Foreword:
The role of Dayu's flood control in the history of the development of Chinese civilization is a milestone, and its significance is comparable to the Battle of Zhuolu. Although the essence of Dayu's flood control was the great efforts made by the tribes in the Central Plains to resist natural disasters and strive for a living environment, after Dayu's flood control, Xia Qi defeated Bo Yi one after another in the Central Plains and became the leader of the world. , there were a series of major events such as Hu's rebellion, Hou Yi's rebellion, Taikang's loss of the country, and Shao's restoration of the country, etc. This has to make people suspicious. Since Dayu's flood control was originally an important example of sincere cooperation among the tribes in the Central Plains, Why did the Central Plains region have so many disputes after Dayu controlled the floods? What are the root causes of these disputes? How can we break through the layers of fog to explore the overlooked historical truth? The cooperation and disputes between the two tribes of Xia and Yi in the early days.
Dayu's flood control was the second major event in the history of Chinese civilization in my country, and the first major event was the Battle of Zhuolu. After the Battle of Zhuolu, the Li forces led by Chi You completely withdrew from the stage of fighting for hegemony in the Central Plains. Huang Di, the leader of the Xia tribe who was active in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River today, including eastern Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and central and western Henan, was publicly elected as the leader of the time. As the leader of the world, he nominally led other tribes at that time, including the Yi tribe, thus starting the era of the Five Emperors. Because the Yi people live mostly in today's Shandong, Jiangsu and northern Anhui, central and eastern Henan, Hebei and Liaodong, the ancients also called the Yi people "Dongyi".
Huang Di relied on his personal charm and his powerful ability to defeat the powerful enemy Chi You to persuade the Yi tribe to surrender. After that, the two tribes of Xia and Yi had their first large-scale contact and exchange, and the two tribes have always been in peace. , the position of the leader of the world is also passed down from generation to generation following the abdication system.
However, with the continuous increase and improvement of productivity and production tools, the overall thinking of each tribe is gradually changing. The biggest change is that the Yi tribe is gradually dissatisfied with the Xia tribe's long-term dominance of the world. fact, why do you say that? Because since the beginning of the Yellow Emperor, the position of the leader of the world has almost always been passed down to the Yellow Emperor. The so-called "concession system" and "gongtianxia" still have a very distinct color of "family world". As for this kind of "concession system", The reason for the existence of this phenomenon is mostly due to the selfish desires of human nature.
And this kind of selfish desire born of human nature naturally caused dissatisfaction among the Yi people. But when the dissatisfaction of the Yi people was rising day by day, a more terrifying thing happened in the land of China? Floods.
There is currently no research on the main location and scope of the flood, but it can be speculated through some historical records. The location of the flood
"Hanshu Geography Hanoi County *** County" records:
The Beishan flood originated from
*** County is today's Huixian County, Henan Province is located at the southeastern foothills of the Taihang Mountains. Therefore, the "Beishan Mountain" recorded in the "Hanshu" should be the Taihang Mountains, and there is the Baiquan River in Huixian County. The Baiquan River flows through Huixian County into the Wei River, and the Wei River passes through Anyang, Henan Province. Guantao, Hebei, holds the Qi River, and the Zhang River flows into the sea. This is the old course of the Yellow River.
In addition, *** County was also the area where the ancient *** Gong clan lived, and the "Zhushan Chronicles? Five Emperors" also records that Yao once lived in Shiling *** Although there are many questionable records in the "Bamboo Book Annals" regarding the Gongzhi River, with the support of the "Han Shu", it is not difficult to conclude that the general location of the flood outbreak should be in today's Huixian County. As for the extent of the flood, further speculation is needed. The scope of the flood's influence
"Shangshu Yu Gong Chapter" records:
The precipitation reaches the north, and as for the mainland, it spreads to the north as Jiuhe Jiuhe? It is the nine Yellow Rivers in ancient times. Natural river channels. During the Five Emperors era, due to the lack of artificial dredging and blockage, the Yellow River naturally formed nine river channels after entering the North China Plain, and then flowed into the sea. Therefore, the "Nine Rivers" should be located in Shandong, Hebei, and Tianjin. "Mainland" is the name of an ancient swamp, also known as Julu Ze. From this, it can be inferred that "Mainland" should be in the Julu area of ????Julu, Hebei. ?Precipitation? should be the name of an ancient water.
According to the records of "Shang Shu Yu Gong Pian", from a geographical point of view, "Jiuhe" is the northernmost, followed by "Continent" and "Precipitation" to the south. Now that the positions of Jiuhe River and Continent have been determined, the location of Precipitation River should be south of Julu.
Previously, according to the "Han Shu", the flood should mainly originate in Zhihui County at the southeastern foothills of Taihang Mountain, with the Wei River holding the Qi River and the Zhang River flowing into the sea. According to the geographical location in "Yu Gong Pian" According to the records, the theory that the precipitation came from Qihe River or Zhanghe River is most consistent.
In addition, "Mencius Tengwengong 1" also records:
Yu dredged the nine rivers, drained Ji, Luo, and poured them into the seas; he defeated Ru and Han. Pai Huai, Si, and Zhujiang River.
It can be seen from this that the Huaihe River Basin was also flooded at that time.
Therefore, the scope of the flood that year was ultimately affected by today’s eastern Henan, northern Anhui, western Shandong, southeastern Hebei, Tianjin and other regions. The extent of its impact is truly rare, and It is not difficult to find that the area where the floods raged was the main living area of ??the Yi people.
So in the face of such a serious flood, the most anxious people were the Yi tribes. However, Yao, as the leader of the world, could not stay out of the matter. Faced with the increasingly intensified conflicts and conflicts between the Xia and Yi tribes, Amid the raging floods, what decision did Emperor Yao make? Emperor Yao's response
First he used Gun to control the floods, and then Shun, until he abdicated the throne to Shun
The general process of what happened at that time was that after the floods occurred, the emperor Yao asked his ministers for advice on who could control floods, and they all recommended Gun. However, Emperor Yao's first reaction was to refuse, but the ministers still insisted that only Gun could control floods in the world. Therefore, Emperor Yao was forced to use Gun to control the floods. Nine years later, Gun was abandoned by Emperor Yao because of his inability to control the floods. His son Dayu succeeded him in flood control.
During the time of Emperor Yao, the floods surged to the sky and covered the mountains and Xiangling mausoleums, disturbing the people. When Yao asked for someone who could control the water, all his ministers said: "Gun can do it." ?Yao said: ?It is not allowed for Gun to betray his destiny and destroy his clan. Siyue said: "If there is no one who is as good as Gun, I hope the emperor will try him." ?So Yao listened to the advice of the four mountains and used Gun to control the water. If the water does not stop for nine years, it will not be able to function. So Emperor Yao asked for help, and even more so was Shun? "Historical Records? Xia Benji"
In fact, if you look at this story alone, you will find many unreasonable things. The most obvious unreasonable thing is that Gun's actions Emperor Yao, who was the most famous, most supported by the ministers and most capable of water control at that time, did not think of reusing him at the first time. However, after Gun had been working diligently to control the water for nine years without any results, Emperor Yao actually acquiesced in Shun's execution of Gun. Such behavior has to make people suspicious. Emperor Yao and Shun seemed to be impatient for Gun to die.
So, the key to the problem is concentrated in another place, that is, who is Gun and why did he die? Gun's identity, situation and outcome
"Historical Records? Xia Benji" records: Yu's father was called Gun, Gun's father was called Emperor Zhuanxu, Zhuanxu's father was called Changyi, and Changyi's father was called Huangdi
"Hanshu Lulizhi" quotes the ancient version of "Emperor Lineage" to record: Zhuanxu gave birth to Gun in the fifth generation, and Gun gave birth to Yu
"Bamboo Book Annals" records: Zhuanxu gave birth to Bo Gun
p>Although different ancient books record slightly different records of Gun's birth, one thing is now completely certain, that is, Gun and Dayu were after the Yellow Emperor.
As mentioned before, the Yi people have become increasingly dissatisfied with the Xia people’s long-term occupation of the position of ruler of the world. When it came to Emperor Yao’s generation, very serious troubles occurred in the main living areas of the Yi people. floods, so if Emperor Yao, the leader of the world, could not handle these two things well, then the day when the two Xia and Yi tribes would turn against each other or even fight each other would not be far away. At the same time, Gun, as the most powerful person at that time, A well-known minister has won the hearts of the ministers. If the usual practice is followed, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that he will take over the position of the leader of the world in the future.
You must know that after Emperor Yao and Gun were both Yellow Emperors, before Emperor Yao, the position of emperor in the world was all inherited from the Yellow Emperor lineage. If Emperor Yao did not regard Gun as his successor before, Man, how could Gun get the support of the ministers, and why did Emperor Yao once have the idea of ??abandoning Gun when no one was available? Isn't this because there is no three hundred taels of silver in this place? But if Gun really succeeds Emperor Yao and becomes the leader of the world, the conflict between the Xia and Yi tribes will inevitably intensify. Emperor Yao is well aware of the powerful relationship between them, so he can only take advantage of the flood control to strengthen the Xia and Yi tribes. Communication and cooperation between the Yi and Yi peoples, thus maintaining stability in the world.
Therefore, the old Emperor Yao decided to cede the position of Lord of the World to Shun, the leader of the Yi tribe. This was also the first time since the Yellow Emperor that the position of Lord of the World was passed to the leader of the Yi tribe. Taking responsibility is also abdication in the true sense.
And Emperor Yao abdicated the position of Lord of Xia to Shun. In addition to the fact that he was the leader of the Yi tribe, this move eased the conflict between the Xia and Yi tribes, and Shun's own abilities and moral character were also improved. The recognition of Emperor Yao and the world is also crucial, that is, Shun himself is the leader of the Yi tribe. Compared with himself and Gun, he knows better and knows how to control the current floods.
It can be said that Emperor Yao's decision was very reasonable at the time, but "Lu Shi Chun Qiu" and "Han Feizi" have different records:
Yao Yu The whole world was passed down to Shun. Gun admonished him and said, "What an ominous thing! How can the world spread the word to a common man?" Yao refused to listen, so he raised his troops and killed Gun on the outskirts of Yushan.
These two ancient books attribute Gun's death to his dissatisfaction with Emperor Yao's decision, and he was ultimately defeated and killed in the struggle for power. If combined with the previous inferences, "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" and The record in "Han Feizi" seems to be reasonable. Of course, from a certain aspect, it is more like a conspiracy theory statement.
After Gun's death, with the support of Emperor Yao, Shun, the leader of the Yi tribe, became the undisputed leader of the world. He appointed Gun's son Dayu to control the floods. The two tribes of Xia and Yi temporarily put aside their differences and settled down. It was naturally Emperor Yao's wish to start sincere cooperation to control floods. But does this mean that the Xia and Yi tribes will never have conflicts again? The answer is undoubtedly no. The general trend of the world after Dayu's flood control
Historical records record that Dayu passed through the house three times without entering. After summarizing and absorbing the experience of his father's failure to control the flood, he controlled the flood for thirteen years and finally eliminated the flood completely. The world was at peace, and Dayu was recognized by Emperor Shun for his great achievements and became the emperor of the world.
In other words, after Shun, the position of the emperor of the world returned to the Yellow Emperor's lineage again and returned to the hands of the Xia clan.
Because Dayu had previously led the two tribes of Xia and Yi to jointly control floods and achieved remarkable results, gaining the support of the two tribes and becoming the leader of the world would naturally not cause any resentment or dissatisfaction. However, with the departure of Dayu, the original Boyi, the leader of the Yi tribe who was supposed to inherit the throne of the emperor of the world, was forced to leave by Qi, the son of Dayu. After Qi successfully ascended to the position of leader of the world, he clarified the inheritance system of "family world", and Qi's approach undoubtedly once again intensified the contradiction between the Xia and Yi tribes.
As for Boyi's whereabouts, "Mencius? Chapter 1" records:
Yu recommended Yi to the sky, but he died in seven years, and Yi avoided Yu's son in the shadow of Jishan Mountain. (Jishan is located in today's Dengfeng City, Henan Province)
After Qi succeeded the throne by expelling Boyi, various tribes of the Yi tribe gradually became dissatisfied, and eventually the Youhu Rebellion broke out , Later, Qi led his army to fight with Gan, and in the battle with Gan, Youhu was defeated, and Qi firmly held the position of leader of the army.
As for the location of the Battle of Gansu, the historian Qian Mu once verified that it was in the southeast of Luoyang, and the aforementioned Boyi took refuge in Jishan, the shadow of Jishan, which is today's Dengfeng City, Henan. , this place is also located in the southeast of Luoyang, so the Youhu clan is most likely a tribe of Boyi, and the rebellion of the Youhu clan may also be a resistance launched by Boyi to avenge his seizure of the throne.
Although the resistance of the Hu family was quickly suppressed, during the reign of Qi's son Taikang, the leaders of the Yi tribe Houyi and Hanzhuo emerged one after another, and the leader of the lineage of Dayu As a result, the inheritance of the throne was interrupted for decades. It was not until Shao returned to the country that the throne of the emperor returned to the hands of the Xia clan.
It can be seen from the incident of Shao Fanghuan that the Yi tribe was far from powerful enough to fight against the Xia tribe at that time. Therefore, the Xia tribe could still rule the Central Plains with a higher cultural level, but the Yi tribe was competing with the Xia tribe. Cooperation and disputes also began to develop. During the reign of Xia Jie, a powerful Shang branch of the Yi tribe finally emerged. In the end, Tang, the leader of the Shang tribe, defeated Xia and became the leader of the world, thus establishing the Six Hundred The Shang Dynasty.
But the dispute between the Xia and Yi tribes was far from over. More than 600 years later, a tribe named Zhou in the Xia tribe once again rose up to attack the Shang Dynasty. In a hundred years, most of them have been assimilated by the Xia people. The integration with the Xia people has been deeply rooted and gave birth to the real Chinese civilization. Therefore, the Zhou Dynasty's destruction of the Shang also brought an end to the disputes between the Xia and Yi tribes. Since then, the Central Plains has been another. What a sight.