In China
the flood myth had a different emphasis from the legends told in the West. The
flooding of the land from time immemorial was seen as a hindrance to
agriculture. The floodwaters were made to recede through the labours of a
saviour-hero named Yu the Great, who successfully dredged the land to provide
outlets to the sea for the water. Thus was the great central river valley of
China made suitable for agriculture and the development of civilization.
Yu the Great was born and lived around 22 century BCE and is regarded as
a descendant of Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor. Legend says that four thousand
years ago, the water god was angry and opened such a big hole in the sky that
the rain poured straight down like a river, submerging the earth for many
years. Flood waters were everywhere, and Gun, Yu's father, was summoned by King
Shun to control the flood.
Gun went up to Heaven and stole a bag of heavenly soil—called xi rang—which would grow when the
wind blew on it. To control the flood, he put some xi rang on the water and let the wind blow over it. Soon, the
soil grew and transformed into vast dams. Gun was very pleased and hoped the
dams could stop the flood water. However, as the dams were made of soil, they
could not hold back the surging water. Eventually, they collapsed and the
flooding became more severe. Gun was then put to death by King Shun for his
failure.
When Yu grew up and saw people were suffering terribly from the flood,
he became determined to control it. Yu spent 13 years trying to control the flood,
covering vast distances. During those years, he passed by his home three times
but was so busy that he didn’t even stop in.
Yu came to Wushan (the Wu Mountains), which stretched over 800 miles. He
wanted to cut a pass through the mountains to allow the flood water to escape
to the sea. But the rock was hard, and at times, the mountain and cliffs would
shake from the impact of the water. Many workers lost their lives in the
massive water surges that slammed into the mountain. For months, Yu was quite worried
that he had no way to cut the mountain rock.
Yao Ji, the 23rd daughter of the Queen Mother of the West, had a kind
heart. She admired Yu's determination and was moved by the sufferings of the
people on earth, so she decided to help Yu. Yao told Yu to use fire to open up
Wushan, and she dispatched four divine generals, Kuang Zhang, Yu Yu, Huang Mo,
and Da Dai from Heaven to help him.
Yu was very grateful to Yao Ji and led many people to set fires from
both ends of the mountain. Yao Ji and the divine beings also used their
supernormal capabilities and thunderbolts to strike at the mountain. After 49
days, the rock slowly turned soft and the workers were able to create a channel
through Wushan that allowed the flood water to pass to the sea.
After the flood subsided, Wushan became the beautiful three gorges of
the Yangtze River known today. During the opening of Wushan, Yao Ji had
exhausted her divine energy and could not return to Heaven. So she remained on
earth and turned into a mountain peak on Wushan. Later, people named it
“Goddess Peak,” and the celestial maidens who forever accompanied Yao Ji turned
into various mountain ridges and peaks which are known as Wushan's twelve
mountain peaks.
Because Yu was so kind and caring that he put other people's suffering
before his own, ordinary people loved him. King Shun also trusted Yu and
granted him the Xia area, which today is the city of Dayu Zhou in Henan
Providence.
In the end, King Shun did not pass his throne to any of his sons.
Instead, when he died in 2208 BC, he gave it to the capable Yu the Great. Yu
was 89 years old at that time and lived to be 100.
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几乎所有的文明传统上都有洪水的传说。因为洪水淹没全球，破坏力很大，很少动植物能够生存。对于西方读者来说，最著名的版本莫过于《圣经》里第一部书《创世纪》中讲述的诺亚方舟故事。在中国，洪水的故事与西方的强调角度不同。史前的这次洪水被看成是对农业发展的阻碍。救世英雄大禹的努力，把水引进大海而消退了洪水。中国因此有了一个适合于农作的中央河流大山谷，并由此发展了中国文明。
大禹，约生于公元前22世纪，是黄帝的后代。相传四千多年前，水神发了怒，把天撞了个大洞，天河里的水直泻而下，把大地吞没了，到处是汪洋。于是，鲧--大禹的父亲被舜王叫去治水。
鲧上天偷了一袋“息壤”。这息壤是神土，见风就增长。鲧十分高兴，治水时，他就取出一点息壤，放在水上，然后让风吹，息壤就变成一条一条的堤坝。鲧想用筑堤 的办法来减少洪火的冲击。可是，他想错了，水少可以用土堵一堵，可那样汹涌的洪水，光用土是挡不住的。所以堤坝最后总是被冲垮，水灾反而闹得更凶了。鲧由 于只相信筑堤坝堵水，结果没有把洪水治好，被舜处死了。
鲧上天偷了一袋“息壤”。这息壤是神土，见风就增长。鲧十分高兴，治水时，他就取出一点息壤，放在水上，然后让风吹，息壤就变成一条一条的堤坝。鲧想用筑堤 的办法来减少洪火的冲击。可是，他想错了，水少可以用土堵一堵，可那样汹涌的洪水，光用土是挡不住的。所以堤坝最后总是被冲垮，水灾反而闹得更凶了。鲧由 于只相信筑堤坝堵水，结果没有把洪水治好，被舜处死了。
后来，禹长大了，他看到洪水滔天，民不聊生，决心治好洪水。大禹为治水穿山越岭，花了十三年去治水了。在这期间，他有三次经家门，但是没有时间进去。
大禹治水来到巫山，这巫山绵延八百里，岩石坚硬异常，更有狂风骤起，刮得天昏地暗，山崖震动，江涛像山峰一样矗立起来，凿山的民工有许多丧命于狂风骇浪之中，几个月来，无法凿开那坚硬似铁的岩石，大禹甚为发愁。
西王母第二十三个女儿瑶姬，心地善良。她敬佩大禹为民治水的精神，又有感于人们受洪水之苦。决定帮忙禹。慨然答应。她告诉大禹：要打通巫山，须用火烧。又派出神将狂章、虞余、黄魔、大翳
去帮助大禹治水。
大禹非常感激瑶姬的指点，率众百姓在巫山两头放起火来，瑶姬和神将也施展本领，或用电轰，或用雷霹。经过七七四十九个日夜，坚硬的岩石渐渐变软起来，施工的人们很快就打通了巫山八百里，让洪水从巴蜀境内流出来，直向大海奔去。
治理后的巫山成为美丽的长江三峡风光。瑶姬也因在打通三峡时耗尽了神力，回不到天上，只能留在人间。她天天站在高崖上凝神眺望，看到三峡风险浪急，许多行船在风浪中沉没，她就派遣了几千只水鸟，轮番在峡谷中飞行，担任行船的导航，引导人们安全地从峡谷中通过。
瑶姬长久地站在高崖上，日复一日，年复一年，久而久之，渐渐地化为巫山的一座山峰，后人称之为“神女峰”。而陪伴她的侍女们，也化成大大小小的峰峦，永远陪伴着瑶姬，这就是巫山十二峰。
由于大禹仁爱宽厚，以百姓疾苦为先，深受人们的爱戴。舜也十分信任大禹，便封他于夏地，就是今天的河南省大禹州市。
舜没有把帝王之位传给自己的子孙，而是于公元前2208年禅让给贤能的大禹。当时禹89岁，后来活到100岁。
