Legends about the Yellow Emperor

According to legend, after the Yellow Emperor, there were three famous tribal alliance leaders whose names were Yao, Shun and Yu. They were once the leaders of a tribe and were later elected as the leaders of the tribal alliance.

At that time, the leaders of tribal alliances had to consult with tribal leaders on any major issues.

Yao is old and wants to find someone to take over. On one occasion, he called the leaders of four tribes to discuss.

After listening to Yao's words, he said, "Your son is a wise man and is very suitable to inherit your position."

Yao said seriously, "No, this boy has a bad moral character and likes to quarrel with others." Another man named Huāu dūu said, "The water conservancy workers have done a good job."

Yao shook his head and said, "* * * Men are articulate and respectful on the surface, but they are different at heart."

I don't trust such people. "

The discussion was fruitless, and Yao continued to look for successors. On one occasion, he called the leaders of four tribes to discuss and let everyone recommend them. The unanimous suggestion of the meeting was to avoid it.

Yao nodded and said, "Oh! I also heard that this person is very nice. Can you talk about his deeds in detail? "

Everyone explained the situation of Shun: Shun's father is a completely confused person, and people call him (g s 466 u, meaning blind old man). Shun's biological mother died long ago, and her stepmother was very bad. Stepmother's younger brother is called Xiang, but he is too proud to say so, but he dotes on him. Shun lives in such a family and is very kind to his parents and brothers. So everyone thinks that Shun is a person with good virtue.

Yao was very happy and decided to go and see Shun first. He married his two daughters and built a granary for Shun and gave him many cattle and sheep. When the stepmother and her younger brother met, they were both envious and jealous. They played tricks and tried to assassinate Shun again and again.

Once, Shun was asked to repair the top of the granary. When Shun climbed to the top of the barn with a ladder, he set the ladder on fire and tried to burn Shun to death. Shun saw a fire on the top of the warehouse and wanted to find a ladder. The ladder was gone. Fortunately, Shun wears two hats to keep out the sun. With a hat in his hands, he jumped down like a winged bird. The hat fluttered in the wind and landed gently on the ground, not hurt at all.

And a unwilling, let shun to go. After Shun jumped into the well, Hexiang threw earth and stone on the ground and filled the well, trying to bury Shun alive. Unexpectedly, after going down the well, I dug a hole by the well, got out and went home safely.

Not knowing that Shun had escaped from danger, Xiang returned home triumphantly and said to him, "My brother must be dead this time. I came up with this wonderful plan. Now we can divide our brothers' property. " After that, he walked to the house where Shun lived, but on entering the room, Shun was sitting on the bed playing the piano. The elephant was secretly surprised and said shyly, "Oh, I miss you so much!" " "

Shun also pretended as if nothing had happened and said, "You came at the right time. I have a lot of things to do, I just need your help to take care of them. "

In the future, Shun is still kind to his parents and younger brother as in the past, and He Xiang dare not plot against Shun again.

Yao listened to the story of Shun introduced by everyone, and after investigation, he thought that Shun was really a very good and capable person, so he gave up the position of leader to Shun. This abdication is called "abdication" in history. In fact, during the clan commune, tribal leaders were old, and it was not uncommon to elect new leaders.

After Shun ascended the throne, he was also diligent and thrifty, working like an ordinary person, and was deeply trusted by everyone. A few years later, Yao died, and Shun wanted to give the position of leader of the tribal alliance to Yao's son Dani, but everyone disagreed. Shun has just officially become a leader.

Giant flood of shad

When Yao was in office, there was a big flood in the Yellow River basin, crops were flooded, houses were destroyed, and people had to move to higher ground. There are poisonous snakes and beasts in many places, which endanger people and animals and make people unable to live.

Yao convened a tribal alliance meeting to discuss water control. He asked the leaders of four tribes for advice: Who should be sent to control the flood? The leaders all recommend guns (sound gǔn).

Yao doesn't believe in guns. The leader said: "There is no better talent than a gun now. Please try! " Yao reluctantly agreed.

It took Gun nine years to control the water, but he didn't subdue the flood. Because he only knew how to cover up with water and build dams, the flood collapsed and became more fierce.

After replacing Yao as the leader of the tribal alliance, Shun personally went to the place where the water was controlled. He found that Gun was ineffective, so he killed Gun and asked Gun's son Yu to control the water.

Yu changed his father's practice and introduced the flood into the sea by opening canals to drain water and dredge rivers. He worked with the people, wearing a hat and holding a shovel, taking the lead in digging holes and collecting soil, so tired that he polished the hair on his calf.

After 13 years of efforts, the flood was finally led to the sea, and the land can be used to grow human crops again.

Shortly after the wedding, in order to control water, I ran around and passed my door many times, but I didn't go in. On one occasion, his wife Tu Shanshi gave birth to his son Qi. The baby is crying. I passed by the door and heard crying, but I didn't go in to visit.

At that time, there was a mountain in the middle reaches of the Yellow River called Longmen Mountain (in the northwest of Hejin County, Shanxi Province). It blocked the river and made it very narrow. The river running eastward is blocked by Longmen Mountain, which often overflows the river and causes floods. When Yu got there, he observed the terrain, led people to dig the Longmen, and made a big hole in the mountain. In this way, the river is unimpeded.

Later generations praised Yu's achievements in water control and called him Dayu.

When Shun was old, he found an heir, just like Yao. Everyone chose because of his meritorious service in water control. After Shun's death, Yu inherited the leadership position of the tribal alliance.

At this time, it has reached the late stage of the clan commune. With the development of productive forces, what a person produces is not only to maintain his own life, but also surplus. The leaders of clans and tribes took advantage of their position and took the surplus products as their private property and became nobles of clans. With the surplus products, wars broke out between tribes, captured prisoners, stopped killing, and turned them into slaves to work for nobles. In this way, the two classes of slaves and slave owners gradually formed, and the clan commune began to collapse.

Due to Yu's achievements in water control, the prestige and power of tribal alliance leaders have been improved. According to legend, when Yu was old, he traveled eastward to Huiji Mountain (in Shaoxing, Zhejiang) and gathered many tribal leaders. All the people who went to see jade held jade in their hands, and the ceremony was very grand. There was a tribal leader named Fang Feng, who was the last to attend the meeting. I thought I wouldn't do it, so I beheaded Fang Feng. This shows that Yu at that time had changed from a tribal alliance leader to a veritable king. Yu once had an assistant named, who helped Yu manage politics. After his death, his son Boyi also became Yu's assistant. According to the abdication system, Boyi should have been the heir of Yu. However, after Yu's death, the nobles of the Xia tribe where Yu lived supported Yu's son Qi to inherit Yu's throne.

In this way, the tribal alliance election system in the clan commune period was officially abolished and became the hereditary system of the throne. The first slavery dynasty in Chinese history-Xia Dynasty appeared.