to this theory, Yu (as god or beast) was represented on ceremonial bronzes by the early Xia people, and by the start of theZhou dynasty,the legendary figure had morphed into the first man, who could control water, and it was only during the Zhou Dynasty that the legendary figures that now precede Yu were added to the orthodox legendary lineage. According to the Chinese legend Yu the Great was a man-god.

Archaeological evidence of alarge outburst flood at Jishi Gorgeon the Yellow River has been dated to about 1920 BCE. This coincides with new cultures all along the Yellow River. The water control problems after the initial flooding could plausibly have lasted for some twenty years. Wu and coauthors suggest that this supports the idea that the stories of Yu the Great may have originated from a historical person.[41]

Legacy[edit]

Yu and his fellowkings of the water immortalsin a shrine at theAnping Tianhou TempleinTainanonTaiwan

Yu was long regarded as anideal rulerand kind ofphilosopher kingby the ancient Chinese.Beichuan,Wenchuan,andDu gian gyaninSichuanhave allmade claims to be his birthplace.[42]

Owing to his involvement in China's mythical Great Flood, Yu also came to be regarded as awater deityinTaoismand theChinese folk religions.He is the head of the"Five Kings of the Water Immortals"honored in shrines inMatsu templesas protectors of ships in transit.[43]

His personal name is written identically to a Chinese surname, a simplification of the minor polity of Yu (Vũ quốc,in present-dayShandong). Its people carried thislineage nameforward after Yu was conquered by the state ofLuduring theSpring and Autumn period.[44]

See also[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toYu the Great.

References[edit]

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  3. ^Dai & Gong (2003),p. 40
  4. ^Dai & Gong (2003),p. 36
  5. ^Underhill, Anne P., ed. (2013).A Companion to Chinese Archaeology.Wiley-Blackwell. p. 317.ISBN978-1-4443-3529-3.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-04-25.Retrieved2016-10-20.
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  7. ^Schuessler, Axel (2007).ABC Etymological Dictionary of Old Chinese.University of Hawai'i Press. p. 588
  8. ^Sidwell, Paul (2015).The Palaungic Languages: Classification, Reconstruction and Comparative Lexicon.München: Lincom Europa. p. 103
  9. ^Kangxi Dictionary,vol. 15"Cá radical 7"Archived2021-12-06 at theWayback Machinequote: "Cổn: 《 đường vận 》《 tập vận 》《 chính vận 》𠀤 cổ bổn thiết, âm cổn.《 nói văn 》 cá cũng. 《 ngọc thiên 》 cá lớn cũng.Lại 《 thư · Nghiêu điển 》 với, Cổn thay. 《 truyện 》 Cổn, sùng bá chi danh.《 khảo thích 》 vũ phụ cũng.《 quảng vận 》 cũng làm 鮌. "
  10. ^Shiji,Annals of Xia"Annals of Xia"Archived2021-07-09 at theWayback Machinequote: "Vũ chi phụ rằng Cổn, Cổn chi phụ rằng đế Chuyên Húc, Chuyên Húc chi phụ rằng xương ý, xương ý chi phụ rằng Huỳnh Đế. Vũ giả, Huỳnh Đế chi huyền tôn mà đế Chuyên Húc chi tôn cũng. Vũ chi từng tổ phụ xương ý cập phụ Cổn toàn không được ở đế vị, làm người thần."
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  15. ^Shanhaijingvol. 18Archived2021-07-09 at theWayback Machine"Huỳnh Đế sinh Lạc minh, Lạc minh sinh con ngựa trắng, con ngựa trắng là vì Cổn."
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  22. ^ShijiVũ vi người mẫn cấp khắc cần; này đức không vi, này nhân dễ thân, này ngôn có thể tin; thanh vi luật, thân vi độ, xưng lấy ra
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Yu the Great
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of China Succeeded by


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