There are legends about Huangdi, Yandi, Yao, Shun and Yu.

The Legend of Emperors Yan and Huang and Yao, Shun, and Yu

How did the Yellow River and her sons and daughters go from the dawn of civilization to the threshold of the civilized era? To uncover this mystery, in addition to In addition to relying on archaeological cultural relics, we also need to make use of many ancient myths and legends recorded in ancient books. The legends of Emperors Yan and Huang and Yao, Shun and Yu can help us explore some of the trajectories of the Yellow River and its children from the dawn of civilization to the civilized era.

Huangdi and Yandi are not actually emperors, but two tribal leaders in ancient times in the Yellow River Basin recorded in ancient books. Both Huangdi and Yandi were born in the Weihe River Basin, a tributary of the Yellow River. At that time, it was already the era of patrilineal clan communes. Legend has it that they are all descendants of the Shaodian family of the "King of Youxiong Kingdom". "In the past, Shaodian married the You family and gave birth to the Emperor (Huang) Emperor and the Yan Emperor. The Yellow Emperor was born from Ji water, and the Yan Emperor was born from Jiang water. Their virtues vary, so the Yellow Emperor is Ji , Emperor Yan is ginger." The "birth" mentioned here does not mean that Huangdi and Yandi are the biological children of Shaodian, but that they are both descendants of Shaodian. "The Yellow Emperor was born after Jishui" means that he grew up on the bank of Jishui, so he took Ji as his surname. Jishui, the ancient lacquer water, originated from Dulin in the north-western part of Linyou County, Shaanxi Province, and merged into the Wei River in today's Wugong County. Jiangshui is a section downstream of Qishui, a tributary of the Wei River, which is now the Qingjiang River. It merges into the Wei River in Baoji, Shaanxi. This means that the initial activities of the two tribes, Yan and Huang, were in the upper reaches of the Weihe River, a tributary of the Yellow River.

It is said that the Yellow Emperor’s original surname was Gongsun, but he changed his surname to Ji because he grew up in Jishui. He once lived in the hills of Xuanyuan and was named the Xuanyuan clan. Because he was a descendant of King Xiong, he was also called the Xiong clan. He was "born as a god, weak but eloquent, young and clever, long and agile, mature and intelligent". He was later elected as the tribal leader and led his tribe to migrate to northern Shaanxi to settle down. With the development of agricultural production, in order to find flatter, open and fertile land, they went south along the Beiluo River and reached the Dali and Chaoyi areas in today's Shaanxi Province. The yellow land there gave them convenient conditions for developing agriculture, but droughts that appeared from time to time troubled them, forcing them to continue looking for an ideal place. Therefore, the Yellow Emperor led his people to cross the Yellow River eastward from Dali and Chaoyi, followed the foothills of Zhongtiao Mountain and Taihang Mountain into the Fen River Valley, and then moved northeast to the vicinity of Zhuolu, Hebei today. There was a wide valley suitable for farming formed by the alluvial deposits of the Sanggan River and the Yang River, and there were nearby mountains and forests for hunting. They felt that the environment was very superior, so they settled down.

Just as Huangdi led his tribe to move eastward, Emperor Yan also led his tribe to start a long journey. Emperor Yan is also known as the Red Emperor. One theory is that he was born in Li (lie) Mountain, which is now Lishan Town, Suizhou City, Hubei Province. Another theory is that he was born in Changyang, which is now Changyang Mountain, Shennong Township, Baoji, Shaanxi. "He was raised in Jiangshui, with the surname Jiang, and King Huode is also called the Lieshan clan." In order to find an ideal place to settle, he also led the tribe to move eastward. But the route they took was different from that of Huangdi. They first went eastward along the Wei River to what is now southwest Henan, and then went eastward along the Yellow River to what is now eastern Henan, where they settled down.

At that time, with the emergence of private property and the disintegration of the clan system, tribal leaders gradually gained certain privileges. In order to compete for living space and dominance among tribes, wars often occurred. In order to satisfy their own selfish desires, some tribal leaders "skilled themselves with swords and saws, and used armor and soldiers externally", and also launched wars to plunder wealth and enslave other clans and tribes. This kind of war intensified social differentiation and posed a huge threat to normal agricultural production. However, the customary law of the clan system to regulate social conflicts had lost its effect at this time, and it seemed powerless to do anything about it. Faced with the increasing number of wars, kinship tribes united with each other, formed alliances, and then formed larger coalitions. At this time, the two major tribes, Yan and Huang, also used force to conquer all directions and expand their power, thus triggering large-scale conflicts. The two sides fought three battles in Banquan (today's Huailai, Hebei Province). The Yellow Emperor commanded the six clans of Xiong, Pi, Pi, Xiu, and Tiger to fight fiercely with the Yandi tribe. The Yandi tribe suffered a disastrous defeat and had to surrender. . Since the two tribes were related by blood, Huangdi did not massacre the Yandi tribe, but formed a tribal alliance with them, and Huangdi became the leader of the Yanhuang tribe alliance. After a long period of development, the Yanhuang tribal alliance formed the prototype of the Huaxia tribe in the future.

Later, Chi You, the leader of Jiuli who settled in Qufu area of ​​Shandong Province, expanded his sphere of influence and triggered a war with the Yandi tribe. Jiuli is Jiuyi and belongs to the Dongyi tribe. Legend has it that Chi You had 9 tribes and 81 clans. He had an animal body and human language, a bronze head and an iron forehead, and ate sand and pebbles. He was like a demon. This may be the deliberate vilification of other tribal leaders by the descendants of Yan and Huang. "Chi You made smelters" and "made soldiers out of gold", making military staffs, knives, halberds and crossbows. He was brave and good at fighting and shocked the world. He led a tribal alliance composed of 9 tribes to march westward into eastern Henan to attack the Yandi tribe. The Yandi tribe was unable to resist and retreated steadily, losing all their habitat. Chi You pursued him, and Emperor Yan asked Huang Emperor for help. Huang Di then led his troops to attack and started a fierce battle with Chi You in Zhuolu. This war was extremely fierce. It is said that the Yellow Emperor and Chi You were invincible in nine battles. Chi You sent out a heavy fog that filled the air for three days and three nights. The Yellow Emperor's tribe could not see the direction. The Yellow Emperor's "minister" Feng Hou was inspired by the Beidou constellation and invented the guide. They were able to break out of the fog with the car. Huang Di also received help from Xuannv in his predicament, and made 80 large drums, using the skin of the East China Sea mythical beast Kui to cover the drums, and the bones of the thunder beast as drumsticks. The sound of beating during the battle could be heard for 500 miles. The battle lasted for a long time, and finally the decisive battle was held in Jizhou.

Huangdi sent Yinglong to attack Chiyou. Yinglong stored water and set up a water formation. Chi You invited Feng Boyu Master, and a sudden strong wind and rain broke out the water formation, putting Huang Di in trouble again. Huangdi also invited the goddess Hanba to stop the wind and rain, causing the weather to suddenly turn sunny. Chi You was at a loss and his subordinates were frightened. Huang Di commanded the army to cover up the enemy and won the final victory. Chi You and the Feng Boyu division he invited surrendered to Huang Di. Huangdi then entered the area where Dongyi was active. He "drove an elephant and chariot with six dragons and Bi Yan (the omen of the fire bird) under his jurisdiction. Chi You was in front, Feng Bo came to sweep, the rain master spread the path, tigers and wolves were in front, ghosts and gods were behind. "The snake is lying on the ground, the phoenix is ​​covering it." He went to the top of Mount Tai to gather ghosts and gods, and played a passionate and sad piece of music called "Qingjiao" composed by him to commemorate the victory of the Battle of Zhuolu. Chi You was later killed. Some Jiuli people joined the Yanhuang Tribe Alliance and integrated into the Huaxia tribe; some went south and integrated into the Miao people in the south.

The victory of the Zhuolu War further expanded the power of the Yanhuang Tribal Alliance and developed into a larger tribal federation. The Yellow Emperor's authority was greatly improved, integrating judicial power, sacrificial power, military command power and production command power. All tribes must obey his orders. Those who do not obey his orders will send troops to conquer. He also opened mountains and built roads, working hard to break up the isolation in tribal areas and enhance exchanges between tribes. Legend has it that the Yellow Emperor "never lived in peace" in his life. He died in Jingshan when he was on a tour of Henan at the age of 118. People escorted him back to northern Shaanxi and buried him on Qiaoshan in Huangling County, Shaanxi today. This is the Huangdi Mausoleum mentioned above.

Since the Yellow Emperor was later revered as the ancestor of China, later generations attributed many inventions in ancient times to him and his "ministers". For example, the Yellow Emperor built houses, dug wells, and sewn water. He made clothes and hats, made boats, chariots, bows and crossbows, smelted stone into copper, created musical rhythms, his wife Leizu invented silkworm breeding, his "minister" Cangjie created writing, Linglun created laws and regulations, Da Nao made armor, and so on. For the same reason, since Emperor Yan was also revered as the ancestor of China, later generations also attributed some of his inventions to him and called him Shennong. In the legends of the Pre-Qin Dynasty, Shennong and Emperor Yan were originally two figures from different eras. Shennong lived earlier than Emperor Yan. During the Warring States period, people put the two people together and called them Yan Emperor Shennong. They said, "Shennong made the work, cut the wood into sedge, and kneaded the wood into sedge. The benefits of sedge will be taught to the world." "Medicine" and "also used as a five-string harp to teach people that the middle of the day is the market." These inventions are of course also the collective creations of people in primitive times.

Although the Yan and Huang Emperors are just legendary figures, and their inventions and creations are the crystallization of the wisdom of the children of the Yellow River in ancient times, they are still regarded as symbols of the ancestors of the Chinese nation and the embodiment of the founders of Chinese civilization. The infinite respect and remembrance of future generations. Therefore, many legends about the Yan and Huang emperors have been circulating in the Yellow River Basin and the land of China outside the Yellow River Basin, leaving behind many places of interest and historic sites related to them. In addition to the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor in Huangling County, Shaanxi Province and the Temple of Emperor Yan and the Mausoleum of Emperor Yan in Baoji City mentioned earlier, the more famous ones include the Jingling Palace in Qufu, Shandong Province, the hometown of the Yellow Emperor in Xinzheng, Henan Province, the Wangwushan Temple of Heaven in Jiyuan, and Lingbao Temple. The Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor in Jingshan, the Yellow Emperor City and the Yellow Emperor Spring in Zhuolu, Hebei, the Huangdi Temple and Xuanhuang Terrace in Dujiangyan, Sichuan, Leixuan Palace and Leizu Tomb in Yanting, Huangshan Xuanyuan Peak in Huangshan, Anhui, Xuanyuan Terrace in Yueyang, Hunan, Dinghu Peak in Jinyun, Zhejiang, Taoist Palace in Pingliang, Gansu, Xiling Mountain and Leizu Temple in Yichang, Hubei, Shennong Temple in Suizhou, Shennong City and Shennong Well in Gaoping, Shanxi, Shennong Wugutai in Huaiyang, Henan, Yanhuang Er in Zhengzhou Statue of Emperor Yan, Emperor Yan’s Mausoleum in Yanling County, Hunan, etc. These long-standing legends and historical sites have played an immeasurable role in enhancing the sense of identity of the Chinese nation, stimulating the national pride of the descendants of Yan and Huang, and enhancing the cohesion of the Chinese nation.

After the Yellow Emperor, several outstanding tribal leaders appeared in the Yellow River Basin, namely Yao, Shun and Yu. At this time, it was already the late stage of Longshan Culture, and it was an era when the clan system was about to collapse. According to legend, Yao was also called Tao Tang. His birthplace was in the Fenhe River Basin of Shanxi today. There is now a monument of "Emperor Yao Mao Ci Earthen Steps" in Yicun, south of Linfen City, Shanxi. There is a Yao Temple in Yaomiao Village, and there are Yao Mausoleum, Divine Cave. His life is very simple. Ancient books say that he "does not cut the grass, gathers the rafters without pruning, eats rice, eats quinoa soup, wears fur in winter, and wears grass in summer." In other words, he lived in a house that was not pruned. They lived in a simple house built with old thatch and reeds and unplaned rafters. They ate coarse grains and drank wild vegetable soup. They wore a piece of deerskin in winter and coarse linen clothes in summer. But he was very concerned about the people. Some people in the tribe were hungry and cold. He said it was him who caused them to starve and freeze. Some people committed crimes and were punished. He said it was because he did not discipline them well, and he took the responsibility himself. responsibility. Shun, also known as the Yu family, was born in Yao Xu (now northeast of Yuanqu, Shanxi). Legend has it that when he was inspected by Yao before succeeding Yao as the leader of the tribal federation, he plowed fields in Lishan (also known as Zhongtiao Mountain), fished in Leize (now north of Ruicheng, Shanxi), and went to Taocheng (now north of Ruicheng, Shanxi) by the river. He made pottery in the north of Puzhou Town, Yongji, Shanxi Province. Later, Yao sealed him in Yudi (today's southwest of Pinglu, Shanxi Province). After serving as the leader of the tribal federation, he also made pottery in Puban (today's Puzhou Town). It seems that his activities The center is in the southwest of present-day Shanxi. Today, there is the Temple of Emperor Shun and the Mausoleum of Emperor Shun in Anyi Town, Yuncheng City, Shanxi. Shun was strict with himself, but also generous to others. He had been framed several times by his stepmother and half-brothers, but fortunately his virtuous wife's clever tricks saved him from danger.

But after he was elected as the leader, he treated his stepmother and younger brother leniently regardless of his previous grudges, which moved some of his enemies to do good. It is said that Yu's ancestors lived in the Hetao area, and during the time of Yu, they migrated to the west of present-day Henan. He took the world as his own responsibility, led the people to control floods and develop production, and was highly praised. Because of Yao, Shun and Yu's good governance, the society at that time achieved great development and presented a peaceful and peaceful scene. "The world is in harmony and the people have nothing to worry about." For this reason, they were respected as sages by later generations.

Yao:

(1)

Emperor Yao, surnamed Yin Qi, nicknamed Fangxun. Because he was granted the title of Emperor Yao in the Tang Dynasty, he was called "Yao of the Tang Dynasty". Because of his high moral character and high prestige, the people fell in love with Emperor Yao. He is solemn and respectful, shines in all directions, and can distinguish up and down. He can unite the clansmen and make the clans unite as one family and live in harmony. Yao was a simple man, eating coarse rice and drinking wild vegetable soup. Naturally, he is loved by the people.

When Yao reached old age, the twelve herdsmen of the Four Mountains recommended the successor to the military chief of the tribal alliance, and everyone unanimously recommended Shun. Emperor Yao married his two daughters to Shun, and conducted a long-term investigation of him, and finally gave in with peace of mind.

(2)

Yao, the ancient emperor of my country, one of the Five Emperors. His name is Fangxun, and Yao is his posthumous title. The "Posthumous Law" says: "Yishan is a saint named Yao." Yao was born in Danling and raised in his mother's house - the country of Yihou. Later he moved to Qi, so he called Yao the Yiqi family and Yao took Qi as his surname.

Yao's father was the emperor's concubine. His name was Xiuji and his family name was Gaoxin. Emperor Ku died seventy years after his reign and passed the throne to his son Zhi. When Yao was thirteen years old, he assisted Zhi and granted him the title of Tao. At the age of fifteen, he changed his title to Tang. Therefore, Yao named Tao Tang. At the age of eighteen, Yao became the emperor and settled in Puban. "Tongdian" records: "Yao's old capital was in Pu", "Shui Jing Zhu" records: "Leishou, also known as Yao Mountain in common people, there is an old city on the mountain, also called Yao City", "Kanxiang Thirteen Prefectures" "Records: "Puban, the capital of Yao. Emperor Yao also had his capital here, and later moved to Pingyang."

"Historical Records" said: Emperor Yao "was as benevolent as heaven, knew as much as God, and acted as wise as The sun looks like clouds when you are close to it, and it looks like clouds when you look at it from a distance. Be rich but not arrogant, be noble but not arrogant. Yellow hat, black clothes, red car with white horse. "Be able to understand and tame virtue, and be close to the nine tribes." He ordered the Xi family and the He family to determine and deduce the calendar, establish the four seasons of the year, and issue farming orders to the people. The vernal equinox, summer solstice, autumnal equinox and winter solstice were measured.

During the reign of Yao, the world was flooded. Gun was used to control the floods. After nine years of failure, he used Yu to control the floods. Yao set up drums of remonstrance so that the people of the world could express their opinions; he set up slander trees so that the people of the world could attack his faults. He has ruled the world for fifty years. I wonder if the world should be ruled? Do the people love themselves or not? The left and right don’t know, the government and the opposition don’t know. So he visited the people incognito. There was an old man with food in his mouth, belly bulging, and he knocked on the earth and sang: "The sun rises to work, the sun sets to rest, digs wells to drink, plows the fields to eat, how can the emperor's power be to me? ." This ancient poem is called "Song of Attacking the Soil".

Emperor Yao pioneered the abdication of emperors. After reigning for seventy years, he believed that his son Danzhu was ineffective and decided to select virtuous talents from the people. Yao asked the leaders of the princes in the four directions: "Who can shoulder the heavy responsibility of the emperor?" The leaders of the princes in the four directions said: "There is a bachelor among the people. His name is Yu Shun." So Yao paid a private visit in disguise and came to Lishan area. He heard that Shun was here. When you plow the fields, you reach the fields. I saw a young man, tall, broad and agile, concentrating on plowing the land, driving a black ox and a yellow ox in front of the plow. The strange thing is that this young man never whips the cattle, but hangs a dustpan on the plow shaft. After a while, he knocks the dustpan and shouts. When Yao waited for Shun to plow the fields, he asked: "The plowmen use whips to beat the oxen. Why do you only beat the dustpan and not the oxen?" Seeing the old man asking, Shun cupped his hands and bowed his head and replied: "The oxen work hard to plow the fields and sweat hard. How can I endure it if I beat him with a dustpan? The black oxen thought I was beating the scalpers, and the scalpers thought I was beating the black oxen, so they all worked hard to pull the plow." When Yao heard this, he felt that this young man was wise and kind-hearted, and he treated the oxen well. If this is the case, you will have more love for the people. Yao and Shun got into a conversation in the fields and talked about some issues of governing the world. Shun's discussion was clear and righteous, which was unusual for ordinary people. Yao visited again for hundreds of miles around and praised Shun for being a virtuous man. Yao then decided to give Shun a try. Yao married his two daughters Ehuang and Nvying to Shun, and asked his two daughters to observe his virtues; he arranged nine men around Shun, and asked the nine men to observe his conduct. Putting Shun into the deep mountains, he tamed tigers, leopards, and venomous snakes. Shun had a clear mind and clear direction. He did not get lost in the mountains and came out quickly. Yao first asked Shun to serve as an official in the court. After three years of trial, he asked Shun to pay homage to Yao's ancestors in Yao's Confucian Temple. Yao then asked Shun to act as emperor on his behalf.

Yao succeeded Shun seventy years after his establishment. Twenty years later, Yao became old and Shun replaced Yao in power. Yao abdicated and died twenty-eight years later.

(3) Mausoleum of Emperor Yao

[There are several tombs of Emperor Yao recorded in historical documents. It is generally believed that Linfen, Shanxi Province, has been the main place for sacrificial activities in the past dynasties. ]

The Mausoleum of Emperor Yao is located on the north side of the Lao River in Guocunli, 35 kilometers northeast of Linfen City, Shanxi Province, China.

According to legend, Emperor Yao established his capital in Pingyang (today's Linfen, Shanxi Province), so there was a Yao temple in the south of Linfen City and a Mausoleum of Emperor Yao in the east of the city. The mausoleum of Emperor Yao is surrounded by earth cliffs. The river flows southward in front of the mausoleum. The pines and cypresses are green and the mausoleums are towering. Yao Tomb is 50 meters high and 80 meters in circumference. There is an ancestral temple built in front of the mausoleum, which is said to have been built in the early Tang Dynasty. In the second year of Jin Taihe (1202), the inscription records: Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty once stationed here during his expedition to Liao Dynasty. He visited Yao's mausoleum and built a statue of him.

During the Zhongtong period of the Yuan Dynasty, Taoist Jiang Shan believed in the order of the ancestor of the Yuan Dynasty to build Yao's mausoleum. It was rebuilt during the Chenghua and Jiajing reigns of the Ming Dynasty, and during the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns of the Qing Dynasty. Now the mausoleum remains the same, the pines and cypresses remain the same. There are buildings in the temple such as the mountain gate (with a music tower above the gate), archway, wing room, offering hall, sleeping hall, stele pavilion and so on. The layout is compact, the wood carvings are fine, the red walls and green tiles are surrounded by clear flowing ancient cypresses, creating a picture-perfect contrast. In the temple in front of the mausoleum, there are more than ten steles since the Yuan Dynasty, describing the history of the mausoleum and the achievements of Emperor Yao. Among them, the entire map of Yao's mausoleum was engraved on the stele of Yao's mausoleum in the 18th year of Jiajing's reign in the Ming Dynasty (1539), which is well preserved.

(4) Emperor Yao Temple

Yao Temple is located 3 kilometers south of Linfen City. According to legend, Yao established his capital in Pingyang (now Linfen City) and made great contributions to the people. The temple was built by later generations to worship King Yao. The year of its creation is unknown. The existing buildings were originally relics of the Qing Dynasty. There is a mountain gate in front, and there are corridors, archways, Wufeng Tower, Yaojing Pavilion, Guangyun Hall, bedrooms and other buildings inside. King Yao and his four ministers were called the "Five Phoenixes". "One phoenix ascends to the sky, and four phoenixes roar", hence the name of the Five Phoenix Tower. It is said that Yao's Well was dug by Yao, and a pavilion was built on it to remember his achievements. Guangyun Hall is the main hall dedicated to King Yao, with a height of 27 meters. There is a ring corridor around the hall and 42 stone pillars. The pillar bases are exquisitely carved. The golden pillars in the hall are fat and go straight to the eaves of the upper floor. Clouds and dragons are coiled on the base stones. Inside the niche are statues of King Yao and his attendants. There are more than 10 tablets in the temple, recording the achievements of King Yao and the construction process of the temple. Guangyun Hall was destroyed by fire in 1998 and rebuilt in 1999.

Shun

(1)

Emperor Shun, whose surname was Yao, was said to have double pupils in his eyes, so he was named "Chonghua" and his nickname was Yu. Called Yu Shun. After death, Zen was located in Yu.

It is said that after the Yellow Emperor, there were three famous tribal alliance leaders named Yao (yao2), Shun (shun4) and Yu (yu3). They were originally the leaders of a tribe, and were later elected leaders of the tribal alliance. At that time, the leader of the tribal alliance would discuss any major issues with the leaders of each tribe. Yao was getting older and wanted to find someone to succeed him. Once, he summoned the tribe leaders from all over the world to discuss. After Yao stated his plan, a man named Fang Qi said: "Your son Danzhu is an enlightened man, and it is suitable for him to succeed you." Yao said seriously: "No, this boy has bad moral character. He likes to quarrel with others." Another man named Huan Dou said: "The water conservancy worker does a pretty good job." Yao shook his head and said, "The worker is eloquent and respectful on the surface. , I have another idea in my mind. I don’t trust this person."

This discussion has no results, and Yao continues to look for his successor. Once, he summoned the tribe leaders from all over the world for discussion and asked for their recommendations. Everyone present at the meeting unanimously recommended Shun. Yao nodded and said, "Oh! I also heard that this man is very good. Can you tell us his deeds in detail?"

Everyone explained Shun's situation: Shun's father was a People call a person who is extremely confused Gu Sou (gu sou, which means blind old man). Shun's biological mother died long ago, and his stepmother was very bad. The younger brother born to his stepmother was named Xiang. He was unspeakably arrogant, but Gusou doted on him. Shun lived in such a family and treated his parents and younger brother very well. Therefore, everyone thought that Shun was a man of good moral character.

Yao was very happy after hearing this and decided to investigate Shun first. He married his two daughters Ehuang and Nvying to Shun, built a granary for Shun, and gave him many cattle and sheep. When the stepmother and younger brother saw him, they were both envious and jealous. They plotted with Gusou and tried to harm Shun several times.

Once, Gusou asked Shun to repair the roof of the granary. When Shun climbed to the top of the warehouse with a ladder, Gusou set a fire below to burn Shun to death. When Shun saw the fire on the roof of the warehouse, he looked for a ladder, but the ladder had disappeared. Fortunately, Shun brought two hats with him to protect him from the sun. He held the hat in both hands and jumped down like a bird spreading its wings. The hat fluttered in the wind, and Shun landed gently on the ground without being hurt at all.

Gusou and Xiang were not reconciled, so they asked Shun to dig out the well again. After Shun jumped into the well, Gusou and Xiang threw pieces of earth and rocks on the ground to fill up the well, hoping to bury Shun alive in it. Unexpectedly, after Shun went down the well, he dug a tunnel beside the well, drilled it out, and returned home safely. Xiang didn't know that Shun had already escaped danger. He returned home triumphantly and said to Gusou, "My brother must have died this time. I came up with this clever idea. Now we can divide my brother's property." After that, he walked towards the house where Shun lived. Unexpectedly, when he entered the room, Shun was sitting by the bed playing the piano. Xiang was secretly surprised and said embarrassedly: "Hey, I miss you so much!" Shun also pretended to be nonchalant and said: "You came just in time. I have a lot to do and I need your help to take care of it." From now on. , Shun still treated his parents and younger brother as kindly as before, and Gusou and Xiang no longer dared to harm Shun.

After listening to the deeds of Shun introduced by everyone, and after inspection, Yao thought that Shun was indeed a man of good moral character and quite capable, so he gave up his position as leader to Shun. This kind of giving way is historically called "Chan (shan) giving way". In fact, during the clan commune period, it was not uncommon for tribal leaders to elect new leaders through elections when they became old.

After Shun took over, he was also diligent and frugal. He worked like the common people and was trusted by everyone. A few years later, Yao died. Shun also wanted to give up the position of leader of the tribal alliance to Yao's son Danzhu, but everyone disagreed. Shun officially became the leader.

Emperor Shun was the originator of moral culture, and Shun’s culture was moral culture. "Historical Records" records: "All the virtues in the world began with Yu and Shun."

The soul of Emperor Shun’s cultural spirit can be called “morality first, emphasis on education”. Shun’s culture was the Chinese culture in the historical transition period from barbarism to civilization. The Yandi culture with farming culture as its connotation, the Huangdi culture with political culture as its connotation, and the Shun culture with moral culture as its connotation, together constitute three milestones of Chinese culture.

Jiuyi Mountain is the place where the essence of Shun culture is stored. "Historical Records" records: "Shun was on a hunting tour in the south, collapsed in the wilderness of Cangwu, and was buried in Jiuyi in the south of the Yangtze River." In the magical and beautiful land of Jiuyi, many touching stories of Emperor Shun's service to the people have been left, and many literati and poets have left behind the resentment, nostalgia and beautiful praise of visiting Jiuyi Mountain. The great man Mao Zedong of the generation has been left behind. He once wrote a magnificent poem: "The white clouds are flying on the Jiuyi Mountain, and the emperor's son is riding the wind and descending into the green hills."

(2) [Mausoleum of Emperor Shun]

The Mausoleum of Emperor Shun is located in the Shun Tomb Scenic Area and is the target cultural landscape of the Jiuyi Mountain Scenic Area in Ningyuan County, Yongzhou City, Hunan Province. The target cultural landscape of mountain scenery. It is the oldest mausoleum in my country.

The mausoleum area of ​​Emperor Shun is composed of Mausoleum Mountain (Shunyuan Peak), Shunling Temple, Shinto and Cemetery, covering an area of ​​more than 600 acres. Shunyuan Peak of Lingshan Mountain is small at the top and large at the bottom, in the shape of an overturned bucket, with an altitude of more than 600 acres and is magnificent. There is a mausoleum temple built at the northern foot of the mountain. The mausoleum temple faces south to north and is large in scale, covering an area of ​​24,644 square meters. It is divided into two courtyards, front and rear, with five entrances to the building. The mausoleum temple has a solemn mountain gate, Meridian Gate, worship hall, main hall, sleeping hall and wing rooms. There is a 200-meter-long Shinto outside the mausoleum temple.

Shun Mausoleum is one of the five ancient imperial mausoleums in China. It is the only tomb of Emperor Shun in China. Emperor Shun collapsed in the wilderness of Cangwu during his southern tour and was buried in Jiuyi Mountain. There are 36 sacrificial steles from past dynasties preserved in the mausoleum temple. They are precious historical relics and witnesses of history. In the mausoleum area with towering ancient trees, the stone carvings, couplets and murals on the mausoleum temple buildings are so lifelike that they make you forget to leave. Nearby are Ehuang Peak, Nuying Peak, Meida Peak, Comb Peak, Shun Peak (three-point stone), Xiaoshao Peak, Bamboo Rock, Shun Pond, and Shun Creek, all of which played the music of Jiu Shao with Emperor Shun and the two concubines shed tears. Related to the legend of mottled bamboo.

Yu,

also known as Dayu, Xia Yu, Boyu, etc., is said to have the surname Si and the nickname Wenming. Ancient Chinese books such as "Book of Songs", "Book of Songs", "Book of Rites", "The Analects of Confucius", "Mencius", etc. all record the legend of Yu. "Shang Shu·Yu Gong" records the story of how Yu calmed down the floods and settled the nine states in the world. "Historical Records·Xia Benji" records that Yu was the great-great-grandson of the Yellow Emperor. His father Gun was ordered by Yao to control the floods. The floods continued for nine years and he was killed by Shun. Shun ordered Yu to continue Gun's work, and Yu started work and laid soil, walked mountains and covered trees, and settled high mountains and rivers. Finally, he calmed down the floods and won the court service of all the princes in the world. After Shun's death, he was crowned emperor and his country was named Queen of Xia. Later, he went on a hunting tour in the east and died in Kuaiji. Chinese history books have spread Yu's achievements based on the records in the above-mentioned ancient books. Yu was not only the founder of China's first dynasty, Xia, but also the greatest flood control hero in ancient times. He learned from the failure of his father Gun's blocking method, and adopted diversion methods, such as "guiding rivers with stones", "guiding rivers from Minshan", "guiding Huai from Tongbai", etc., to divert the country's main rivers into the sea, "with four seas" "Be a harem" to save the people from hanging upside down. Ancient books record his public-spirited and self-forgetting spirit: "I worked hard and thought hard, and stayed away for thirteen years, and dared not enter the house"; records his virtue of humility and concession: "Emperor Shun died, and after three years of mourning, Yu resigned and avoided Shun. His son Shangjun lived in Yangcheng", as well as his character of being open-minded to listen to opinions and being self-reliant and frugal. Yu was a perfect person recorded in Chinese historical records as having great merit and virtue.

Modern historian Gu Jiegang put forward the argument that Yu is a character in the southern national myth in the 1920s. He believed that the center point of this myth was Yue (Kuiji). This was agreed by some scholars and based on geohistories and the fourth Based on research results in chronology, paleogeography, archeology and other aspects and new detection methods, the Yue people thrived in today's Ningshao Plain and Holocene rotifers during the Quaternary and Late Pleistocene Pseudorotifera retreat along the southeastern coast. He studied the process of the Ningshao Plain being reduced to the sea during the sea advance, and believed that the legend of Yu expressed the hope of the Yue ancestors who immigrated to the Kuaiji Mountains during the sea advance and was spread from generation to generation, so that it was transplanted to the Central Plains. ?

To this day, Yue still retains a large number of legends about Yu. For example, "Yue Jueshu" says: "At the beginning of Yu, he was worried about the people and saving water. When he arrived in Dayue, he went up to Maoshan and went to Dajiji. He had meritorious service and a virtuous title. He changed the name of Maoshan to Kuaiji." It also says: "Tushan was taken by Yu. The wife's mountain is also fifty miles away from the county." "Wuyue Chunqiu" records that Yu "climbed Wanwei Mountain and issued a book with gold slips and jade characters on it, and he was able to understand the water management." It also records that Yu "ordered his officials to bury me in Kuaiji Mountain after a hundred generations." The remains of Yu the Great in Shaoxing today, such as Yu's Mausoleum, Yu's Cave, and Yu's Temple, are all extremely valuable. Sima Qian once "went to Kuaiji to explore Yu's Cave." Qin Shihuang, Song Gaozong, Qing Emperor Kangxi, Qianlong, and Chiang Kai-shek during the Republic of China all came to pay their respects in person, which shows that these relics have an unparalleled lofty status in China. Yu's noble spirit of selflessness and perseverance have been highly admired by the people of Shaoxing and the whole country for a long time, and had a huge influence.