Yu, surnamed Si, also known as Dayu or Xia Yu, was an ancient flood control hero and a native of the ancient Tushan clan (now Huaiyuan, Anhui).
In ancient times, the world was vast and the universe was vast, and people suffered from sea submergence and flooding. Emperor Yao began to use Yu's father Gun to control floods. Gun controlled the floods by building dams and embankments when encountering floods, using the method of "damping", and the water continued to flow for nine years. Yao's assistant Shun Xing thought Gun was ineffective in controlling the floods and had him killed at Yushan.
Shun ordered Gun's son Yu to continue controlling the floods. Starting from Jizhou, he traveled throughout Jiuzhou to conduct on-site inspections and decided to adopt methods to divert floods according to the situation.
The Shaoxing area at that time was also harmed by floods and was called a deserted land. Dayu controlled floods in this barbaric land, dug mountains and drained rivers, and introduced water into the East China Sea, turning this shallow swampy land into a plain again, and people were able to make a living through farming. Dayu once married Tushan in Shaoxing. Only four days after their wedding, Yu left home to control floods. He left home for thirteen years after his marriage. He passed by the house three times without going in. "Three times without entering the house" and the selfless spirit of hard work and self-denial have been passed down through the ages and have become an important part of the Chinese national spirit.
Dayu was the first outstanding and effective water control expert in ancient Chinese history and legends. Dayu's flood control shows a vivid picture of our ancestors' struggle to control floods, and embodies the indomitable fighting spirit of the working people in the process of conquering nature. His fearless spirit in fighting floods and his great achievements in water control have been widely praised by future generations. , inspiring working people of all generations to fight against flood disasters.
Dayu is one of the spiritual symbols of the Chinese nation. The rich meaning derived from Dayu's flood control is one of the important components and the most colorful chapter in China's long history and culture.
The land of Bashu has a long civilization and outstanding people. Since ancient times, it has produced many myths and legends that are still glorious today, reflecting the tenacity and enterprising spirit of the ancient Bashu people in the long road of cultural progress. The wonderful imagination has become a fascinating and vivid world in the Bashu Cultural Grand View Garden.
Here, there are many rivers, and floods have been frequent since ancient times, endangering the lives and property of the working people. In the process of the development of human civilization, the Bashu people gave full play to their brave fighting spirit, fought tenaciously against water damage, and achieved a series of great victories. While fighting against water damage, they relied on their imagination to create myths and legends about conquering and overcoming natural disasters to reflect their simple yet complex psychological reality.
Dayu’s flood control in Bashu and his myths and legends are the most vivid, exciting and obvious expression of the true psychology of the working people of Bashu, and have become one of the fine works of Bashu culture and Chinese water culture. one.
Yu Dayu controlled floods in Bashu, and his footprints were extensive, mainly concentrated in the Fujiang River, Minjiang River (mainly Qingyi River), and Chuanjiang River basins. According to myths and legends, Dayu not only managed various river basins separately, but also combined various river basins to form a network to comprehensively manage Sichuan's mountains and rivers.
It is said that Dayu was the most in-depth and persistent in water control in the Qingyi River Basin and made outstanding achievements. Today, a section of the natural moat below the Feixian Pass on the Qingyi River is called Duogong Gorge. It was taken by local people to commemorate Yu the Great for his many water achievements. The ancients called it "the same merit as Daomin", "but the power of Yu's dredging and chiseling is slightly smaller." In Tian, ??Ying, and Lu counties, it’s rare to find someone who is not a fisherman! People in the state should not forget their husbands every time they eat.” This shows the close relationship between Dayu’s management of the Qingyi River and the local working people. The Zhougong River, a tributary of the Qingyi River, is related to Zhougong Mountain, and Zhougong Mountain is said to be the place where Dayu was worshiped. "Shangshu Yu Gong" records: "Cai Meng's journey was peaceful, and he made peace with the barbarians." Cai is Cai Mountain, which was changed during the Shu Han Dynasty It is named Zhougong Mountain, which means Meng Mountain. It faces Cai Mountain and is famous for its tea production. The meaning of this sentence is: After Dayu successfully controlled floods in the Caimeng area, he came here again to offer sacrifices and pray for God to bless the world. Let the people living here live and work in peace and contentment, maintain peace forever, and eliminate disasters.
The Huanglong Temple Natural Scenic Area is located near the ancient city of Songpan on the northwest Sichuan Plateau and is the source of the Fujiang River. Although there are different opinions on the origin of the name of Huanglong Temple, the most noteworthy aspect is related to Dayu's flood control.
For the above two, we have selected the most important ones to record Dayu’s traces of flood control in Bayu and the related myths and legends. Although these materials cannot be regarded as historical records, from the perspective of mythology, folklore, and society, Careful analysis and summary from the perspective of science and culture can yield profound enlightenment, which is of great significance for understanding the relationship between the people of Bashu and nature and water in ancient times.
The myth and legend of Bashu Dayu's flood control is a tortuous and true reflection of the practices, wishes, emotions, ideals and requirements of the ancient Bashu people in the long process of conquering nature. It is a change made by the working people. Identity as a slave to nature begins to stand up, radiating from the essential power of man.
These legends are rich in Bashu cultural color. They are fabrications created by the people of Bashu with the help of imagination and fantasy to express the victory of mankind in conquering nature. They also reflect the simple, simple and vivid characteristics of primitive thinking and the conception of myths and legends. Unique, fantastic and beautiful, it is a shining pearl in the treasure house of folk culture and mythology.
In ancient Sichuan, there were many floods and great impacts. The production and life of working people are closely related to flood prevention and control. Controlling flood damage and promoting water conservancy are basic needs for human survival and social progress, and are also an important indicator of the level of productivity development.
The above myths and legends are not only a reflection of the people of Bashu starting to get rid of their status as natural slaves, but also a reappearance of their awakening psychology to prove human power and get out of the predicament of the structural relationship between humans and gods. Dayu Water control in the Qingyi River is a realistic reflection of the process of the Di and Qiang ancestors transitioning from nomadic life to farming life.
Although the social and economic life in Dayu's era was mainly centered on the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, and water control activities were also concentrated in this area, we cannot demonstrate the scope of Dayu's water control purely from a geographical perspective. Yu's flood control is originally a myth and legend, a miraculous manifestation of the ancient working people's victory over nature. What is more important is that Dayu is a god and hero who was co-created and recognized by the ancient working people in the water control activities. Shen Yu is a consistent reflection of the psychology of the working people. In ancient history, Dayu had the status of a protective god, at least in water activities. The Temple of King Yu, like the Temple of Guandi, occupies an important position in people's psychology.
Dayu's water control has extraordinary isomorphic ability. It can unify the water control activities that occurred in the Yellow River, Yangtze River and other Chinese water systems into a concentric circle. This is the study of Dayu's water control and its An important inspiration for the relationship between water and culture.