Chapter 14 Section 2 Water Control Heroes

Floods have been harmful to people for a long time, and flood myths and legends have revealed this aspect.A flood often has the possibility of genocide.Floods are the social basis for the creation of water-controlling gods.Water control heroes mainly appear in agricultural societies.Legend has it that Nuwa and Gonggong both fought against floods, and Du Yu, Li Bing and their son Erlang of ancient Shu were also well-known flood control heroes.And the most famous ones are Gun [gun Gun] and Yu. Legend has it that Gun is a descendant of the Yellow Emperor family. "Shan Hai Jing Hai Nei Jing" said: "The Yellow Emperor gave birth to Luo Ming, Luo Ming gave birth to a white horse, and the white horse was for Gun." It is also said that he is the eldest son of the Emperor of Heaven. "The former Bo Gun, the original son of the emperor." ("Mozi Shangxianzhong") He created agricultural tools, tamed cattle and could drive them, and taught people to eradicate weeds when sowing grains.He is upright and lives in Xiqiang. "Shiben" said that he also built the city wall.It can be seen that he has already made great contributions to water control.

Gun was ordered by Emperor Yao to control the floods.When Yao was in power, the world was not yet peaceful, and floods were flowing everywhere, causing disasters everywhere.The vegetation grows tall, the animals multiply quickly, the grains are not harvested, the animals are more powerful than humans, and the hooves of animals and birds are everywhere. (See "Mencius Teng Wen Gong 1") Emperor Yao called a group of gods to discuss.The emperor said: "Hey, all the gods in the four directions, now the flood is so powerful that it has submerged the mountains and hills, and the water is causing damage everywhere. The people below are very distressed. Who can control this flood?" They said in unison: "Oh, send Gun to go!" Emperor Yao accepted everyone's suggestion, and said to Gun: "Go, but be respectful and cautious." , Seeing that the flood was surging and could not be stopped, he used stones and soil to block and fill it. (See "Shan Hai Jing Hai Nei Jing" Guo Zhuyin "Gui Zang Qi Di") This is a kind of stone and soil that grows on its own, not something in the world, but only owned by the emperor of heaven.Gun boldly stole from the Emperor of Heaven without his prior consent, which offended the Emperor of Heaven. The Emperor of Heaven ordered a god named Zhu Rong to kill Gun in Yujiao.In fact, it was Gun who dug the earth to block the water, dug up the fertile soil of the Yao tribe, and violated the interests of the Yao tribe.As the leader of the tribal alliance, Yao naturally had more privileges than the tribal leaders of his allies.Gun stole the fertile soil of the territory he managed, how could he tolerate it, of course he wanted to find an excuse to kill Gun.The so-called Gun stealing the natural emperor's resting soil is a mythical interpretation of this incident.

There is no record of what god Gun's wife is, but Gun gave birth to Yu, who turned out to be a male god with great reproductive power.Yu was born to a father, so it was impossible for him to conceive and give birth as normal. It is said that after Gun died, the body did not decompose for three years, and Yu was cut out from his stomach. Here, it must be explained that there are more than one myths about Yu's birth, and Gun's corpse disembowelling Yu is only one of them.According to this myth, the father-son relationship between Gun and Yu has always been confirmed.In addition, Yu is the successor of Gun's uncompetitive career.Without Gun's failure, there would be no Yu's success.Yu accepted the appointment of the Emperor of Heaven to disperse the land and pacify the floods in Kyushu. (See "Shan Hai Jing Hai Nei Jing") Gun's heroic sacrifice is comparable to Prometheus, the god of stealing fire in Greek mythology.People recall this founding hero of water control with respect and gratitude.According to legend, "the people of the sea built a Gun Temple in Yushan, and offered sacrifices at four o'clock and eight o'clock. Xuanyu and Jiaolong were often seen jumping out, and the viewers were frightened and afraid." He is the god of Yuyuan, and Xuanyu is his incarnation.Thereafter, he became the river spirit or river god.Gun's failure was not due to his own incompetence, but reflected that the science and technology of the Yao and Gun periods had only reached that level.

In the time of Yu, the emperor of heaven was no longer Yao, but Yu Shun.History has gone one step further. Yu is a legendary historical figure with some mythological color, but not strong.Yu was born in Xiqiang. Before the flood control, he had the help of He Jing.Some said that Yu was observing by the river in order to control the water, and suddenly he saw a man with a human face and a fish body and fair skin [xi analysis] coming out of the water, who claimed to be a river spirit, and gave Yu a map for water control, and returned to The water went. (See the second volume of Sun Xingyan's Collection of Corpse Son.) It is also said that Yu opened the dragon gate of Longguan Mountain and walked into a cave tens of miles deep. It was so dark that he could not move forward.Yu then moved forward with a torch, and met a pig holding a luminous pearl in its mouth, which emitted light like a candle, and a black dog barking forward.Yu was lost in it all day and night.The sky is getting brighter, and the pigs and dogs have changed into human shapes and are dressed in black.In addition, there is another god with a snake body and a human face, that is, Fuxi, who gave him a picture of eight trigrams and jade slips, which can be used to measure the earth. (see "Supplements")

Yu summed up Gun's experience and lessons in flood control, and changed filling and blocking to dredging.In the process of water control, he fought one earth-shattering battle after another, and he must have experienced countless thrills.However, the ancients were good at deifying nature. Therefore, there are corresponding myths surrounding Yu's water control.Among them, Yu Zhi subdues Wuzhiqi, the great water monster, which can be said to be an episode in the legend of Yu's water governance: In order to control the flood, Yu went to Tongbai Mountain three times, where the wind and thunder struck, the stones howled, the trees hummed, the evil gods on the ground filled the rivers, the evil gods in the sky waved weapons, and the water conservancy projects could not be carried out.Yu was furious, summoned all the gods, and ordered Kui (kui Kui) to wipe out the evildoers.The gods of Tongbai Mountain and the surrounding mountains were afraid that they would harm themselves, so they all begged for mercy.Yu imprisoned Hongmeng, Shangzhang, Doulu, and Lilou among them, and learned from them that it was Wuzhiqi, the water god of Huai River and Guo River, who was causing the trouble.This god is good at responding to conversations, and can distinguish the depth of the Jianghuai water, as well as the distance of plains and low humidity.Wuzhiqi looks like an ape, with a high forehead and a flat nose, a white head and green body, golden eyes and snow teeth. His neck is 100 feet long, and his strength exceeds nine elephants. He keeps jumping, fighting, and galloping. No matter what one listens to or sees, nothing lasts.Yu handed it over to Tong Lu, but Tong Lu couldn't control it;But those thousands of monsters, such as Chi (chi eating) spleen, Huanhu, wood charm, water spirit, mountain monster, and stone monster, immediately rushed to shout and surrounded Yu and others. Gengchen waved a big halberd to drive them away up.Yu ordered people to lock Wuzhiqi's neck with a big iron chain, put a golden bell on his nose, and put it at the foot of Guishan Mountain in Huaiyin.The Huai River can flow into the sea forever and safely.

Although this is a re-creation of later generations based on myths and legends, it still reflects how difficult it was for Yu to control the water at that time. First, he had to overcome all kinds of resistance from nature. Yu's water control footprints traveled all over the north and south.Under his leadership, the Jiuhe River was dredged, the Jishui and Luoshui were opened up, and these two rivers were led into the sea.The Ru River and Han River were opened up, and the Huai River and Surabaya River were dredged, allowing these rivers to flow directly into the Yangtze River.And let the Luoshui and Yishui flow into the Yellow River... "Zhuangzi · Tianxia" said that after Yu controlled the water, he "connected four barbarians and nine states, with three hundred famous rivers, three thousand branch rivers, and countless small ones." The merits and virtues are praised by later generations as " dredging rivers to guide stagnation, Zhongshui abundant things." ("Mandarin · Zhou Yuxia") success in water control, agriculture will surely develop.Agriculture was the economic foundation of our country in ancient times, and of course it brought prosperity to the people in other aspects, so Yu succeeded Shun as the leader of the tribal alliance.

Yu's important experience is that he did not use Gun's method of annihilation to stop the water, but to channel it. "Yu decided to dredge the rivers and dredged the rivers, connected them to the four poisons [du poison], and led them to the sea. The big and the small attract each other, and the high and the low teach each other. All rivers follow the flow, and each returns to its place." ("Xin Yu Dao Ji") Everyone Only then can we leave the high mountains and live on the plains. In order to make contributions, Yu fell in love with Tu Shannv, but did not stay with her, but went to the south for inspection.Tu Shannv always ordered her maid to wait on the sunny hillside, and sang to herself: "I am waiting for the person in my heart!" This is the beginning of the southern song. (See "Lushi Chunqiu·Ji Xiaji·Yinchu") Yu did not marry Tu Shannv until he was 30 years old. "Historical Records Hequ Shu" said that in the 13 years of Yu's water control, he walked through the house three times and did not enter.According to legend, there is a "Couple Stone", which was formed because Tu Shannv never saw Yu coming home, and she stood there for a long time.

There is another way of saying it.Yu turned into a bear in order to get through Mount Zhuyuan.He once said to his wife Tu Shannv: "If you want to deliver food to me, come back when you hear the sound of the drum." Unexpectedly, Yu accidentally stepped on a stone and hit the drum.As soon as Tu Shannv went there, seeing Yu turned into a bear, she felt very ashamed, ran to the foot of Songshan Mountain, and turned into a stone man.At this time, she was about to give birth, Yu chased and said, "Give me back my son!" The north face of the stone man was broken and Qi was born. (See "Huainanzi" quoted by Yan Zhu in "Hanshu·Wudiji") Yu sacrificed his personal happiness in order to control the water.Yu's fighting spirit will always inspire future generations.Yu's success in water control is of course not due to him alone, but the experience and achievements of everyone in water control over the years, which are embodied through Yu.

Since ancient times, people who have special talents and excellent character have been regarded as gods because they are different from ordinary people.Yu made great contributions during the transitional period of society. His deeds of flood control are full of high-spirited spirit that man can conquer nature.He is portrayed by people as a highly idealized god who is wise and brave, public and selfless, and is not only among the gods, but also higher than the gods, becoming the leader of the god of mountains and rivers. "Yu Ping water and soil, the main name is mountains and rivers." ("Book Lu Xing") Lord, that is, the main god.The lord of the mountains and rivers is also the god of the society, the god of the highest land.The ancients said that the gods in the country are more precious than the society, which shows the extreme dignity and holiness.Since ancient times, there are supreme rulers above, officials and cultural people among them, and ordinary people below, all of whom praise Dayu's achievements.From official history to unofficial history, from written to oral, Yu is a great water control hero.In ancient myths and legends, Gun and Yu's water control is one of the best chapters.Even people in the Spring and Autumn Period couldn't help admiring Yu's good deeds for future generations. They said that if there was no Yu to control the water, then the places where everyone lived would only have fish, and where would there be people?Yu's success just proves that the era in which he lived, compared with Gun's era, the productivity has reached a new level.

The myths and legends of Yu originated in the period of the disintegration of primitive society, and were not recorded until the early feudal society.When people think of Yu who has been working abroad for many years, his face is tanned, the hair on his legs is polished, and even his wife left him, a feeling of reverence arises spontaneously. After Yu died, it is said that he was buried in Kuaiji Mountain.Where his tomb is located, birds often come to weed in spring, and birds often come to peck dirt in autumn.Local officials forbid the public to harm this kind of bird casually. If they do not obey the regulations, they will not be forgiven. (See "Shui Jing Zhu Jian Jiang Shui")

Yu has made other contributions to history, and water control is only one of his contributions.In this regard, because everyone sings praises, so the myths and legends are richer.