Centuries ago, the Yellow River wreaked havoc across ancient China with constant massive floods. Entire villages were swallowed up by the raging waters. People cried out for help as homes and crops were destroyed year after year.
Da Yu, whose name was Wenming, was the legendary flood control hero in ancient China. His father Gun was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor.
When Yao was still the emperor, massive floods plagued the Central Plains, submerging crops, hills and people’s homes. Many were forced to leave their hometowns and suffering untold disasters. To eliminate the flood, Yao sought someone capable of taming the waters.
One day, Yao asked his ministers if anyone could take on this duty. The ministers and chiefs recommended Gun. Although skeptical of Gun, Yao appointed him to lead the flood control effort, lacking better candidates.
After nine fruitless years, Gun made no progress and worked negligently. Upon ascending the throne, Emperor Shun dismissed Gun for incompetence and exiled him to Mount Yushan, where Gun later died.
Again, Shun asked his ministers for recommendations on someone to stop the floods. The ministers endorsed Yu, despite being Gun’s son. They spoke highly of Yu’s humility, courtesy, diligence and simple living. Shun disregarded Yu’s heritage and quickly assigned him the task.
The virtuous Da Yu readily accepted the mission, harboring no resentment over his father’s punishment. He pledged privately: “My father left regret for failing to control the waters and causing suffering. I must try my very best.”
Appreciating the gravity of this duty, Shun assigned Yu two capable ministers, Bo Yi and Hou Ji, to assist him.
Just four days after his wedding, Yu’s wife Tu Shan reluctantly bid farewell to her husband as he embarked on his mission.
Yu led his team traversing mountains and rivers, eating and sleeping in the open, leaving footprints across the land. Witnessing peoples’ struggles in the floods, Yu shed tears and strengthened his resolve from their support.
With plumb line and level, Yu surveyed every inch of the land. Learning from Gun’s failed damming, Yu invented a new diversion approach, dredging channels to guide the waters eastward to sea. He mobilized local manpower for every project. Despite staying in humble cottages and eating frugally, Yu spent freely on the works.
So focused on his duty, Yu passed by his house three times during the 13 years without entering, only weeping outside upon hearing his newborn son.
Following natural contours, Yu divided China into nine provinces. He executed a holistic strategy, dredging channels and leveling land until the once roaring rivers gently flowed east in their smooth courses.
Later generations built temples honoring Yu’s legacy. The vast lands he reclaimed became known as the “Yu domains”. Da Yu remains revered as the heroic founder of flood control in China.
Archaeologists: Da Yu’s Flood Control May Be More Than Just Legend
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Archaeologists have found evidence of a massive ancient flood in China that aligns with the legendary Great Flood said to have occurred at the start of the first Chinese dynasty.
The legend of Da Yu describes how he dredged rivers and redirected them to tame the Yellow River, laying the foundation for the Xia Dynasty and Chinese civilization. Previously, no scientific evidence of such a flood was discovered.
Now, a Chinese-led research team says the deluge happened around 1900 BC. In a paper in Science, they outline how an earthquake dammed the Jishi Gorge, blocking the Yellow River for 6–9 months. When the dam burst, 16 cubic km of water flooded the downstream plains.
Evidence comes from dam deposits upstream and flood sediments downstream. Carbon dating links the flood to the abandonment of the Lajia site 25 km downstream, which was destroyed by the same earthquake.
The researchers estimate the flood was 30–50 million cubic meters per second, on par with the largest known floods on Earth in the past 10,000 years.
Dating the flood and Lajia ruins points to the event occurring around 1922 BC, within 28 years. If the flood did prompt the Yu the Great legend, the Xia Dynasty’s founding would have been around 1900 BC, a few centuries later than previously thought. This aligns with the idea of the Xia bridging the Stone to Bronze Ages.
The geological evidence, precise dating, and correspondence with early Bronze Age and legend make a compelling case, lending credibility to the Jishi Gorge flood interpretation.
