Chapter 41 Chapter 9 Ancient governance "river" project
In ancient times, "he" was the proper name for the Yellow River.In the prehistory of our country, there were many legends about water control, such as Gong Gong's water control, Gun [gun Gun], Yu's water control, etc. These are mainly about the control of the lower reaches of the Yellow River.
Gonggong is not only the name of a person, but also the name of a clan and tribe. It is said that he is a descendant of Shennong and engaged in agricultural production in Gongdi (now Huixian County, Henan Province).After the Yellow River flows out of Mengjin, it flows to Gongdi, turns northeast, flows into the southern part of Hebei, and then divides into multiple streams and flows into the Bohai Sea.Since Gongdi is located at the bend of the Yellow River, in addition to the Yellow River, there are Gongshui and Qishui nearby, so there are many floods and must be treated frequently. "Guoyu·Zhouyu" says that Gonggong's method of water control is to "block up hundreds of rivers and fall into high hills", that is, build dikes on many rivers and use high soil to raise the low places.The ancients believed that the Gonggong family was excellent in both water control and soil control.It is said that Julong, who was later enshrined as the god of the land, was the son of Gonggong; Siyue, who assisted Dayu in calming the flood, was also a descendant of Gonggong.
It is said that Gun and Yu are the representative figures who fought against the flood after Gonggong.As far back as the Yandi and Huangdi eras about 5,000 years ago, many tribes scattered in the Yellow River Basin had formed an alliance.This is the so-called "Yanhuang Tribal Alliance" by later generations.After forming an alliance, the ability to fight against nature has been greatly enhanced.Hundreds of years later, when Yao and Shun served as leaders of this alliance one after another, the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River flooded. ("Shangshu Yao Dian") This flood submerged the plains and surrounded the mountains, and the people complained endlessly.Therefore, Yao ordered Gun, the tribal leader living in Chong (Songshan, Henan) to be responsible for water control.Chong is not far from the Yellow River, and the Gun tribe is also very familiar with water.However, Gun's water control methods were relatively one-sided, and he only used dikes and dikes to block the water, and did not use more dredging methods. Therefore, although he tried his best to control the water, after all, the flood was so fierce that the dikes burst and ended in failure.
Next, Gun's son Yu led the flood control work.There are many legends left in ancient books about Yu's water control deeds. In summary, there are some main contents.One is that he unites people from all walks of life to control the water with himself.According to records, the eastern tribe headed by Yi was the one who controlled the water with Yu, and the later Shang tribe developed from this tribe.There are also Western tribes headed by Ji, who are the ancestors of the later Zhou clan.In addition, there is Siyue, a descendant of the Gonggong clan who has rich experience in water control.Later generations believed that the main reason for Yu's success was to unite all tribes to control the water.The second is Yu's personal practice and setting an example. "Han Feizi Wulong [du Jealousy]" said that Yu "holds on to the lei, thinking that the people are the first, his shares have no scorpion [ba pluck], and his shin does not grow hair".That is to say, he was ahead of the common people, put into hard labor, and the hairs on his legs were worn off.It is also recorded that he neglected his personal interests in public affairs. During the flood control process, he passed by his house three times and heard his son crying, but he did not go in to visit.Third, water control methods are more scientific and reasonable.It is said that he invented the measuring tools "guidelines" and "rules" to measure the height of the terrain as the basis for construction.He proceeded from the actual situation, learned from the experience and lessons of his predecessors, and adopted a comprehensive management method that focused on dredging and supplemented by blocking.The so-called dredging means " dredging rivers and guiding stagnation ", dredging rivers and draining stagnant water.The so-called storage is to "block the nine lakes", and build lakes to facilitate the collection of water in the lowlands.After 13 years (one said eight years) of joint efforts, they finally leveled the flood.
In ancient times, not only China, but also many countries had legends about water control.Because people's strength was limited at that time and they were weak in the face of the flood, so the legends of water control in other countries mostly ended in failure.Or that their people were all swallowed by the flood; or that only a few survived.China, on the other hand, suffered some setbacks, but ended up victorious and brought itself into the age of civilization through flood control.
It is believed that this legend of water control reflects the situation at the end of primitive society: At that time, agriculture had initially developed and settlements increased, and the ancestors gradually moved from highlands to plains and riversides; To start safely, water control is required, that is, construction of irrigation and drainage projects and embankment projects.
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