Introduction to the Yellow River
Yellow River Information
The Yellow River is the second largest river in China after the Yangtze River. Its trunk stream is 5,464 kilometers long and flows through Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, The nine provinces of Suiyuan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong form a "ji" shape and flow eastward into the Bohai Sea. There are more than 30 main tributaries and countless streams along the way, with a drainage area of more than 750,000 square kilometers. The middle reaches flow through the vast Loess Plateau area, and many tributaries carry a large amount of sediment into it. It is the river with the highest sediment content in the world. The river water is yellow, hence its name.
The Yellow River originates from the Yuezhanzonglie Canal at the northern foot of Bayan Har Mountain in Qinghai, with an altitude of more than 5,400 meters. The surrounding mountains are covered with snow all year round. There is Xingxiu Sea in the source section of the Yellow River, which is a swamp with countless small lakes. After leaving Xingxiu Sea, it enters Eling Lake and Zaling Lake to Maduo, bypasses Jishi Mountain and Xiqing Mountain, passes through Longyang Gorge and reaches Guide, Qinghai, with a length of more than 1,900 kilometers. The upstream section is more than 1,500 kilometers long from Guide to Hekou Town in Suiyuan Province. The Yellow River runs through many grand canyons and gathers many tributaries in Gansu. The middle reaches is more than 1,100 kilometers long from Hekou Town to Yujin, Henan. The river turns south and flows across the Loess Plateau, carrying a large amount of sediment with it and surging down. When it reaches Hukou, the terrain drops steeply, forming the Hukou Falls. Then it flows through Longmen Gorge to Tongguan, where the river widens due to the influx of people. The water volume of tributaries such as Fenqin, Luohe and Xiaoshui increased significantly. When the river reaches Tongguan, it is blocked by Huashan Mountain, and then flows eastward, passing through Sanmenxia to Yuluo, and then enters the plain area. The downstream section is more than 870 kilometers long from Mengjin to Lijin County, Shandong Province and flows into the Bohai Sea. Due to sedimentation, the water flow is slow and embankments are built on both sides, making it an "above ground river" above the ground.
The source section and upstream section of the Yellow River are the most tortuous, followed by the middle section, and the downstream section is straight. From Lanzhou to Tongguan, the river flows around three sides of a rectangle, which is the famous Hetao, about 2,000 kilometers long. In ancient times, the downstream river course was unstable. Sometimes the river flowed into the Bohai Sea to the north of the Shandong Hills, and sometimes it took the Huaihe River to the south of the Shandong Hills and flowed into the Yellow Sea. The distance between the two was up to 500 kilometers.
Historically, cities along the Yellow River often flooded. According to records, over the past 2,000 years, the lower Yellow River has breached its banks more than 1,500 times, with 26 large-scale diversions. Floods ranged from Tianjin in the north to Jiangsu and Anhui in the south, reaching 250,000 people. square kilometers. The total amount of sediment carried downstream by river water averages over 1.6 billion metric tons per year. Since the terrain in the downstream section is low and flat, the river slope is gentle and the flow speed is slowed down. A large amount of sediment is deposited on the river bed, averaging more than 400 million metric tons per year. The rest of the sediment flows to the river mouth and alluvializes into an estuary delta that extends to the sea. The land area is more than 20 square kilometers. The Yellow River Basin has fertile plains, fertile soil, rich products, and magnificent mountains and rivers. Its residents account for almost a quarter of China's total population, and its arable land accounts for about 40% of the country's total.
Folk stories related to the Yellow River:
It is said that a long time ago, the ancient Yellow River was a wild horse that was difficult to tame. It ran freely, like a grinning monster, roaring day and night. , gushing endlessly, devouring thousands of hectares of fertile land. With millions of mountains gnawing at them, the Hui Han people on both sides of the Yellow River can only live a life of slash-and-burn farming on the tops of the mountains and at the bottom of the ditches.
At that time, Ningxia was not a flat plain, but was covered with overlapping green mountains and criss-crossing ravines. There was no flat field, and no field could be filled with water from the Yellow River.
Legend has it that there are several households of Hui and Han people living on Niushou Mountain. Several generations of them carry water at the bottom of the mountain and farm on the top of the mountain. The old and the young are busy all the time, but they don't have enough to eat and don't have enough clothes to wear. No one can bear this torture for a long time. One year, an old man named De, who was over seventy years old, opened a melon orchard on the mountain and planted some cucumbers. He got up early every day and went to the Yellow River to water the cucumbers. His shoulders were swollen and the soles of his feet were peeling. He carefully cultivated the cucumbers, and they grew tender and sweet.
The old man De was tired that day and fell asleep lying on the garden door.
As soon as he fell asleep, he dreamed of a white cloud floating in the sky. Gradually, the white cloud turned into a white-bearded imam, trembling his silver beard, and said to Mr. De: "Today there is an imam." There are two strong winds, you have to pay attention. There is a yellow wind at noon, which can make the cucumbers wither; and there is a black wind in the afternoon, which can make the cucumbers fall off. When he woke up, he saw that the white-bearded imam was no longer there, but he saw that the yellow wind from the north was blowing all the way up to Niushou Mountain. The blood and sweat were in vain, but when I thought of the white-bearded imam's words, I didn't move. In the afternoon, a black wind blew, shaking the mountains, and the leaves fell layer by layer. When the old man saw it, the cucumber was about to fall to the ground. He was so angry that he picked off a small and wilted cucumber and threw it into the Yellow River. A line in the Yellow River was immediately cut, and the bottom of the river was clearly visible. The old man swooped down. At this moment, the river flowed together again. The old man was tired and hungry. He was sitting on the river bank, blinking his eyes, feeling dizzy and unaware of anything. A white-bearded imam said, "This cucumber is the key to conquering the Yellow River. It can stop the Yellow River from flowing, or it can make the Yellow River listen to people's words." But now the Yellow River is tormenting the two Iblis, Huang Feng and Black Wind. You cannot be impatient, you must be patient, and you must work harder. Next year, you plant another garden of cucumbers. When the cucumbers are ripe, you pick the biggest one and throw it into the Yellow River.
At that time, you walked into the cave at the bottom of the river. You could pick out the jewelry, get the grain, and have a sword that could slay dragons and demons, and tame the Yellow River. Wherever you pointed, the Yellow River water would flow. ”
The next year, the industrious old man from Germany planted another garden of cucumbers. He was not afraid of the long journey and did not hesitate to sweat, carrying water from the Yellow River to water the melons. The hard work paid off, and in the end, the garden There was a three-foot-long cucumber inside, which looked like a key. The old man happily slept in the melon garden day and night until the melon was ripe.
On this day, the weather was so clear that there was no cloud. The old man picked off the three-foot-long cucumber, said "Tasmi", and threw it into the Yellow River. At this time, he heard a roar from the Yellow River, and a long crack was opened, and the stones on the bottom of the river could be clearly seen. Chu. The old man went down to the bottom of the river and saw a hole near the river bank. There were all kinds of pearls and agates in the hole. When he just walked out, he heard a strong wind roaring and waves rolling on the river. After a wave, the old man Gerd picked up his sword and slashed dozens of swords at the black whirlwind and yellow whirlwind.
At this time, the Yellow River broke. Gradually, the old man remembered the white-bearded imam's instructions that this sword could conquer the Yellow River. He became enlightened and thought: I will let the Yellow River fill the trenches and flatten the mountains. Holding two swords, the old man marched towards the Yellow River. The water in the Yellow River suddenly stopped flowing, as if there was a Great Wall in front of it, but it was getting higher and higher. It looked really scary from a distance. Three days later, there was water everywhere from Liupan Mountain in the south to Helan Mountain in the west. , only a few mountain peaks were left. The old man took out his sword and told the Yellow River to flow forward.
From then on, Ningxia, with its deep mountains and deep ravines, became a flat river and lived in the Yellow River. The Hui Han people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait relied on their hard-working hands to dig canals and cultivate fields, and lived a happy life.
Myths and legends:
When Dayu controlled the Yellow River, he had three treasures: one. The second one is the mountain-opening ax; the third one is the water-avoiding sword. Legend has it that the river map was given to Dayu by the Yellow River water god He Bo.
In ancient times, there was a man named Feng Yi in Tong Township, Huayin. He was worried about farming and wanted to become an immortal. He heard that people could transform into immortals by drinking the juice of daffodils for a hundred days, so he went everywhere to look for daffodils to regulate the Yellow River. In the past, the Yellow River had no fixed channel and flowed everywhere, often causing floods. Feng Yi ran around looking for daffodils and often crossed the Yellow River. , crossed the Yellow River, and often interacted with the Yellow River. Ninety-nine days later, he found a daffodil and sucked its juice for a day, and he became an immortal. He crossed the Yellow River again and went to a small village. Looking for daffodils. The water here was not deep. Feng Yi waded across the river. When he reached the middle of the river, the water suddenly rose. He panicked, slipped and fell into the Yellow River, where he was drowned.
After Feng Yi died, he was full of grievances and resentment, so he went to the Jade Emperor to report the situation of the Yellow River. The Jade Emperor was also very angry when he heard that the Yellow River was unruly and running wild, harming the people. Feng Yi had sucked the juice of the narcissus for ninety-nine days, and it was time for him to become an immortal. He asked Feng Yi if he would like to become the water god of the Yellow River and control the Yellow River. Feng Yi was overjoyed. Full of agreement. This will fulfill his wish to become an immortal, and secondly, he will be able to avenge his death by drowning.
Feng Yi became the water god of the Yellow River and was known as He Bo. He had never had to control floods before, so he suddenly took on the task of regulating the Yellow River. He was helpless and worried. What to do? Since I was not very knowledgeable and had no magical skills, I had no choice but to ask the Jade Emperor for advice. The Jade Emperor told him that in order to manage the Yellow River well, we must first understand the water conditions of the Yellow River and draw a river map. With the water conditions and river map of the Yellow River as a basis, it will be much easier to manage the Yellow River.
He Bo followed the Jade Emperor's instructions and was determined to draw a river map. He first went to his hometown and wanted to ask the villagers for help. The villagers all hated him for being idle and indolent, and no one paid him any attention. He went to the old man in the village and told him about his ambition to control the Yellow River. Later, when the old man saw that he had become an immortal and wanted to do something good for the people, he agreed to help him. From then on, Hebo and Hou Laohan traveled through mountains and rivers in all weathers to observe the water conditions of the Yellow River. The two of them ran away for several years, which finally made the old man sick from exhaustion. Later, the old man had no choice but to go back, leaving He Bo to continue observing the water conditions along the Yellow River. When we parted, the old man Hou repeatedly told He Bo that he should work hard to the end and not give up halfway. He would start regulating the Yellow River after drawing the map. There were not enough manpower, so he persuaded the villagers to help.
Checking water conditions and drawing river maps is a hard job. By the time He Bo finished drawing the river, he was already old and weak. He Bo looked at the river map and clearly drew where the Yellow River is deep and where it is shallow; where it is easy to break the embankment and where it is easy to burst; where it should be dug and where it should be blocked; where the water can be cut off and where the flood can be drained. I can only lament that I don’t have the strength to regulate the Yellow River according to the plan, which is very sad. He Bo thought that one day there would be a capable person to manage the Yellow River. At that time, granting him the river map would mean that he had not worried in vain.
He Bo spent his remaining years peacefully under the Yellow River and never appeared again. Unexpectedly, the Yellow River continued to rise and flooded frequently. The people knew that the Jade Emperor sent He Bo to control the water, but they did not see his face. They all scolded He Bo for not fulfilling his duties and not caring about the lives of the people.
The old man looked forward to Hebo every day in his hospital bed, and they didn't see him for several years. He was worried about the management of the Yellow River and wanted to find He Bo. His son's name was Yi, and he was a master of archery. No matter what the old man said, Yi would not let him go to He Bo.
Later, the old man refused to listen to his son's dissuasion. As a result, he encountered a burst in the Yellow River and was washed away and drowned. Even his body was not found. Hou Yi hated He Bo very much and said through gritted teeth that he would shoot He Bo to death sooner or later.
Later, when Dayu came out to control the floods, Hebo decided to give him the map of the Yellow River.
On this day, Hebo heard that Dayu came to the Yellow River with a mountain-opening ax and a water-avoiding sword, so he came out from the bottom of the water with the river map to look for Dayu. He Bo and Dayu had never met before, and they did not recognize each other. He Bo walked for a long time and was so tired that he wanted to take a rest when he saw a young man walking on the other side of the river. This young man was brave and majestic, he must be Dayu, so He Bo shouted and asked: "Hey, who are you?"
The young man on the other side was not Dayu, but Hou Yi. He looked up and saw an immortal old man shouting from the other side of the river, and asked: "Who are you?"
He Bo said loudly: "I am He Bo. You are Dayu. When Hou Yi heard that it was He Bo, he immediately became angry and sneered, saying, "I am Dayu." As he spoke, he drew his bow and drew an arrow without thinking about anything. The arrow hit He Bo's left eye. He Bo pulled out the arrow and covered his eyes, sweating from the pain. He cursed in his heart: "Damn Dayu, you are so unreasonable!" The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he went to tear up the water map. At this moment, there was a sudden shout: "He Bo! Don't tear up the picture." He Bo reluctantly looked with his right eye and saw a man wearing a bamboo hat on the other side, stopping Hou Yi. This man was Dayu. He knew that He Bo had drawn a map of the Yellow River and was about to ask He Bo for advice. Hou Yi pushed Dayu away and stretched his bow again. Dayu grabbed him tightly and told He Bo about the difficulties of drawing pictures. Hou Yi regretted his rashness and shot He Bo out of his left eye.
Hou Yi waded across the river with Dayu. Hou Yi admitted his fault to He Bo. He Bo knew that Hou Yi was the son of Hou Laohan, so he didn't blame him much. Dayu said to He Bo: "I am Dayu, and I came to you specifically to ask for advice on how to regulate the Yellow River."
He Bo said: "My efforts and methods of regulating the river are all on this map. , I will grant it to you now."
When Dayu showed the picture, he saw that the picture was densely packed with circles, and the water conditions up and down, left and right of the Yellow River were clearly drawn. Dayu was very happy. He wanted to thank He Bo. When he raised his head, He Bo jumped into the Yellow River and disappeared.
Dayu obtained the map of the water conditions of the Yellow River. He worked day and night and based on the instructions on the map, he finally controlled the Yellow River.
For your reference, I wish you happiness.