Yu the great
Yǔ ( Chinese 禹 , Pinyin Yǔ ), last name Sì ( 姒 ), first name Wénmìng ( 文 命 ), or Yǔ the Great ( 大禹 , Dà Yǔ ), Xià Yǔ ( 夏禹 ), Róng Yǔ ( 戎 禹 ) was the mythical one first emperor of the semi-legendary Xia dynasty and the successor to the five mythical ancient emperors of China, who are considered cultural heroes and founders of Chinese civilization . In Chinese mythology Yu plays an important role, as there are numerous legends about him, of which the best known of the flood myth , the country saves in the Yu from flooding.
Legend
According to legend, Yu was the son of Gun , who is portrayed as the minister of the Great Emperor Yao . On behalf of Yao, Gun was supposed to ward off the flooding of the waters and built dams for this purpose. However, these did not withstand the water masses. As the first minister of Yao's successor Shun , Yu then took on the same task that his father had failed to do. By diverting numerous overflowing rivers, he succeeded in solving the problem. During the eight or ten years of labor, he performed superhumanly. Although he passed his house a few times at the time, out of a sense of duty he did not visit his family. He also drove away the wild animals and made the marshland into fertile arable land.
Since Yu had done so much for conquering the floods, Shun chose him as his successor. He divided the country into nine regions, waged a few wars, exercised rule due to his high virtue in an exemplary manner and became the founder of the Xia dynasty. His son Qi succeeded him in the government .
historicity
The first evidence of Yu can be found on vessels from the time of the Western Zhou dynasty (11th century to 771 BC), i.e. only over a thousand years after its alleged existence. At that time he was still regarded as a divine being who saved the land from the floods; it was only later that he was considered a grandiose human hydraulic engineer. During the Warring States Period (5th to 3rd century BC) he was also credited with founding the Xia dynasty. The traditional historiography later laid a reign for him from 2205 to 2147 BC. Rightly and described him and his character traits according to the then valid ideals for officials and rulers.
Archaeological finds meanwhile suggest a flood event in prehistoric China, which occurred between 1900 and 1950 BC. Should have taken place. Even if this does not suggest the existence of the historical Yu, Chinese historians see it as confirmation that the Erlitou culture is equated with the Xia dynasty. Nevertheless, according to official research results , the beginning of this dynasty is expected to be around the year 2070 BC. Dated.
literature
- Josef Guter: Lexicon on the history of China. Marix Verlag, Wiesbaden 2004
Web links
Remarks
- ↑ Da Yu in the Encyclopædia Britannica online
- ↑ a b Yu , in: Helmut Freydank et al. (Ed.): Lexikon Alter Orient , VMA-Verlag, Wiesbaden 1997, ISBN 3-928127-40-3 , p. 479 f.
- ↑ Herbert Franke and Rolf wedding slip : Fischer Weltgeschichte , Vol. 19: The Chinese Empire , Fischer Bücherei GmbH, Frankfurt am Main 1968, ISBN 3-596-60019-7 , p. 24 f.
- ^ Roger Goepper: Das alten China , C. Bertelsmann Verlag, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-570-06749-1 , p. 48.
- ↑ Jonathan Webb, BBC report: Rocks tell story of China's great flood
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Shun | King of china | Qi |