How did Dayu control floods?

Speaking of Dayu’s flood control, probably not many Chinese people don’t know about it. It is said that even abroad, there are many people who know this story.

Noah’s Ark is a story in the Bible. On a global scale, it is probably more widely spread than Dayu’s flood control.

To put these two stories on the same interface, I am certainly not the first, and I certainly will not be the last.

(1) Two theories about great floods in ancient times

Whether Dayu controlled the floods or Noah's Ark, they all talk about the great floods that destroyed people.

In the story of Dayu's flood control, the flood disaster affected "the whole world". It took two generations of father and son to lead all the people, and it took decades or even hundreds of years to finally complete the "control." ".

The flood in the story of Noah's Ark is the kind of "swallowing the world" level. A huge ark protected by "god" (God) carries all the things necessary to "continue the world". species and humans with lesser sins escape from the sea of ??death and sail to a safe shore...

The great flood is the most common "cause" and "background" of these two stories.

(Dayu)

There are many other versions of the ancient legend about the Great Flood. Dayu’s flood control and Noah’s Ark are just the most representative and widely spread among them. Two.

When people’s understanding of hydrology and geography reached a certain level, and they simultaneously had due doubts about the magical parts of ancient legends, some people began to conduct research on so many ancient legends of great floods. interest. Some people think it is a pure legend; more people think that the flood did happen. Among them, two mainstream theories gradually emerged:

One is that in the distant ancient times, most of the relatively large-scale floods that occurred in many parts of the world occurred in areas where human settlements were relatively concentrated. ; However, due to lack of resistance, people at that time suffered heavy losses and extremely high mortality rates, leaving an extremely horrific impression. Their descriptions of the floods were subjectively magnified; they gave too much praise and admiration to those who were freed from the floods. In order to distinguish it from the second statement to be discussed below, let us refer to this statement as the "subjective amplification theory" for the time being.

Another theory is that many ancient legends about great floods, including Dayu's flood control and Noah's Ark, are about the same or the same series of major hydrological events that affected almost the entire world. . This statement seemed very bold when it was first proposed; as the glacier theory develops and gradually becomes widely recognized, more and more people are more inclined to believe that those great legends passed down orally from ancient times The legends of floods all originate from the recent violent glacier melting movement. Therefore, this statement can also be referred to as the "glacier melting theory."

(The legend of Noah’s Ark)

(2) The two stories are probably about the same disaster

As far as the above two theories are concerned, The author believes that the two legendary stories of Dayu's flood control and Noah's Ark are about the same or the same series of great floods; and the cause is probably about 10,000 years ago (some say 12,000 years to 8,000 years ago (some say it was earlier, inaccurate and untested) the last large-scale glacier melting movement.

It can also be said that the author is more inclined to believe in the above-mentioned "glacier melting theory".

This is purely a family affair. It's still "conjecture" in nature. This does not mean that the "subjective amplification theory" is unreasonable. On the contrary, the author believes that the "subjective amplification theory" contains a very profound truth -

In ancient times, human beings lived together in tribes (tribes) based on kinship, "living by water and grass", and gradually developed some With the unique and advanced production methods of mankind, life has become relatively stable, and it has entered the "settlement" stage from "primitive division of labor" to "social division of labor". Humanities and their products, such as legends and stories, and even simple "recording events" and "recording history", emerged at the historic moment.

At this stage, the number of individuals (population) of the ethnic group is still relatively small, and the structure (gender, age group) is still highly unstable and unbalanced; in order to maintain and develop, the vast majority Tribes will choose to live in places that rely on mountains and forests, are relatively flat, have abundant water resources, and are less intruded by wild beasts. As everyone knows, this kind of "good place" "close to mountains and rivers" is the most vulnerable to disasters when floods come, and the degree of disaster becomes more and more serious. Where!

(Dayu's Flood Control)

The "Subjective Amplification Theory" says that floods mostly occur in areas where human settlements are relatively concentrated. In fact, humans just choose to live in areas that are prone to floods and disasters. A serious place!

Of course, our ancestors were very smart and would not choose to live in places with serious disasters.

But in their limited understanding and experience compared to us today, those good places with lush water and grass do not seem to be prone to disasters; and, it is very likely that they have lived there for a long time, and indeed Didn't encounter any major disasters. Until one day, a real big flood came all over the sky, and their good place was the first to bear the brunt; the river they once relied on lovingly turned into a man-eating giant within a few days or even less than half a day!

They were caught off guard. They fled in panic. Nine times out of ten they are dead. Their whole family was annihilated...

They did not realize that the monstrous flood had anything to do with the sudden warming of the weather for several years or even longer.

They also don’t know what earth-shaking changes have taken place at the farthest source of the river that lives and thrives around them.

The violent glacier melting movement not only changes the "water quantity", but also triggers a series of hydrological, climate, and ecological changes - heavy rain, plague, landslides, ground subsidence... These are all today. It is absolutely normal for events that are still serious disasters to be magnified and seriously magnified in the fearful eyes and thoughts of our ancestors!

(Noah’s Ark)

It is said that the most recent catastrophe occurred about 10,000 years ago, which lasted for decades or even hundreds of years and destroyed many people. Early civilization - the dramatic melting of glaciers resulted in a large increase in water volume, causing rivers, especially large rivers, to undergo significant unconventional changes in flow direction and flow in the upstream and even at the source. Along the way, the impact gradually became widespread, profound, and complex; first The "good place" "near mountains and rivers" that the people painstakingly selected, and even fought with blood and blood, became the "best" place for the raging flood...