Legends and myths of Ancient China. Chinese Flood Myth Gun and Yu Fighting the Flood

The first myths of China tell about the creation of the world. It is believed that it was created by the great deity Pan-gu. Primordial chaos reigned in space, there was no sky, no earth, no bright sun. It was impossible to determine which was up and which was down. There were no sides of the world. The cosmos was a large and strong egg, inside of which there was only darkness. Pan-gu lived in this egg. He spent many thousands of years there, tormented by heat and lack of air. Tired of such a life, Pan-gu took a huge ax and hit the shell with it. It shattered on impact, splitting in two. One of them, pure and transparent, turned into the sky, and the dark and heavy part became the earth.

However, Pan-gu was afraid that the sky and the earth would close together again, so he began to hold the firmament, lifting it up more and more every day.

For 18 thousand years, Pan-gu held the vault of heaven until it hardened. Having made sure that earth and sky would never touch again, the giant let go of the vault and decided to rest. But while holding him, Pan-gu lost all his strength, so he immediately fell and died. Before his death, his body transformed: his eyes became the sun and moon, his last breath became the wind, blood flowed over the earth in the form of rivers, and his last cry became thunder. So myths ancient China describe the creation of the world.

The myth of Nuwa - the goddess who created people

After the creation of the world, Chinese myths tell of the creation of the first people. The goddess Nuwa, who lives in heaven, decided that there was not enough life on earth. Walking near the river, she saw her reflection in the water, took some clay and began to sculpt a little girl. Having finished the product, the goddess doused her with her breath, and the girl came to life. Following her, Nuwa blinded and revived the boy. This is how the first man and woman appeared.

The goddess continued to sculpt people, wanting to fill the whole world with them. But the process was long and tedious. Then she took a lotus stem, dipped it in clay and shook it. Small clay lumps flew to the ground, turning into people. Fearing that she would have to sculpt them again, she ordered the creatures to create their own offspring. Such a story is told by Chinese myths about the origin of man.

The myth of the god Fuxi, who taught people how to fish

Humanity, created by the goddess Nuwa, lived, but did not develop. People didn’t know how to do anything, they just picked fruits from trees and hunted. Then the heavenly god Fuxi decided to help people.

Chinese myths say that he wandered along the shore for a long time in thought, but suddenly a fat carp jumped out of the water. Fuxi caught him with bare hands, cooked and ate. He liked the fish, and he decided to teach people how to catch it. Yes, only the dragon god Lun-van opposed this, fearing that they would eat all the fish on earth.

The dragon king suggested that people should not fish with their bare hands, and Fuxi, after thinking, agreed. For many days he thought about how to catch fish. Finally, while walking through the forest, Fuxi saw a spider spinning a web. And God decided to create networks of vines in her likeness. Having learned to fish, the wise Fuxi immediately told people about his discovery.

Gun and Yu Fight the Flood

In Asia, the myths of Ancient China about the heroes Gun and Yuya, who helped people, are still very popular. There has been a disaster on earth. For many decades, the rivers overflowed violently, destroying the fields. Many people died, and they decided to somehow escape from the scourge.

Gong had to figure out how to protect himself from the water. He decided to build dams on the river, but he did not have enough stones. Then Gong turned to the heavenly emperor with a request to give him the magic stone "Xizhan", which could erect dams in an instant. But the emperor refused him. Then Gun stole the stone, built dams and restored order to the earth.

But the ruler found out about the theft and took the stone back. Once again, rivers flooded the world, and angry people executed Gun. Now his son Yu had to fix everything. He again asked for "Sizhan", and the emperor did not refuse him. Yu began to build dams, but they did not help. Then, with the help of a celestial turtle, he decided to fly around the whole earth and correct the course of the rivers, directing them to the sea. His efforts were crowned with success, and he defeated the elements. As a reward, the people of China made him their ruler.

Great Shun - Chinese emperor

Chinese myths tell not only about deities and ordinary people, but also about the first emperors. One of them was Shun - a wise ruler, to whom other emperors should be equal. He was born into a simple family. His mother died early, and his father remarried. The stepmother could not love Shun and wanted to kill him. So he left home and went to the capital of the country. He was engaged in agriculture, fishing, pottery. Rumors about the pious youth reached Emperor Yao, and he invited him into his service.

Yao immediately wanted to make Shun his heir, but before that he decided to test him. For this, he gave him two daughters as his wife at once. By order of Yao, he also subdued the mythical villains who attacked people. Shun ordered them to protect the borders of the state from ghosts and demons. Then Yao gave him his throne. According to legend, Shun wisely ruled the country for almost 40 years and was revered by the people.

Interesting Chinese myths tell us about how ancient people saw the world. Not knowing scientific laws, they believed that all natural phenomena are the deeds of the old gods. These myths also formed the basis of ancient religions that still exist today.

Through the eyes of a foreigner, in Wuhan you can find many endless interesting parks, sculptures, buildings, and since Chinese culture is saturated with many legends and myths, it is not surprising that some of these parks will be dedicated to them. That's Great Da Yu Legend Park 大禹神话园 in Wuhan with adjacent architectural graces that have become the heritage of Chinese culture - is no exception. And we will tell you what awaits you in another interesting place in Wuhan and where you can go on the weekend 🙂

In the article ♠ Overview and understanding of the park, address, Great Yu myth, gallery

Great Yu - the tamer of the flood in China

For starters, who is Great Yu and why was a park erected in his honor? Great Yu (大禹)- the hero of Chinese myths, an ancient mythical sovereign in China. In short, he is famous for having pacified the waters that flooded the whole earth, returning them to their former boundaries. He also divided the empire into 9 provinces, and then in 2205 BC. ascended the Chinese throne, marking the beginning of the Xia Dynasty (夏朝 - xiàcháo).

Sculpture of the hero of the occasion in this park

Canvas of sculptors in honor of the Great Yu in Wuhan

九鼎 jiǔdǐng - Nine stone sculptures(or literally nine tripods) 1-3 meters high, made of Yellow and Green stone from the province of Hebei. Depicted are idols of nine animals with sharp claws and furious eyes, on which stand granite eagles that have come down to us from the time of the Neolithic archaeological cultures of Yangshao 仰韶文化 from Shanxi Province, Hua County 华, dated 3-5 thousand years BC

Yu saw in the nine tripods a kind of unification of the Chinese people, or 华夏 huáxià. These nine animals are the tortoise, crocodile, pig, sheep, tiger, deer, bear, elephant and rhinoceros. They carry an eagle in the name of the Great Yu, emphasizing his greatness. We read the myth at the end of the article - more about Yuya's tripods.

Directly opposite the nine animals on the other side of the square stands a huge 8 * 13.5 meters bronze sculpture. It shows Yu's great power after pacifying the flood and his ambition to unite the world. The sculpture represents four dragon horses carrying a carriage with Yu over the heavens of the “under heaven”.

Throughout this park there are tablets with an engraved description of the Yuya myth, and reading them all, it is quite possible to get a good idea of ​​him and enjoy the beautiful work of the masters. Everything in this park is dedicated to paintings and characters from the myth of the pacification of the flood. For example, 10 stones, each depicting a different story from the myth, showing Yuya's interactions with other characters and people.

Nine-tailed fox matchmaker

Most interesting and romantic sculpture this is a beautiful nine-tailed fox （九尾狐 jiǔwěihu） rushing past Yuya. Until the age of thirty, Great Yu remained alone. And then one day, a fox ran past him, waving all his fluffy tails. Yu saw her and realized that it was a lucky omen.

Soon he met a beautiful wife, Nu-jiao… from whom Yu had a son… (read the myth at the end of the article or). It turns out that this fox was a kind of matchmaker, in honor of which the sculpture was made.

Another miracle place in a cramped city

Passing along the path between the stones along the river, we come to the upper part of the park, rich in Chinese-style buildings. At the very top stands elevated Palace of the Clear Path qing chuān ge.

Far right. Old postcard of Wuhan

Built in 1547-1549 during the Ming Dynasty, and named after one of the works of the Chinese poet Cui Hao (崔颢). During the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, the pavilion was seriously damaged, but was later restored. Entrance is free, you can go up to the upper balcony, which offers a panorama of the Yangtze River on one side, and on the roof of the Great Yu Temple on the other.

From the other side of this building you can go to Camping residence Yuya 禹稷行宫, which was originally called Great Yu Temple 大禹庙. The first notes about this temple date back to 1621, but during the Qing Dynasty in 1864, it was rebuilt in the way we see it today.

After going inside through the main entrance, you find yourself in a cozy courtyard, depriving you of the feeling of worldly fuss, where you can “relax”. And it's really beautiful here. the most beautiful place in this park I can say.

From it you can immediately go to another attraction of the city of Wuhan - Iron Gate 铁门关, originating already in the Period of the Kingdom in China (三国 - 220 - 280). They were originally used to hold back the army of the Kingdom of Wei (魏国 wèiguó) from advancing on the Kingdom of Wu (吴国 wúguó).

Through countless battles, the Iron Gate has remained the most important defensive and strategic point in Wuhan. During the Ming Dynasty in 1557, the Iron Gate was completely destroyed, leaving only the foundation. Until 1900, the building was in a deplorable state of perpetual construction, when it was finally restored.

History is a bad thing.

The myth of stopping the flood

This is the embodiment of the memory of the famous mythological character of China can be observed in Wuhan, isn't it wonderful? In order to fully understand this tale, and how The Nine-Tailed Fox Helped Great Yu, read a myth or

Introduction to myth. Flood. Gun.

1. Historical records of the flood. Gun, pitiful people. Owl and turtle plan. Gun steals from the supreme lord of the sizhans in order to pacify the flood. The fire god Zhu-jun kills Gun. Birth of the horned dragon Yuya. Legends of Gunya's transformations. Gun goes to the west for treatment. Sighs of poets.

There were fewer and fewer people every day, and in places where the flood had not yet reached or from where it had temporarily receded, only wild animals and birds remained.

King Yao's heart burned with sadness. But he did not know how to save the people from grief. Yao gathered the governors of the four parts of the state and the specific princes and addressed them:

- I ask you, what will happen to people if the current flood rises to the sky and floods the hills and mountains? The people will not even be able to drag out a miserable existence. Who will be able to tame the flood and save us from trouble?

“We must call Gunya, and everything will be in order,” the governors and princes said.

Yao shook his head and protested:

“I’m afraid that Gun will not be able to cope. He considers only his own opinion, and the opinions of others do not exist for him.

“Only he is fit for this business,” answered the dignitaries.

- Well, - Yao had to agree, - let Gun try.

Gunya was sent to fight the flood. For nine years, Gun tried to subdue the elements, but achieved nothing.

Why didn't Gunyu manage to pacify the flood? There are records of this in ancient books. Gun's character was bad, his actions were reckless and he did not know where to start. To protect against flooding, he poured earthen dams. But they did not stop the flood, the water spilled more and more and rose higher and higher. Gong failed. In the end, Yao (some believe that Shun) executed Gong on the Mountain of bird feathers - Yushan.

Shun, who ruled after Yao, ordered to pacify the flood to the son of Gun - Yu. Remembering his father's failure, Yu did not build dams, but broke through canals.

This method turned out to be successful - the water subsided, and the people got rid of suffering. After this, Shun ceded the throne to Yu, and Yu established the Xia Dynasty.

The historical traditions cited above differ in many ways from the myths about Guna and Yuya, which we will now tell.

It is likely that severe floods occurred in China in ancient times. In the inscriptions on the bones, the hieroglyph denoting the concept of “before” was depicted in this way: they painted the sun, and seething waves above or below it. It is obvious that in ancient times there was a terrible flood and people could not forget it. Flood legends exist among many peoples of the world.

Natural changes that took place in ancient times on the earth caused floods everywhere. The human race has preserved the memory of these floods up to our time. It is impossible to pinpoint exactly when the flood occurred. IN Chinese history it is said that the flood occurred in the period of Yao and Shun, i.e. over four thousand years ago. But whether it was so or not, it is difficult to say.

Without going into the details of this, let us now consider the myths about Guna and Yuya.

Who is Gong? Judging by historical records, Gun was a prince, his inheritance was in the area of ​​Chun (now East End Yunxian County, Shaanxi Province). Therefore, he was also called the Chun prince. In myths, Gun is depicted as a white horse, which was supposedly the grandson of the Yellow Emperor. His father's name was Lo-ming, and Lo-ming's father was Huangdi himself. We know that the Yellow Emperor was the celestial ruler, and therefore Gong was one of the supreme celestial deities.

The myths naively talk about the causes of the flood. It is believed that people on earth stopped believing in the righteous path, committed bad deeds and this caused the wrath of the heavenly ruler. As a warning, the heavenly ruler sent a flood upon them.

This myth is reminiscent of the "Creation" section in old testament, which says that Jehovah, seeing the evil committed by the people on earth, sent down a flood on the earth to destroy the human race.

But the flood brought so much torment to the people that people aroused pity, despite their transgressions. They suffered from the water that overtook them and from hunger. There was nothing to eat, nowhere to live, it was necessary to escape from poisonous reptiles and ferocious animals, and weakened people still had to fight diseases. How terrible were the sorrowful, inconsolable days of the time of the flood!

Among the large number of deities who lived in heaven, only the god Gun felt deep pity for the suffering of people. He decided to save the people from the flood, so that people, as before, could enjoy a quiet life. Gong was dissatisfied with his grandfather's cruelty. He repeatedly begged and exhorted him to forgive people their sins and take the raging waters to the heavenly palace. The enraged lord not only did not take into account Gun's requests, but even scolded him for his unreasonable speeches. We know that no matter what the ruler is – earthly or heavenly, it is still a ruler, and therefore it is not surprising that Gun had a collision with his grandfather.

Seeing that requests and persuasion did not give any results, Gun decided to fight the flood himself and save the people from disaster. It was not easy, as the water flooded the whole earth. Gun saw that on his own, he could not do anything, and this thought saddened him. Just during these reflections, he met with an owl and a black tortoise. They asked Gun. why is he sad and unhappy. Gong explained to them the reason for his longing.

- To pacify the flood is not a difficult thing, - said the owl and the tortoise in one voice.

- But how to do that? – hastily asked Gong.

“Do you know that in the heavenly palace there is a treasure called sizhan?”

I have heard, but I don't know what it is.

– Sizhan is a piece of land that can grow indefinitely. It seems no bigger than a normal lump. And if you throw it on the ground, this little piece immediately grows and forms mountains and dams. This earth can be filled with water, and the flood will stop.

- And where is the sizhan stored?

“This is the most valuable thing of the heavenly ruler. We can find out where she is. Do you want to steal it?

- Yes, - said Gun, - I'm ready to do it!

- Aren't you afraid that your grandfather will punish you severely?

- Well, him, - answered Gun and laughed sadly.

Needless to say, sizhan, like the greatest treasure, was kept in secret and inaccessible place from the heavenly ruler and was guarded by fierce spirits. But Gun, trying to save the people from disaster, managed to get him.

Having obtained sizhan, Gun immediately descended to the ground and began to build dams in order to save the people from the flood. Sijan was magical, mountains and dams grew out of this small piece. The flood began to subside, the water dried up and soaked into the ground, gradually the traces of the flood completely disappeared, and a continuous green meadow opened before the eyes. The people who lived in the tops of the trees began to crawl out of their nests; living in the mountains began to come out of the caves. Smiles reappeared on their withered faces, they felt deep gratitude and love for Gun. People were already preparing to continue their interrupted studies in the long-suffering land. But, unfortunately, just at that time, the supreme emperor Shang-di found out that his precious sizhan had been stolen. You can imagine how angry the ruler of the universe was! He boiled with anger when he learned that such a rebel had appeared in the heavenly state, especially since it was his own grandson. He immediately sent the god of fire Zhu-zhong to the earth, who killed Gun on the Mountain of bird feathers and took away the sizhans. As the proverb says: "One basket was not enough for a mountain of nine ren." The flood intensified again, and the water again flooded the whole earth. The hopes of the people did not come true: they still suffered from hunger and cold, mourned their misfortune and felt sorry for Gun, who sacrificed his life for them.

In Greek mythology, one can find a parallel to the exploits of Gunya in the form of Prometheus, who stole divine fire for people. Zeus, as punishment, chained him to a rock in the Caucasus Mountains and ordered a ferocious kite to peck out his liver, and wind, snow and rain to destroy his body. A lot of time passed before Hercules - a hero from the human world - freed Prometheus.

Mount Yushan, where Gong was killed, obviously refers to Mount Weiyu, the northern slope of which was never illuminated by the sun's rays. On the southern slope of the mountain in Yan-men - Wild Goose Gate - in ancient times there lived a sacred guardian dragon, nicknamed Zhu-lun - the Dragon with a candle. He held a wax lamp in his mouth and used it to illuminate the northern slope of the mountain instead of the sun. The terrible hell of Yudu, where, according to legend, the souls of the dead found their last refuge, was probably located in the vicinity of this mountain. They were dark and gloomy places. It was here that the god Gun fell victim.

Did he mourn before death? Certainly. His annoyance was deep and strong, not because he was losing his life. From the very beginning he decided to devote his life to people. He grieved because his deeds were not completed and his intentions did not come true. The people, suffering from hunger and cold, were again threatened by flooding. The supreme lord took away the Sijans. How could Gun calmly fall asleep forever, knowing about it?

Gun had a big and loving heart, his soul did not leave his body, and his body did not decompose for three years. In his womb even arose new life It was his son Yu. Gong cultivated a new life in himself so that his son could continue and complete his work. Yu grew up in his father's womb, and after three years he already surpassed Gun with his miraculous strength.

The Supreme Lord learned that Gun's corpse had not rotted even in three years. He was afraid that Gun would turn into a werewolf and fight him, so he sent one of the gods with a magic knife at the Tao to cut Gun's body to pieces. The messenger of heaven hurried to fulfill the order, reached the Mountain of bird feathers and ripped open the stomach of the hero.

But at this time a great miracle happened. A dragon crawled out of Gun's open belly. It was Yui. On his head grew a pair of strong, sharp horns.

He soared up like a propeller, and Gun's body turned into some kind of animal, which swam away into the Abyss of Bird Feathers, located near the mountain. There are various legends about the transformation of Gun. Some believe that Gong turned into a brown bear. But Brown bear could not dive into the abyss. Others claim that Gong became a three-legged tortoise. This assumption is more likely, but it is not clear why the brave god Gun, who stole sizhan from the supreme ruler to save people, turned into a cowardly turtle.

There is another legend that Gun, having failed in the fight against the flood, drowned himself in this abyss and turned into a black fish. What is "black fish" is not entirely clear, but the spelling of this hieroglyph is somehow associated with the name Gunya. This fish is said to "puff out its whiskers, ring its scales, cut through the huge waves, have fun and play with the water dragon." Finally, it should also be mentioned that in the comments to the “Book of Mountains and Seas” there is a statement from the book “Kaishi”: “After death, Gun's body was preserved for three years. He was cut with a knife, and he turned into a yellow dragon."

This version seems to us the most logical. Such ideas existed in ancient times. Usually in myths, the heavenly horse turns into a white dragon. And Gun Yu's son was also a dragon.

In Questions to the Sky, Qu Yuan made another suggestion: that Gun's body turned into a yellow bear and he went west, beyond Qiongshan Mountain, to ask the sorcerers to revive him. There were many sorcerers in that area. For example, on Mount Lingshan, where magical herbs grew, ten sorcerers lived: Wu-xian, Wu-ji, Wu-pan, Wu-peng, Wu-gu, Wu-zhen, Wu-li, Wu-di, Wu-se , U-lo. They were engaged in looking for medicinal herbs at the top and at the foot of the mountain. In the eastern part of Kaiminshou, near Mount Kunlun, sorcerers also lived: Wu-peng, Wu-di, Wu-yang, Wu-lui, Wu-fan and Wu-hsiang. They collected magical herbs near the tree of immortality and prepared the medicine of immortality. In those places, Seyu, once killed by the god Er-fu, found healing. Gun, who turned into a yellow bear, went to the Western sorcerers to resurrect him. On the way to the west, he saw a people suffering from a flood, having no roof, no clothes, no food. Gun's heart was very heavy, he returned and began to persuade people to sow black millet, and to weed out all the mountain grasses in order to somehow feed themselves. Gun, even the dead, who turned into an animal, constantly thought about the people. Therefore, the great poet Qu Yuan expressed his deep sympathy in his poems.
Gong sought but failed
Humble the streams!.. Why
Great experience to repeat
Did they bother him anyway?

After all, the turtle is a giant
And owls with a witch's game
Gong's work was destroyed!.. Why
Is the hero executed by the lord?

In these verses, the poet compares Gun's experiences with his own.

Let's say that Gong turned into a yellow dragon, which plunged into the abyss. This dragon, in our opinion, transferred all his miraculous power to his son, and he himself became an ordinary dragon, there was nothing divine in him anymore. Information about the fate of Gun, after he swam into the abyss, has not been preserved. The whole point of his continued existence was that he could see with my own eyes how his son continued his work and saved people drowning in a sea of ​​suffering.

Yuyu's order. God of the Yellow River. hardships.

1. Yu receives an order from the supreme overlord. Yu gathers the gods and chases Gong-gun away. The God of the Yellow River presents Yu with a map to pacify the flood. Fu-hsi gives Yuyu a jade tablet. Carp jump over the dragon gate. Traces of Yuya's activities Gorge of three gate. Yu conquers Wuzhi-chi. Wrongly cut gorge and Dragon execution tower. Bo-i and his bird children and bird grandchildren.

The newborn dragon Yu was not afraid of his father's failure. He possessed miraculous power, and all his thoughts were directed towards completing the work of his father.

The supreme ruler, who was sitting on a high, precious throne, was frightened. After all, Yu suddenly appeared from Gun's torn womb. And if Yuya is cut open, will he also give birth to some kind of creature? The rebellious thoughts of a rebel can spread like wildfire and cannot be stopped. The frightened emperor eventually began to repent of the evil that he had committed. He decided not to punish people so cruelly and to calm the flood. Also, a good heart is sometimes stronger than a diamond and might not be able to handle Yu. Therefore, when Yu came to Shang-di to ask for sizhan, the supreme lord, wise by experience, immediately yielded to his requests. He gave him sizhan and ordered him to go down to earth to pacify the flood. To help Yuyu, he sent the dragon Ying-long, famous for having killed the hated Chi-yu.

Having received the command of the supreme ruler, Yu with Ying-long and other large and small dragons descended to the ground and began to fight the flood. The dragons were supposed to pave the way for the water: Ying-long paved the way for the main stream, the rest of the dragons - for the side.

At this time, the god of water Gong-gun became angry. At the beginning of the flood, Shang-di sent the god of water to punish people for their sins. Gun-gun had a chance to show his magic, and now suddenly, when he had not yet shown all his strength, he was told to stop the flood. - It won't work! Shang-di did not pay attention to Gong-gun's requests, and this caused the latter's displeasure: Gong-gun decided to plot intrigues wherever possible. He tried so hard that the water flooded Kunsan, near the present city of Qufu, Shandong Province, i.e. the easternmost tip of China. So, the entire Central Plain turned into a huge lake that reached the extreme east of China. People experienced the wrath of the water god, many of them turned into fish and shrimp because of the flood. Yu, seeing the atrocities of Gong-gun and knowing that nothing can be achieved by exhortations, decided to use force. In order to pacify the waters faster, it was necessary to stop their rise and kill the evil demon. Yu decided to fight Gong-gun.

Was this battle fierce? There are no descriptions of it in ancient books, therefore we cannot say anything. Only one legend says that Yu gathered all the gods before the battle at Mount Guiji. God Fangfeng-shi arrived later than the others and Yu killed him for not fulfilling his duty. Two thousand years later, during the Spring and Autumn period, Fu-cha, the prince of the Wu domain, attacked the principality of Yue, surrounded Guiji, where the Yue prince Gou-jian was located. The battle was so fierce that even the mountains were destroyed. In one of the destroyed mountains, a bone was found that did not resemble either a human or an animal bone. She was so huge that she could hardly fit on the cart. The wise Confucius was asked if he knew whose bone it was. The philosopher told this legend to everyone, and people learned that the found bone belonged to Fangfeng-shi. Yu, along with the deities of the entire Celestial Empire, wanted to deal with Gun-gun. One can imagine the strength and power Yu possessed. It is clear that Gun-gun could not compete with him and soon turned to flight.

According to legend, Mount Guiji used to be called Reed Mountain. Yu conferred on this mountain with the gods about the battle with Gong-gun and the pacification of the flood, so she was called Guiji, which means "gather in council." But Fangfeng-shi, with his arrogant and swaggering disposition, did not fulfill his obligations and paid for it. In subsequent times, the people of Yue (modern Zhejiang Province) retained their ancient customs. Every year at a certain time, sacrifices were made in honor of the god Fangfeng-shi, ancient melodies were played, three-chi long bamboo pipes were blown, which emitted howling sounds. To the rhythm of howling music in the sacred temple, three people with flowing long hair danced.

After Gong-gun fled, Yu was able to get to work. He acted smarter than his father. With the help of a sijan, he built dams to block the way for water. He ordered a large black tortoise to follow him with a seat on his back. So he blocked the deepest streams and expanded the areas of land on which people could live. Where the embankments were highest, four famous mountains were formed, which still exist today. Yu laid more rivers and canals. He ordered Ying-long to crawl so that his tail dragged along the ground. In the direction indicated by the tail of Ying-long, rivers and canals broke through. The rivers reached the Eastern Ocean, they have survived to this day. Pacifying the flood, Yu reached the Yellow River. He stood on a high rock and watched the strength of the current, and suddenly he saw a long creature with a white face and the body of a fish, diving in the waves. The creature was called a river spirit. It was, of course, He-bo. He gave Yu a wet green stone, then turned and disappeared into the waves. Yu carefully examined the stone. On its surface, some kind of thin, like a thread, pattern was applied with curved lines. Clever Yu did not have to turn to others for advice. He looked and immediately realized that the stone had a flood control plan. With the help of the footprints left by Ying-long's tail and the plan drawn on the stone, Yu fought the water. And so he was sure of success. Yu used not only the “map of rivers” applied to the stone. According to legend, he had another treasure - a jade plate.

Yu was making a passage through the Dragon Gate Mountain and accidentally entered a huge cave. It was very dark inside; the further Yu went, the darker it became, and soon it was impossible to take a single step. Yu lit the torch and walked forward. Suddenly he saw a flickering light, and this flickering filled the entire cave. He looked around carefully and noticed a large black snake ten zhangs long. She had horns on her head, and in her mouth she held "a pearl that shines in the night." The snake crawled ahead, showing Yu the way. Yu threw down the torch and followed black snake. After a while, he approached a lighted room that looked like a hall. People dressed in black robes crowded around a deity with a human face and a snake body, sitting in the center. Yu guessed who it was and asked: - Are you really Fu-si, son of Huaxu?

“Yes,” the god replied, “I am Fu-si, the son of the goddess of the nine rivers Huaxu.

They felt sympathy for each other. Fu-hsi also had a flood. Therefore, he expressed deep respect for Yuyu, who did a great job, and wanted to help him. Fu-hsi pulled out a jade plate from his bosom and presented it to Yuyu. In shape, it resembled a bamboo plank one chi and two cun long. Fu-hsi explained that it could measure heaven and earth. After this meeting, Yu always carried a plate with him to strengthen the earth and pacify the water.

According to legend, the Dragon Gate Mountain was once large and connected to Mount Luilian. It was located on the border of the current provinces of Shaanxi and Shanxi and blocked the Huang He road, so that the river could not flow further and turned back. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the god of waters flooded Mount Myn-mynypan in upstream rivers. Yu laid the channel of the Yellow River from the Mountain of Stone Heaps - Jipsch (in modern Qinghai Province) and, having reached this place, with the help of his supernatural power, he divided the mountain into two parts so that the river flowed between two sheer cliffs resembling gate leaves. This place was called Longmen, which means "Dragon Gate". Now the water was falling from a sheer cliff and rushing in a stream. According to legend, sea and river fish gathered under these rocks and competed in high jumps. The one that jumped over the thresholds turned into a dragon and ascended to the sky. Fish that jumped low only broke their noses and returned empty-handed. They also said that in the vicinity of Longmen there was a Carp Stream - Liyujian, there were many carps in it. They came out of their holes and swam for three months against the current to Longmen. Those who managed to overcome the current became dragons, the losers filled their bumps and returned back.

A few hundred li downstream of the Dragon Gate was the Sanmenxia Gorge, the Three Gate Gorge. According to legend, Yu also cut the Sanmenxia. He parted the mountain that held back the river, the resulting branches flowed in three streams through the mountains. Each gate had its own name: "Gate of demons", "Gate of spirits" and "Gate of people". From the steep bank of the Yellow River you can see how the huge river carries its waves widely, and the farther to the east, the faster the current. In the Sanmenxia Gorge, the river is divided by two islands into three branches with a very fast current. Then these three streams, squeezed by rocks, again merge into one stream, which passes through a narrow gap no more than one hundred and twenty meters wide and fills the entire gorge with a roar. These lines describe the Sanmenxia. (A gigantic power plant is currently under construction in the gorge.) In the gorge, traces of Yu's struggle with the flood can still be seen. There are seven stone wells in the vicinity of the gorge. According to legend, Yu dug them to get water for drinking when he cut through the Sanmenxia Gorge. Therefore, the gorge is also called Qijingsanmen, which means "Gorge of seven wells and three gates." There are two large depressions in the rock at the Gate of Spirits, larger than the opening of the well, and in shape resembling the footprint of a horse's hoof. They are called Mativo - "Traces of horse hooves." According to legend, Yu rode a horse through the Sanmenxia, ​​paving Zhizhu, and these tracks were left by the front hooves of Yu's horse. Previously, the helmsmen, floating downstream, always made a stop at the temple, lit incense, praying to Yu; lit fireworks, ate and drank to the fullest. Only after that they began to rule the boat, an arrow flying between the rocks in a roaring and swift stream. Sometimes the boat crashed against the rocks in an instant. Therefore, the locals said: "You can never tell how many helmsmen are in Diantoujie (Maojindu), and you can constantly hear the wailing of widows." How much blood and tears of brave people of many generations are hidden in these words!

Pacifying the flood, Yu three times reached Mount Tongbo (in the southwest of the current Tongbo county, Henan Province). There is constantly blowing strong winds, thunder rumbled, stones rumbled, trees groaned, and Yu could not resist the elements. He knew that angry monsters and werewolves were to blame for all this, and called on the gods of the Celestial Empire to fight them. Those who did not really want to help, Yu imprisoned. With the joint efforts of the deities, they caught the uzhiqi monster between the Huaishui and Guoshui rivers. It was able to skillfully conduct conversations, it looked like a monkey, it had a white head and a green body, a high forehead and a low bridge of the nose, a hundred chi long, and the body was nimble and light. Even though it was caught, it jumped and jumped all the time, not for a moment remaining calm. Yu did not know what to do with him, and ordered the heavenly god Tong-luyu to pacify him. But he failed to tame the monster. Then Yu entrusted this to Umu-yu, but he also failed. Finally, Geng-chen was ordered to tame the monster. Many river and mountain spirits ran screaming to watch the spectacle. Geng-chen began to stab the monster with a large trident. It reconciled only after it received many wounds. Geng-chen chained the monster's neck and put a bell in its nose. It took place at the foot of the Turtle Mountain - Guishan in the current Huaiyin County of Jiangsu Province. From that time on, Yu's struggle with the flood went well and the Huai River could safely flow into the sea itself.

Yu, struggling with the flood, reached the Shaman Mountain - Wushan and the Triple Gorge - Sanxia. One of the dragons who laid the waterways made a mistake, laid the channel incorrectly and cut through the gorge. It turned out to be completely unnecessary. Yu got angry and executed the stupid dragon on a mountain cliff as a warning to others. Until now, in Wushan County, the names Tsokaixia - “Improperly laid gorge” and Zhanlongtai - “Terrace where the dragon was executed” have been preserved.

Yu made a feat. In this act, both deities and people helped him. God Bo-i especially tried. He was a descendant of a deity - a swallow, and maybe he himself was a swallow. Bo-i often brought people with him, lit torches, burned bushes that had grown after the flood, and chased away wild animals so that the people could work in peace. He knew the habits and understood the language of animals and birds. After pacifying the flood, Bo-yi helped Shun to tame birds and animals, and many of them were tamed by him. The ruler Shun was very pleased with him, gave him a girl from the Yao clan as his wife and granted him the surname Ying. According to legend, Bo-yi was the ancestor of the princes of the Qin kingdom. He gave birth to two sons, one of them was called Da-lian, the other - Zhu-mu.

Da-lian was also called Nyaosu-shi. His descendants Men-si and Zhong-yan spoke human language, but their bodies were birdlike. This proves that they were descendants of a deity.

Interactive. Nine tailed fox. Bride. Country section.

1. nine-tailed white fox- a symbol of happiness. Yu marries a girl from the Tushan clan. A bear under the Sgoanyo-anshan mountain and a stone under the Songgaoshan mountain. Yu travels around the Nine Limits and ten thousand countries. Village of the immortals in the Far North. Yu kills the nine-headed xianlu monster. Dan-zhang and Shu-hai measure the surface of the earth.

Yu always calmed the waters and therefore remained unmarried by the age of thirty. One day, passing by Mount Tushan (in the northwest of present-day Shaoxing County, Zhejiang Province), he thought: “I’m already quite old, is there something waiting for me in the future?” Just at that time, a white nine-tailed fox ran past him, waving his tails, fluffy like brooms. The nine-tailed fox came from the country of Qing-qiu, which is not far from the eastern Country of Nobles. Such a fox, like the dragon, phoenix and qilin, brought happiness. As soon as Yu saw this fox, he immediately remembered the famous folk song. Its meaning was as follows: “Whoever sees a nine-tailed fox will become a ruler, whoever marries a girl from Tushan will have a happy family.” Yu thought, “I saw a nine-tailed fox. Maybe what is said in the song will come true, and I'm getting married here, in Tushan?

In Tushan lived a very graceful and beautiful girl named Nu-chiao. He immediately liked her very much, and he decided to take her as his wife. But he did not have time to tell her about his feelings, as he hurried south to fight the flood. Nu-jiao found out that Yu loved her, and also burned with love for the great hero, who was revered by all people. She sent a maid to the southern slope of Tushan to await Yu's return. Nu-jiao waited for a long time, but Yu did not return. In anguish and sadness, she composed the song “Oh, how long I have been waiting for my beloved!”

According to legend, this is the earliest southern song. She is said to be the origin of the song "Enjoy, but do not lose measure" in the section "Morals of the Realms" in the "Book of Songs". But is it so, it is difficult to say.

Having finished fighting the flood in the south, Yu returned. The maid Nu-jiao met Yu on the southern slope of the mountain and informed him of the ardent love of her mistress. Everything the maid had passed on was familiar to Yu. He wanted to say the same words to Nu-chiao. They felt deeply mutual love, understood each other well, complex ceremonies and rituals were not needed for them, and they soon got married in Tai-san.

Already four days after his marriage, Yu left his young wife to continue fighting the flood. He sent Nujiao to his capital, Anyi (northwest of the current Jiesian County, Shanxi Province). Nu-jiao could not get used to life in the capital and constantly dreamed of her native land. Yu, learning about her sadness, decided to take care of his young wife. He ordered the construction of a tower south of Anya. Nu-jiao could look alone and longingly from the top of the tower at a distant house located several thousand li away. The foundation of the tower has survived to this day, - so the rumor goes.

But Nu-jiao's sadness for his home and his beloved grew stronger every day. When Yu returned home for a short time, Nu-jao decided to ask him for permission to follow him. Yui had to reluctantly agree.

Flood control took place near Huanyuan Mountain (southeast of present-day Yanypi County, Henan Province). The mountain was very steep and precipitous. The mountain roads were crooked and winding. A stream was breaking through the mountain. Yu said to his wife:

“The work here is not easy, and you have to make every effort to do it. I will hang a drum on the mountainside. As soon as you hear the sound of the drum, bring me food.

“Very well,” said Nu-jao.

Yu waited until his wife left, swayed from side to side, turned into a black bear, overgrown with wool, and began to punch a passage in the mountain with all his bearish strength. He worked so hard with his mouth and all four paws that the stones flew in all directions. One stone thrown by a bear accidentally hit a drum hanging at the edge of a cliff. Yu's wife heard the sound of the drum and quickly prepared a breakfast basket for her husband. Yu continued to work, not paying attention to what was happening around, forgetting about his terrible appearance. The wife saw a bear - it never occurred to her that it was her husband, she was frightened, screamed, threw a basket of food and ran away. Hearing his wife scream, Yu stopped working and rushed after her to explain everything to her. She got scared and ran even faster. So they ran one after another to the foot of Mount Songgao (now it is called Song-shan in the northern part of Dengfeng County, Henan Province). Further, Nu-jiao could not run and turned into stone. Yu got angry when he saw this transformation, and, turning to the stone, shouted loudly:

Give back my son!

A piece of stone facing north fell off, and a boy named Qi appeared to Yuyu. The word "qi" means "to split".

Yu, pacifying the flood, went around the Nine regions and all the countries of the Celestial Empire. In the east he came to Fumu, or Fusan, the place where the sun rises. He reached Jiujin - Nine swamps, and the Wasteland of dark sheep - Qingqiang, where he bathed in sparkling rays rising sun. He was also in Zanypuso, where the trees, like clouds, obscured the sky; on Mount Mentianshan, from where, having climbed to the top, one could touch the sky with his hand. He reached the Land of the Black-toothed - Hei-chigo, the Valley of Birds - Nyaogusyan and the Blue Hills - Qingqiu-xian, where nine-tailed foxes were found. In the south, he reached Jiaozhi - today's Vietnam. He also visited the countries of Sunpu and Xuyman, the mountains of Dansu, Qishu, Foshuipiaopiao, Jiuyang. Already by the names you can see what it was hot climate(foshuipiaopiao means "boiling water", juyang - "nine suns"). He visited the Land of the Winged, the Land of the Naked, the Land of the Undying. Tradition says that Yu, having arrived in the Land of the Naked, took off his clothes and entered the country naked; put on clothes just after leaving this country. So he showed his respect for the mores and customs of other countries. In the west, he reached the Mountain of Three Dangers - Sanweishan, the abode of Xi-wang-mu and her three birds. He went to golden mountain- Ji-jinypan, to the Mountain of shamans - Wushan, where the soul of Yao-ji, the daughter of the ruler of Yan-di, resided. The spirit of Yao-chi caused clouds and rain. Yu visited the Land of people with one arm and three bodies, reached the abode of the celestials, who ate only dew and air. In the north, he visited the Country of True People, the Country of Dogheads, the country of Kuafu, the Jishui-Water and Jishi-Stone Mountains. He was at the Xiahai Sea and Hengshan Mountain. It is impossible to establish exactly where these places are. One can only assume that they were in the desert areas of the far north. He met with Yu-qiang - the deity of the wind. Yu-qiang was at the same time the god of the North Sea, with a human face and a bird's body.

After meeting Yu-qiang in the North Sea, Yu decided to return home. But in the desert snowy plain he lost his way and went further north. He walked for a long time and suddenly began to notice that in front of him was an unusual area. He saw only the high bare crest of the mountain. On its top there was not a tree, not even a blade of grass, and neither birds nor animals could be seen. Yu was surprised, climbed to the top of the mountain to survey the surroundings. Behind the mountain lay a flat, bare plain. A whole web of small, winding streams intertwined on it. Men and women, old and young, lay and sat along the banks of the streams.

Some of them sang, others danced, others drank handfuls of water from streams. Some people drank water, standing right in the stream. It was seen how some, staggering and tipsy, fell to the ground and fell asleep, lying face up, in a dead sleep, not knowing worldly worries. People continued to sing, dance and play, everyone had fun as they wanted, and no one paid attention to those who were drunk.

Surprised, Yu went down the mountain to get acquainted with the local customs. He learned that this is the Country of the Far North - Zhongbei. Its outlines resembled a millstone. The low hills that surrounded it served as the natural borders of the country. In the center of the country there was a mountain-vessel - Khulin. It looked like a huge jug for pickling or rinsing vegetables. A stream flowed from this huge mountain, dividing into many streams on the plain. The stream was called Shenfen - Divine Moisture. The water in it was fragrant, sweet and had another precious quality - you could get enough of it. A few sips of water from the stream quenched hunger and thirst. If you drink more, you will get drunk and you will sleep soundly for ten days. It was neither too hot nor too cold, there was no wind, no rain, no hoarfrost, no snow. The whole year was like an eternal spring day. People there didn't care about clothes or food. No one weaved or plowed the earth. People did not work, and no one oppressed anyone. Everyone led a joyful and carefree life: they ate, slept, after waking up they ate again. Lived there for a hundred years. One had only to step foot, as a person from there could get to heaven. The hospitable people invited Yu, who had come to them, to drink from the Shenfen stream. Yu tasted the famous drink and found it very pleasant. But he did not finish pacifying the flood and worried about his people suffering from water and fire. Life in the Land of the Far North was joyful, but how could Yu stay there? In less than two days, he said goodbye to these ordinary people and went to his home.

Working tirelessly, Yu finally overcame the flood. The waters subsided, but there were still many other things to do. Gong-gong's attendant, expelled by Yu, was an insatiable monster with a serpentine body and nine heads. His name was Xiangliu. With nine heads he grabbed food from nine mountains. The most terrible thing was that as soon as he sneezed, a large lake appeared. The water in it was unpleasant and bitter. People who drank this water could die, animals and birds could not live nearby. After pacifying the flood, Yu, using his miraculous power, killed Xiangliu. The people were delivered from another evil. Stinking blood flowed from the corpse of a huge nine-headed monster. Where she got, cereals could not grow. A lot more liquid poured out of the monster with such an unpleasant smell that it was impossible to live nearby. Yu threw earth into the water. He did this three times, but all three times the water seeped out again. Then Yu decided to leave the lake there, but built a tower to crush the evil spirits. This tower was located on the northern slope of Mount Kunlun.

After pacifying the flood, Yu decided to measure the surface of the earth. He ordered his henchmen, the gods Da-zhang and Shu-hai, to do this. One walked from east to west and counted two hundred million thirty-three thousand five hundred and seventy-five steps, the other walked from west to east and counted the same number, neither one step more nor one step less. Thus, the land we live on in Yu's time was square, like a piece of bean curd. Deeps and lakes larger than three hundred jen numbered two hundred million thirty-three thousand five hundred and fifty-nine. To fill them up, Yu used sizhan. In some places he poured a surplus, and the famous mountains formed there. There are several phrases about Shu-hai in The Book of Mountains and Seas. It says that when Yu ordered Shu-hai to measure the ground, Shu-hai had in his right hand bamboo planks about six cun long, called "counting boards." By them he kept count, and with his left hand he pointed to the north of the Land of green hills.

Nine tripods. Continuation of the myth. Yuya's death.

1. The heavenly ruler gives Yu a wand and a magical horse. Yu smelts nine tripods to teach people to recognize evil and evil spirits. How the first Qin emperor caught a precious tripod in the Sishui River. Yu was tired, pacifying the flood. Yuya's death. Where the sizhan crumbled. Yuya's leftovers.

After the flood was pacified, people began to live happily and calmly, and everyone thanked Yu for his exploits. The rulers of all countries respected and revered him, and everyone wanted him to become emperor. Ruler Shun decided to cede the throne to Yu for his merit. Before leaving, he gave Yuya a piece of black jade as a reward for his diligence. The upper part of the jade was square, and the lower part was round, it was called yuan-gui. It is also said that jade was a gift from the heavenly emperor to Yu. Pacifying the flood, Yu reached the western Taoshui River and met a giant there who gave him this jade. Some argue that the giant was probably Chang-cheng, the spirit of Mount Yingmu, near the Shifting Sands. The deity looked like a man, but he had a long tail of a leopard. It was the embodiment of the nine heavenly virtues and therefore had the right, like the heavenly ruler, to give Yu a jade yuan-gui. Judging by these two legends, it is obvious that Shun was the celestial ruler. Yu had a magical horse named Feitu. He could ride thirty thousand li in one day. The horse was subdued by his virtue and he himself appeared in the palace and began to serve him. According to legend, Yu had another animal - Jueti. It used to belong to Howe. Jueti, probably, was also intended for riding, riding. Later, "Feitu" and "Jueti" became common nouns for good horses. The heavenly ruler, as a token of sympathy, presented Yu with these two marvelous horses that came without a call. Yu rode horses, trying to quickly pacify the flood, and the number of his immortal deeds constantly grew. One legend says that the supreme ruler gave Yu the heavenly maiden Sheng-gu so that she would take care of him in old age.

Having become emperor, Yu collected all the bronze and metal presented to him by the rulers of the Nine Limits, and at the foot of Mount Jinshan, where Huangdi once made a tripod, he also cast nine huge tripods. Some said that only ninety thousand people could move one tripod. On the tripods were depicted evil spirits and evil spirits from all over the world. People who have seen images of demons would have been more careful when meeting with evil spirits. Travelers in the forests and on the lakes, having met with werewolves-trees, spirit-stones and other evil forces, could avoid misfortune. Nine tripods were placed in front of the palace gates for everyone to look at. They became like helpers for people, very useful when traveling.

Yu spent half his life struggling with the elements, he traveled the whole country, climbing mountains and fording rivers. He saw that there were a lot of spirits, werewolves and other evil spirits there, and he knew how difficult it was for people to fight them on long journeys. But Yu was a heavenly deity, so he himself easily coped with evil spirits. If people did not know anything about spirits, then they would die when they met with them. Yu, taking care of the people, came up with the idea of ​​placing on a tripod an image of all the spirits in the world. As soon as people looked at them, they already knew in which direction which werewolves live.

Going to travel, people took amulets with them just in case. Yu made tripods not for decoration, but to teach people to recognize evil spirits. Then the tripods passed from one dynasty to another: from Xia to Yin, from Yin to the Zhou dynasty. Gradually, their significance as pointers for travelers faded away. The emperors hid tripods in treasuries, they were inherited and became an empty palace decoration.

The nine sacred tripods aroused great curiosity among various ambitious people. During the Spring and Autumn times, the Chu prince Zhuang-wang attacked the Luhun Jungs with an army and reached the capital of the Chou emperors - Loi. Zhou Ding-wang sent official Wang Sun-man on a courtesy call to Chuang-wang. At the feast, the Chuan-wang asked about the size and weight of the tripods. The resourceful Wang Sun-man sarcastically remarked in a conversation:

“All strength is in virtue, not in tripods.

The ambitious and recalcitrant Zhuang-wang had to return home without salty slurping. At the end of the Warring States period, the Qin prince Zhaoshan-wang attacked Western Zhou and took to Qin the sacred tripods that Chu Zhuang-wang had once dreamed of. Due to the fact that a crowd of people dragged them on their shoulders, lifted them on poles, groaned and sighed, calling to the sky, one of the tripods went up in the middle of the path, flew to the Sishui River (currently in the province of Shan-tung and Jiangsu) , fell into the river and disappeared. Of the nine captured tripods, eight remained.

Subsequently, the great-grandson of the Zhao Xiang-wang - Qin shi-huang - captured six kingdoms and became the emperor of all China. One day he went to East Coast to look for immortals, and, not finding them, returned through Pengcheng. He remembered the tripod that sank in the Sishui River, and sent thousands of people to look for it, but they could not pull it out. Subsequently, the remaining eight tripods disappeared to no one knows where. On the reliefs of the Wuliang Temple in Jiaxang County, Shandong Province, you can see a vivid image of how the Qin emperor forced people to pull a tripod from the river. The image shows how many people from and under the bridge are pulling it out of the water with tension. A dragon emerges from a tripod that has appeared above the water. Stretching out his head, he bites the rope, people fall on top of each other, and the tripod sinks into the water again. The relief just depicts the moment of the rope breaking. The captured scene reflected the dissatisfaction of the people of the Han period with the cruelties of Qin Shi Huang, ridiculed his desire to acquire a symbol of power, which he nevertheless lost. Yu, who made a tripod so that people could recognize evil spirits, could not even assume that tripods would become a symbol of imperial power.

The following was also told about Yuya among the people. While pacifying the flood, Yu himself worked with a basket and a shovel. He walked ahead, ignoring the wind and rain, and led all the people behind him. He cleared rivers, laid channels, and finally defeated the flood that caused so many troubles to people. In total, Yu was away from home for thirteen years. Many times he passed by, heard children crying, but he could not enter because he was busy. Hard calluses formed on his hands and feet, his nails were polished to a shine, and not a single hair grew on his legs and chest. He was not yet old, but looked haggard from working in dampness and fumes. Yu could hardly walk along the road, he limped and his legs wobbled. He seemed to be jumping up and down or dancing like a shaman during a ritual. For many years the sun burned and the wind swept over him, his skin turned black. He was thin, with a long neck and a hollow mouth. In appearance, he could not be mistaken for an emperor. But was there at least one person in the Celestial Empire in all subsequent times who would not praise Yuyu?

Some even said:

“If it wasn’t for Yu, we would all probably have turned into fish and shrimp.”

Yu with his deeds won the love and respect of people, and how can a few jings of bronze embody "imperial rights"? Myths and traditions about the capture of tripods and their loss have nothing to do with Yuyu. They clearly express mockery of the worthless activities of tyrants.

Having become the ruler, Yu did a lot of useful things for the people. One day he went south to inspect the property. Having reached Guiji (the place where he gathered the gods of the Celestial Empire for advice and married Nui-jiao), he fell ill and died. They buried him there. Some said that Yu did not die; only his corpse remained on earth, and he himself ascended to heaven and, as before, became a deity. Be that as it may, in subsequent times, a large cave could be seen on Mount Guiji, which was called Yu Cave. Folk tradition tells that Yu entered this cave. It is also said that birds constantly flew to the place where Yuya's grave was located in order to pull out weed grass with the roots in spring, and peck seeds in autumn. Another amazing legend says that the birds that destroyed weeds near Yu's grave "lined up in height, there was a strict order in their behavior and they flew in at a certain time."

According to legend, Gun and Yu, fighting the flood, did not use all the sijan. IN various parts China - in Hubei, Hunan, Anhui, in Sichuan - there are pieces of it left.

Most of these legends have become real "myths", mixed with superstitions and therefore they are not worth mentioning. Let's just say that among the medicinal herbs there was one curious plant. It was called Yuya's leftovers. According to legend, once during the fight against the flood, Yu threw half-eaten leftover food into the river, they germinated and turned into a plant that grows in ponds or crevices of stones. From this herb, a fine yellowish powder, similar to flour, is obtained. The medicine is also called "tai-i leftovers" and is used for bleeding. There is another plant - tszyzhangu, growing on sandy soil on the seashore. Its fruits taste like wheat. They ripen in the seventh month and are also called Yu's leftovers.

1. The rulers of Can-tsun and Yu-fu. An amazing corpse swimming against the current. Be-lin pacifies the flood. The legend of how the ruler of Van Di turned into a bird. Golden bulls, strong men and beautiful girls. Li Win destroys the water dragon. About the deity Erlan. Luxurious sacrifices held by the people in honor of Li Win and his son.

In the state of Shu, in addition to the myths about the exploits of Gong and Yu, in ancient times there was a legend about the miraculous transformation of the ruler Wang Di into a bird and about the struggle of Li Ving and his son with a flood. Here are the legends.

In the country of Shu in ancient times, the first famous ruler - van was Ts'an-tsun (Ts'an - lit.: "(silkworm", tsun - "thickets"). He taught people to engage in sericulture. This is confirmed by the fact that in ancient times sericulture was developed in Sichuan. In those days, the people lived very simply, people did not have permanent housing, and they wandered along with their ruler. In the new place, Tsan-tsun immediately arranged a bazaar, where traded silk cocoons. The relatives of Ts'an-tsun had one peculiarity: their eyes were located not horizontally, but vertically. After the death of Ts'an-tsun, they were buried in a stone coffin. tsuna, the country of Shu was ruled by Bo-guan, after him by Yu-fu.Tso, according to legend, the capital founded by Yu-fu, was first in Qu-shan (now Shuangliu County, Sichuan Province), and then it was transferred to Pi (now the county Pixian, Sichuan Province). While hunting in Jianynan Mountains (Guanxian County, Sichuan Province), Yu-fu ascended to heaven and became a celestial being.

Many years passed after Yu-fu's ascension to heaven, and then one day a man named Du-yu descended from the sky and ended up in the area of ​​Chuti (southwest of Yibin County, Sichuan Province). There he met a girl named Li, who had just emerged from a coastal well. These two wonderful creatures created by heaven got married. Du-yu declared himself the ruler of Shu under the name Wang-di and again made Pi the capital.

During his reign, Wang Di took care of the people. He taught people to sow crops on time, convincing them of the need to strictly adhere to the seasons and not be late with work in the fields. At that time, floods were very frequent in the state of Shu. Although Wang Di felt sorry for the people who suffered from the spills, he did not know how to deal with this evil.

Somehow, people saw that the body of a man was floating against the current along the river. It seemed strange to everyone that the body was not swimming with the flow, but against it, and they caught it. To everyone's surprise, he came to life and said that he was a native of the Chu kingdom, and his name was Be-lin. He stumbled, fell into the water and swam from Chu to this place. Probably, relatives and friends are already looking for him everywhere. Wang Di heard that the river brought an unusual person. It seemed to him very strange, and he ordered to bring him to him. When they met, they liked each other. Wang Di realized that Be-ling is not just very clever man but he knows the nature of water very well. In the kingdom of Shu in those days there were constant floods. Therefore, Wang Di decided to use this man and appointed him as the first minister in Shu.

Shortly after Be-lin's appointment, a great flood broke out. The accumulated water could not pass through the Yulei Mountains (currently the Yushan Mountains in Guanxiang County, Sichuan Province) and burst out. This flood was almost as big as in Yao's time. People drowning in the waves experienced every torment imaginable. Wang Di called Be-lin for help. He showed all his talent. By his order, people in the Yushan mountains made a through passage to divert water into the bed of the Min-jiang River and pour it in numerous streams throughout the plain. The threat of flooding passed, and the people began to live a quiet life again. There is another version, which says that Be-ling made a passage not in the Yushan mountains, but in the Wushan mountains. The gorge in the Wushan mountains was too narrow, and the accumulated waters of the Yangtze caused a huge flood in Shu. It subsided only after Be-lin had punched a passage in the Wushan mountains. As a reward for his services, Wang Di gave him the throne. Be-ling declared himself Emperor Kaimin-di. His name was also Tsun-di. Wang Di himself retired to the Xishan mountains and began to live there in seclusion. These events took place in the second month of spring, when the cuckoo cuckooed in the fields. People remembered their former ruler and became sad when they heard the cuckoo crying plaintively.

Why did people, listening to the cuckoo, begin to feel sad? There are two different stories about this. The first says that while Be-lin pacified the flood, Wang-di entered into a secret relationship with his wife. When Be-lin returned, Wang Di felt remorse, fled to the remote mountains and retired there. After Wang Di's death, his soul turned into a cuckoo. Despite his bad deed, he was still a good ruler who loved the people. Therefore, people, hearing the cuckooing, remember Van Di and feel sad.

Another legend says: “Once upon a time, the cuckoo did not cuckoo, but only sometimes made some sounds. They weren't sad. Du-yu decided to cede his throne to Be-lin, and he retired to the mountains. Be-lin, taking advantage of the opportunity, captured his wife. Du-yu in the mountains found out about this, but he could not do anything, he could only grieve and cry for days on end. Before his death, Du-yu poured out his complaints to the cuckoo on Xishan, saying:

“Cuckoo, let people hear about Du Yu's suffering.

After that, the cuckoo flew away to the kingdom of Shu, where it cried and mourned for days and nights so that blood came out of its beak.

The contents of these stories differ. The first legend is more ancient, the last one is probably based on the poems of the Tang poet Li Shang-yin “Wang-di pours out his feelings to the cuckoo in spring”. But both legends tell of a dispute between Du-yu and Be-lin, which arose because of love. Both legends indicate that Be-lin was the winner. Everyone had sympathy for the unfortunate Van Di, who was defeated.

There are two legends about Wang Di who turned into a bird in the villages. The peasants of the village of Cuckoo - Dujuan-cun - Pixian County say: "The cuckoo is the embodiment of the Cuckoo Prince, who compiled the calendar." They believe that the Cuckoo Prince is Wang Di, or Du Yu. They say that Wang Di took care of the people and taught people to engage in arable farming. After his death, he continued to worry about the people, and therefore his soul turned into a cuckoo. Every time the feast of remembrance comes, or the season of grain rains, or the "beginning of summer", or "little abundance", etc., the cuckoo flies among the fields and crows. People, hearing her cuckooing, say: “This is our Van Di cuckoo”, and begin to urge each other: “It's time, hurry up to sow” or “It's time, plant seedlings as soon as possible”. This bird is also called duyui, vandi, or "a bird that hurries to plow", or "a bird that hurries to work."

Du-yu ceded the throne to Be-lin. The latter was succeeded by his sons and grandsons, and thus twelve generations passed before Emperor Kai-ming. Kai-ming changed the title di - "emperor" to the title "wang" - "prince" and moved the capital from Pi to Chengdu. At that time, the powerful state of Qin decided to subjugate the kingdom of Shu. But Shu was mountainous and impregnable. And then the insidious Qin prince Hui-wang went to the trick. He ordered the construction of five stone bulls and ordered to put heaps of gold under them every day. Then he spread false rumors that these bulls were magical and that heaps of gold were scooped out from under them every day. Rumors also reached the ears of Prince Shu. The greedy ruler wanted to take possession of the bulls and sent an official to ask Hui-wang for them. Hui-wang was very pleased and readily agreed. Now we had to figure out how to lead these big and heavy bulls through the mountains. At that time, five mighty bogatyrs, nicknamed the Five Fellows, lived in Shu. They were apparently brothers. Lord Shu ordered the Five Men to build a road through the mountains. And they built the Golden Bull Road. Five stone bulls were transported along it, assuming that they were full of gold. Having received the bulls and making sure that they did not give gold, the ruler of Shu became angry, but he could not do anything and he had to return them back with abusive words against the Qin people - “eastern shepherds”. The people of Qin, hearing these words, laughed and said in response:

“Although we are shepherds, we will only calm down when we capture the kingdom of Shu.

Qin Hui-wang knew that the ruler of Shu was not only greedy, but also very voluptuous. It was still not easy to attack Shu even though the Golden Bull Road had been built. Hui-wang decided to deceive the ruler of Shu once again. He sent an official to Shu with instructions to tell the ruler that there were five girls in Qin famous for their beauty, and that he wanted to give them to the ruler. As soon as the ruler found out that beautiful girls were given to him, he forgot the old enmity and again fell into the trap. He ordered the Five Men to go to Qin and bring back these famous beauties. Five fellows, having received a command, went to Qin, took the girls with them and set off on their way back. They reached Zitong and then saw a huge snake crawling into the cave. One of them grabbed the snake by the tail and began to pull it out with all his might in order to kill and save people from evil. The snake turned out to be very strong, and one person could not cope with it. Then all five brothers began to pull out the snake with loud cries, which gradually began to crawl out of the cave. The brothers were very happy, but suddenly a miracle happened. There was a terrifying roar, the earth trembled, mountains collapsed, and everything around was covered with dust. Five fellows who tried to save the people from evil, and five beauties, whom they carried from Qin, were crushed to death. big mountain divided into five separate rocks. At the top of each rock lay a flat stone, which served as a tombstone for every young man. The ruler of Shu, upon hearing of this accident, was extremely distressed and upset. He grieved not for the death of the brave, but for the fact that he did not manage to enjoy the beauties. He climbed these mountains, grieved for the loss, and ordered that these five mountains be called the Tombs of the Five Wives. On the peaks, he built gazebos called "Dreams of Wives" and "Thoughts of Wives" and completely forgot about the Five fellows who faithfully served him. But the people did not forget them and, discarding all these “dreams and thoughts about wives”, called the mountains the Graves of the Five Fellows.

As soon as the Qin Hui-wang heard about the death of the Five Fellows and about the sorrow of the ruler Shu, he rejoiced, since Shu no longer inspired fear in him. Soon, along the Golden Bull Road, he sent a large army to attack Shu, killed the ruler, and quickly conquered the entire country. The cuckoo, in which the soul of Wang Di reincarnated, saw with her own eyes the death of her native kingdom, but could not do anything and became even more sad. Only in spring, when peaches and plums bloom, with a spring wind and a bright moon, you can hear the cuckoo:

- It would be better to return! It would be better to come back!

The people of Shu hear this cuckooing and know that their former ruler, Wang Di, is worried about his native land.

The myth of how Emperor Wang Di turned into a bird can still be heard in Sichuan.

In ancient times, a hideous dragon lived in the Minjiang River. Every year, when the grain ripened, he caused a flood, forced people to flee, and he himself ate crops and livestock.

The dragon had a younger sister, kind and sympathetic. She could no longer look at the suffering of the people and swam downstream to Jiading. With her magical power, she parted the closed mountains so that streams of water could pass through the hole. The evil dragon found out about her sister's deed, drove her to the Mountain of Five Tigers and locked her in an iron cage. And he still continued to boil the waters and harm people.

At that time there lived a young hunter named Du-yu. He saw how people suffered from floods, and decided to help people by all means. Everywhere he asked everyone how to tame the waters. Once in the mountains he met an old man and said: “If you want to calm the waters, first kill the evil dragon, then go to the mountains and save his sister, and only then will you know what to do next.” He gave the young man his bamboo staff and immediately disappeared.

The hunter took a stick and went to fight the dragon. He beat him so hard that the monster gave up his last breath and was left lying on the sandbar. Then Du-yu went to the Mountain of Five Tigers and freed the dragon's sister. She rejoiced at his desire to save people and began to help pacify the waters. People, in gratitude for their merits, made Du-yu their ruler, and the dragon's sister became his wife.

Du-yu had one treacherous dignitary, with whom they used to hunt together. When Du-yu became the ruler and received a good and beautiful sister dragon, he began to envy him and think about how to seize the throne and take his beautiful wife.

Somehow this scoundrel went to the mountains to hunt, he looks - and in front of him is an evil dragon who crawled into the mountains to heal his wounds. Without thinking twice, he conspired with the dragon, returned home and said to Du-yu:

- The evil dragon wants to make peace with both of you, he calls you for a few days in the mountains to have fun.

The dragon's sister understood that her brother was up to something, and tried her best to dissuade her husband, but he, a simple-hearted man, wanted to make peace with the dragon and went alone to the mountains.

As soon as the hunter appeared in the mountains, the dragon immediately grabbed him and locked him in an iron cage. And the worthless dignitary, when he found out that Du-yu was captured, immediately took possession of the throne and tried to persuade the dragon's sister to marry him. But she swore that she would rather die than submit to him. And he imprisoned her in a dark dungeon.

And Du-yu in an iron cage thought about people, remembered his beloved wife, and so he died of grief. His soul turned into a small bird, fluttered out of the cage, flew to his native country, began to circle near the dungeon where the dragon's sister was sitting, and sadly screamed:

– Gui Wen Yang, Gui Wen Yang! Returned to the south bank of the Wen River! Returned to the south bank of the Wen River!

“And here is the southern shore of Wen,” the woman thought. “No other way than my husband died, and his soul returned in the form of a bird,” she cries so sadly. She turned around and said:

- If you are my beloved, sit on my head.

The bird flew up to her and perched on her hair. The dragon's sister realized that she was not mistaken, and wept bitterly.

So she grieved and was hurt that she soon died of grief. Her soul turned into a bird and they both flew away together.

Although the current story of how Wang Di turned into a bird differs significantly from the version recorded in ancient books, it is noticeable that it developed from the ancient one, and traces of this evolution can be found.

The state of Shu perished; fortunately, the people did not have to suffer much suffering. Soon, during the reign of Qin Zhao-wang, a man named Li Bing became the ruler. Like Wang Di, he took great care of the people and immediately after arriving in Shu did a lot of useful things. His most important act was flood control. Li Bing used river water for irrigation. He managed to irrigate ten thousand qing of peasant land. People from generation to generation enjoyed this boon of Li Bing.

The legend says that when Li Bing took over the administration of the Shu region, the god of the Yangtze chose two young girls to be his wife every year. He was voluptuous and greedy, like He-bo. If he did not like something, he raised huge waves to the sky, causing a flood. People had a very hard life. Every year, according to custom, it was necessary to give money to the organizers of the wedding and choose girls for the voluptuous river deity. Li Bing found out about the outrages of the merman and told the wedding organizers:

“There is no need to take money this year, I myself will send my daughters to the god of the Yangtze.

On the day of the wedding, Li Bing dressed up his two daughters magnificently and prepared to send them to the bottom. A throne for God was erected on the river bank, on the altar there were incense burners, wine and fruits. At the altar, a whole crowd of musicians, dressed in colorful clothes, beat drums and blew flutes, creating noise and fun. Li Bing with a full cup of wine went to the throne of God and, presenting the cup, said:

“I would be honored to get to know you better. O great god, lord of the river, please show your face so that I can offer you a cup of wine.

However, the throne remained empty and silent. Li Bing was silent for a moment and then said again:

- Once again, I ask you to drink a cup!

Then he raised his cup and emptied it in one gulp. In front of the throne, the bowls of wine remained full. Li Bing became angry and shouted loudly:

“Master of the river, if you despise people so much, I want to fight you not for life, but for death.

He pulled a sword from his belt and suddenly disappeared. The musicians stopped playing, and all the people crowded around were scared to death. In a moment, it became clear that two bulls were fighting furiously on a mountain cliff. Soon both bulls disappeared and Li Bing reappeared, sweat streaming down his face. Breathing heavily, he approached his subordinates and said:

- I fought with the deity and was very tired. I need your help, and then I can win. But look carefully. The bull with the white ribbon facing south is me.

He again turned into a gray bull and entered into a mortal battle on a cliff with a river god, who also turned into a gray bull. People ran to the cliff and with swords and spears began to strike at the bull without a white ribbon. And finally, the river god in the form of a bull was killed by the servants of Li Bing. So the people got rid of the threat of floods.

This tradition is relatively early. Later, a story appeared about how Li Bing, taking the form of a bull, plunged into the river to fight the dragon. But the deity in the form of a dragon suddenly soared up, and Li Bing failed. Then he went ashore, selected several hundred strong soldiers armed with bows and arrows, and said to them:

- As soon as I turn into a bull and enter into battle with the deity, the god will also turn into a bull. I will tie a white silk ribbon around my torso so that you can tell the difference!” me from the river god, and you beat the bull, which will not have a ribbon.

Li Bing yelled piercingly and rushed into the water. At the same moment, there were thunderclaps and the wind howled, the sky and the earth became the same color. When everything was quiet, it was clear that a fierce fight between two bulls was going on in the water. One had a long white ribbon hanging from its belly. The warriors began to shoot arrows at the bull without a ribbon, and the evil river deity was killed.

And now, at the western gate of the county town of Guanxian, there is the Tower of Fighting Cocks, which is also called the Tower of Fighting Rhinos, and this, apparently, is its real name. According to legend, here in ancient times, Li Bing ordered the army and people to take bows and help kill the evil dragon. A later tradition says that the deity of the Yangtze turned into a dragon.

According to some legends, the dragon was captured alive. People were afraid that he would act out of order, so they put him in iron chains and chained him to the passage that Li Bing cut to divert water. There was a deep pool in which all year round the water didn't dry out. After the dragon was imprisoned, the pool was called the Abyss of the Tamed Dragon.

Erlan-shen, widely known among the people, who was also called Guankou-Erlan, also fought against all evil spirits. According to legend, he was the second son of Li Bing (Erlan means "second son"). He was very fond of horseback riding, hunting and was unusually brave. Li Bing dressed up Erlan-shen as a girl, intending to send him and his daughter to the bottom to the river deity. Erlan-shen, along with his seven comrades, went down under the water to kill the dragon. The seven comrades were called the Seven Sages of Mount Meishan. Unfortunately, their names have not been preserved. They were probably famous hunters and lived in the mountains and forests. Only separate fragments of the myths about the deity Erlan are given here.

These myths are of later origin than the myths about Li Bing. But the connection between the myths of father and son definitely exists up to the Sung time.

The myth of how Li Bing fought the scaly dragon continued to evolve, and after the Song era gradually turned into a legend about how Erlan chained the evil dragon in chains. We know that Erlan is the second son of Li Bing, but no one has heard of his eldest son or third son (even if they are mentioned somewhere, it is noticeable that they are far-fetched, and not organically included in the legend). This glorious second son always acts alone. How did he get into the legend that developed from the myth? Here one can only speculate, such as the fact that this version is associated with an entry in the book “Description of Customs” (Fengsu Tong), which says that the god of the river - Jiang-shen - “every year demanded two girls for his wife” and Li Bing, "when the time came, dressed up his daughters to throw them into the river." At first, the storytellers told that Li Bing dressed up his daughters, as if he wanted to give them to the god of the river, and he himself conceived a trick. Subsequently, apparently feeling that it was too dangerous - the girls should not take part in a bloody battle - the two girls were turned into two sons, dressed up as beauties destined to be the wife of a deity. From here it is already one step to the fact that from the “two sons” a “second son” is obtained - a specific hero. The “Brief Biographies of Those Who Contributed to the Construction of the Dam in Dujiang” (author Qian Mao, presumably the second half of the 19th century) says: “The second son ... purposely dressed up as a beauty and was passed off as a scaly monster; everyone entered the temple and began to treat themselves to wine ... "Probably, the second son is the result of a rethinking of the expression" two sons ".

Li Bing tamed the river deity or, according to another version, chained the dragon. Then he made three stone statues in Baishaya, under the Tower of the Jasper Maiden, placed them in the middle of the river and agreed with its deity that during a drought the water in the river would not fall below the feet of these statues, and during a flood it would rise above their shoulders. . According to Li Bing's instructions, people wove bamboo baskets, loaded them with stones, and piled the stones across the river. So they built a large dam, which they called Jianyan or Jinti - Golden Dam. There were passages in the dam on the right and left, and the river was divided into the Pijiang and Jianjiang channels.

In ancient times, Shu County was a fertile and flourishing plain stretching for a thousand li. The plain resembled a web, so it was cut by streams. People were spared from floods and droughts, they irrigated the fields with water and did not know hunger. This place was called the Dried Sea or Heavenly District.

On the banks of the Yangtze, on the mountain, the people erected the Virtue Worship Temple to honor Li Bing and his son in fighting the flood. Every year at the end of spring and beginning of summer, when rice seedlings were finished planting, people from the surrounding counties lit candles in the temple and offered sacrifices to Prince Li. Sheep were sacrificed. Sometimes their number reached fifty thousand a year. Near the temple lived people who were engaged in slaughtering sacrificial animals. This allows you to judge the prosperity of the temple. People bowed before the courage and valor of the mythical Li Bing, and many named their sons Bing-er after him - the children of Bing. People always revere and love heroes who have services to the people.

Park address 大禹神话园

How to get there:Green metro line #4- Station Lan Jiang road 拦江路 - exit D - go straight along the road to a wide intersection, then turn left to the side

1. Historical records of the flood. Gun, pitiful people. Owl and turtle plan. Gun steals from the supreme lord of the sizhans in order to pacify the flood. The fire god Zhu-jun kills Gun. Birth of the horned dragon Yuya. Legends of Gunya's transformations. Gun goes to the west for treatment. Sighs of poets.

There were fewer and fewer people every day, and in places where the flood had not yet reached or from where it had temporarily receded, only wild animals and birds remained.

King Yao's heart burned with sadness. But he did not know how to save the people from grief. Yao gathered the governors of the four parts of the state and the specific princes and addressed them:

I ask you, what will happen to people if the current flood rises to the sky and floods the hills and mountains? The people will not even be able to drag out a miserable existence. Who will be able to tame the flood and save us from trouble?

We must call Gunya, and everything will be in order, - said the governors and princes.

Yao shook his head and protested:

I'm afraid that Gun will not cope. He considers only his own opinion, and the opinions of others do not exist for him.

Only he alone is suitable for this business, - the dignitaries answered.

Well, - Yao had to agree, - let Gun try.

Gunya was sent to fight the flood. For nine years, Gun tried to subdue the elements, but achieved nothing.

Why didn't Gunyu manage to pacify the flood? There are records of this in ancient books. Gun's character was bad, his actions were reckless and he did not know where to start. To protect against flooding, he poured earthen dams. But they did not stop the flood, the water spilled more and more and rose higher and higher. Gong failed. In the end, Yao (some believe that Shun) executed Gong on the Mountain of bird feathers - Yushan.

Shun, who ruled after Yao, ordered to pacify the flood to the son of Gun - Yu. Remembering his father's failure, Yu did not build dams, but broke through canals.

This method turned out to be successful - the water subsided, and the people got rid of suffering. After this, Shun ceded the throne to Yu, and Yu established the Xia Dynasty.

The historical traditions cited above differ in many ways from the myths about Guna and Yuya, which we will now tell.

It is likely that severe floods occurred in China in ancient times. In the inscriptions on the bones, the hieroglyph denoting the concept of “before” was depicted in this way: they painted the sun, and seething waves above or below it. It is obvious that in ancient times there was a terrible flood and people could not forget it. Flood legends exist among many peoples of the world.

Natural changes that took place in ancient times on the earth caused floods everywhere. The human race has preserved the memory of these floods up to our time. It is impossible to pinpoint exactly when the flood occurred. In Chinese history, it is said that the flood occurred during the period of Yao and Shun, i.e. over four thousand years ago. But whether it was so or not, it is difficult to say.

Without going into the details of this, let us now consider the myths about Guna and Yuya.

Who is Gong? According to historical records, Gun was a prince, his inheritance was in the area of ​​Chun (now the eastern part of Yunxian County, Shaanxi Province). Therefore, he was also called the Chun prince. In myths, Gun is depicted as a white horse, which was supposedly the grandson of the Yellow Emperor. His father's name was Lo-ming, and Lo-ming's father was Huangdi himself. We know that the Yellow Emperor was the celestial ruler, and therefore Gong was one of the supreme celestial deities.

The myths naively talk about the causes of the flood. It is believed that people on earth stopped believing in the righteous path, committed bad deeds and this caused the wrath of the heavenly ruler. As a warning, the heavenly ruler sent a flood upon them.

This myth is reminiscent of the “Creation of the World” section in the Old Testament, which says that Jehovah, seeing the evil done by the people on earth, sent down a flood on the earth to destroy the human race.

But the flood brought so much torment to the people that people aroused pity, despite their transgressions. They suffered from the water that overtook them and from hunger. There was nothing to eat, nowhere to live, it was necessary to escape from poisonous reptiles and ferocious animals, and weakened people still had to fight diseases. How terrible were the sorrowful, inconsolable days of the time of the flood!

Among the large number of deities who lived in heaven, only the god Gun felt deep pity for the suffering of people. He decided to save the people from the flood, so that people, as before, could enjoy a quiet life. Gong was dissatisfied with his grandfather's cruelty. He repeatedly begged and exhorted him to forgive people their sins and take the raging waters to the heavenly palace. The enraged lord not only did not take into account Gun's requests, but even scolded him for his unreasonable speeches. We know that no matter what the ruler is - earthly or heavenly, it is still a ruler, and therefore it is not surprising that Gun had a collision with his grandfather.

Seeing that requests and persuasion did not give any results, Gun decided to fight the flood himself and save the people from disaster. It was not easy, as the water flooded the whole earth. Gun saw that on his own, he could not do anything, and this thought saddened him. Just during these reflections, he met with an owl and a black tortoise. They asked Gun. why is he sad and unhappy. Gong explained to them the reason for his longing.

To pacify the flood is not a difficult thing, said the owl and the tortoise in one voice.

But how to do that? - Hurriedly asked Gong.

Do you know that in the heavenly palace there is a treasure called sizhan?

I heard it, but I don't know what it is.

Xizhan is a piece of land that can grow indefinitely. It seems no bigger than a normal lump. And if you throw it on the ground, this little piece immediately grows and forms mountains and dams. This earth can be filled with water, and the flood will stop.

Where is the sijan stored?

This is the most valuable thing of the heavenly ruler. We can find out where she is. Do you want to steal it?

Yes, - said Gun, - I'm ready to do it!

Aren't you afraid that your grandfather will punish you severely?

Well, him, - Gun answered and laughed sadly.

Needless to say, sizhan, as the greatest treasure, was kept in a secret and inaccessible place by the heavenly ruler and was guarded by fierce spirits. But Gun, trying to save the people from disaster, managed to get him.

Having obtained sizhan, Gun immediately descended to the ground and began to build dams in order to save the people from the flood. Sijan was magical, mountains and dams grew out of this small piece. The flood began to subside, the water dried up and soaked into the ground, gradually the traces of the flood completely disappeared, and a continuous green meadow opened before the eyes. The people who lived in the tops of the trees began to crawl out of their nests; living in the mountains began to come out of the caves. Smiles reappeared on their withered faces, they felt deep gratitude and love for Gun. People were already preparing to continue their interrupted studies in the long-suffering land. But, unfortunately, just at that time, the supreme emperor Shang-di found out that his precious sizhan had been stolen. You can imagine how angry the ruler of the universe was! He boiled with anger when he learned that such a rebel had appeared in the heavenly state, especially since it was his own grandson. He immediately sent the god of fire Zhu-zhong to the earth, who killed Gun on the Mountain of bird feathers and took away the sizhans. As the proverb says: "One basket was not enough for a mountain of nine ren." The flood intensified again, and the water again flooded the whole earth. The hopes of the people did not come true: they still suffered from hunger and cold, mourned their misfortune and felt sorry for Gun, who sacrificed his life for them.

In Greek mythology, one can find a parallel to the exploits of Gunya in the form of Prometheus, who stole divine fire for people. Zeus, as punishment, chained him to a rock in the Caucasus Mountains and ordered a ferocious kite to peck out his liver, and wind, snow and rain to destroy his body. It took a long time before Hercules - a hero from the human world - freed Prometheus.

Mount Yushan, where Gong was killed, obviously refers to Mount Weiyu, the northern slope of which was never illuminated by the sun's rays. On the southern slope of the mountain in Yan-men - Wild Goose Gate - in ancient times there lived a sacred guardian dragon, nicknamed Zhu-lun - the Dragon with a candle. He held a wax lamp in his mouth and used it to illuminate the northern slope of the mountain instead of the sun. The terrible hell of Yudu, where, according to legend, the souls of the dead found their last refuge, was probably located in the vicinity of this mountain. They were dark and gloomy places. It was here that the god Gun fell victim.

Did he mourn before death? Certainly. His annoyance was deep and strong, not because he was losing his life. From the very beginning he decided to devote his life to people. He grieved because his deeds were not completed and his intentions did not come true. The people, suffering from hunger and cold, were again threatened by flooding. The supreme lord took away the Sijans. How could Gun calmly fall asleep forever, knowing about it?

Gun had a big and loving heart, his soul did not leave his body, and his body did not decompose for three years. Even a new life arose in his womb - it was his son Yu. Gong cultivated a new life in himself so that his son could continue and complete his work. Yu grew up in his father's womb, and after three years he already surpassed Gun with his miraculous strength.

The Supreme Lord learned that Gun's corpse had not rotted even in three years. He was afraid that Gun would turn into a werewolf and fight him, so he sent one of the gods with a magic knife at the Tao to cut Gun's body to pieces. The messenger of heaven hurried to fulfill the order, reached the Mountain of bird feathers and ripped open the stomach of the hero.

But at this time a great miracle happened. A dragon crawled out of Gun's open belly. It was Yui. On his head grew a pair of strong, sharp horns.

He soared up like a propeller, and Gun's body turned into some kind of animal, which swam away into the Abyss of Bird Feathers, located near the mountain. There are various legends about the transformation of Gun. Some believe that Gong turned into a brown bear. But the brown bear could not dive into the abyss. Others claim that Gong became a three-legged tortoise. This assumption is more likely, but it is not clear why the brave god Gun, who stole sizhan from the supreme ruler to save people, turned into a cowardly turtle.

There is another legend that Gun, having failed in the fight against the flood, drowned himself in this abyss and turned into a black fish. What is "black fish" is not entirely clear, but the writing of this hieroglyph is somehow associated with the name of Gunya. This fish is said to "puff out its whiskers, ring its scales, cut through the huge waves, have fun and play with the water dragon." Finally, it should also be mentioned that in the comments to the “Book of Mountains and Seas” there is a statement from the book “Kaishi”: “After death, Gun's body was preserved for three years. He was cut with a knife, and he turned into a yellow dragon."

This version seems to us the most logical. Such ideas existed in ancient times. Usually in myths, the heavenly horse turns into a white dragon. And Gun Yu's son was also a dragon.

In Questions to the Sky, Qu Yuan made another suggestion: that Gun's body turned into a yellow bear and he went west, beyond Qiongshan Mountain, to ask the sorcerers to revive him. There were many sorcerers in that area. For example, on Mount Lingshan, where magical herbs grew, ten sorcerers lived: Wu-xian, Wu-ji, Wu-pan, Wu-peng, Wu-gu, Wu-zhen, Wu-li, Wu-di, Wu-se , U-lo. They were engaged in looking for medicinal herbs at the top and at the foot of the mountain. In the eastern part of Kaiminshou, near Mount Kunlun, sorcerers also lived: Wu-peng, Wu-di, Wu-yang, Wu-lui, Wu-fan and Wu-hsiang. They collected magical herbs near the tree of immortality and prepared the medicine of immortality. In those places, Seyu, once killed by the god Er-fu, found healing. Gun, who turned into a yellow bear, went to the Western sorcerers to resurrect him. On the way to the west, he saw a people suffering from a flood, having no roof, no clothes, no food. Gun's heart was very heavy, he returned and began to persuade people to sow black millet, and to weed out all the mountain grasses in order to somehow feed themselves. Gun, even the dead, who turned into an animal, constantly thought about the people. Therefore, the great poet Qu Yuan expressed his deep sympathy in his poems.

Gong sought but failed
Humble the streams!.. Why
Great experience to repeat
Did they bother him anyway?

After all, the turtle is a giant
And owls with a witch's game
Gong's work was destroyed!.. Why
Is the hero executed by the lord?

In these verses, the poet compares Gun's experiences with his own.

Let's say that Gong turned into a yellow dragon, which plunged into the abyss. This dragon, in our opinion, transferred all his miraculous power to his son, and he himself became an ordinary dragon, there was nothing divine in him anymore. Information about the fate of Gun, after he swam into the abyss, has not been preserved. The whole point of his continued existence was that he could see with his own eyes how his son continued his work and saved people drowning in a sea of ​​suffering.

2. Yu receives the order of the supreme ruler. Yu gathers the gods and chases Gong-gun away. The God of the Yellow River presents Yu with a map to pacify the flood. Fu-hsi gives Yuyu a jade tablet. Carp jump over the dragon gate. Traces of Yuya's activities in the Gorge of the Three Gates. Yu conquers Wuzhi-chi. Wrongly cut gorge and Dragon execution tower. Bo-i and his bird children and bird grandchildren.

The newborn dragon Yu was not afraid of his father's failure. He possessed miraculous power, and all his thoughts were directed towards completing the work of his father.

The supreme ruler, who was sitting on a high, precious throne, was frightened. After all, Yu suddenly appeared from Gun's torn womb. And if Yuya is cut open, will he also give birth to some kind of creature? The rebellious thoughts of a rebel can spread like wildfire and cannot be stopped. The frightened emperor eventually began to repent of the evil that he had committed. He decided not to punish people so cruelly and to calm the flood. Also, a good heart is sometimes stronger than a diamond and might not be able to handle Yu. Therefore, when Yu came to Shang-di to ask for sizhan, the supreme lord, wise by experience, immediately yielded to his requests. He gave him sizhan and ordered him to go down to earth to pacify the flood. To help Yuyu, he sent the dragon Ying-long, famous for having killed the hated Chi-yu.

Having received the command of the supreme ruler, Yu with Ying-long and other large and small dragons descended to the ground and began to fight the flood. The dragons were supposed to pave the way for the water: Ying-long paved the way for the main stream, the rest of the dragons - for the side.

At this time, the god of water Gong-gun became angry. At the beginning of the flood, Shang-di sent the god of water to punish people for their sins. Gun-gun had a chance to show his magic, and now suddenly, when he had not yet shown all his strength, he was told to stop the flood. - It won't work! Shang-di did not pay attention to Gong-gun's requests, and this caused the latter's displeasure: Gong-gun decided to plot intrigues wherever possible. He tried so hard that the water flooded Kunsan, near the present city of Qufu, Shandong Province, i.e. the easternmost tip of China. So, the entire Central Plain turned into a huge lake that reached the extreme east of China. People experienced the wrath of the water god, many of them turned into fish and shrimp because of the flood. Yu, seeing the atrocities of Gong-gun and knowing that nothing can be achieved by exhortations, decided to use force. In order to pacify the waters faster, it was necessary to stop their rise and kill the evil demon. Yu decided to fight Gong-gun.

Was this battle fierce? There are no descriptions of it in ancient books, therefore we cannot say anything. Only one legend says that Yu gathered all the gods before the battle at Mount Guiji. God Fangfeng-shi arrived later than the others and Yu killed him for not fulfilling his duty. Two thousand years later, during the Spring and Autumn period, Fu-cha, the prince of the Wu domain, attacked the principality of Yue, surrounded Guiji, where the Yue prince Gou-jian was located. The battle was so fierce that even the mountains were destroyed. In one of the destroyed mountains, a bone was found that did not resemble either a human or an animal bone. She was so huge that she could hardly fit on the cart. The wise Confucius was asked if he knew whose bone it was. The philosopher told this legend to everyone, and people learned that the found bone belonged to Fangfeng-shi. Yu, along with the deities of the entire Celestial Empire, wanted to deal with Gun-gun. One can imagine the strength and power Yu possessed. It is clear that Gun-gun could not compete with him and soon turned to flight.

According to legend, Mount Guiji used to be called Reed Mountain. Yu conferred on this mountain with the gods about the battle with Gong-gun and the pacification of the flood, so she was called Guiji, which means "gather in council." But Fangfeng-shi, with his arrogant and swaggering disposition, did not fulfill his obligations and paid for it. In subsequent times, the people of Yue (modern Zhejiang Province) retained their ancient customs. Every year at a certain time, sacrifices were made in honor of the god Fangfeng-shi, ancient melodies were played, three-chi long bamboo pipes were blown, which emitted howling sounds. To the rhythm of howling music in the sacred temple, three people with flowing long hair danced.

After Gong-gun fled, Yu was able to get to work. He acted smarter than his father. With the help of a sijan, he built dams to block the way for water. He ordered a large black tortoise to follow him with a seat on his back. So he blocked the deepest streams and expanded the areas of land on which people could live. Where the embankments were highest, four famous mountains were formed, which still exist today. Yu laid more rivers and canals. He ordered Ying-long to crawl so that his tail dragged along the ground. In the direction indicated by the tail of Ying-long, rivers and canals broke through. The rivers reached the Eastern Ocean, they have survived to this day. Pacifying the flood, Yu reached the Yellow River. He stood on a high rock and watched the strength of the current, and suddenly he saw a long creature with a white face and the body of a fish, diving in the waves. The creature was called a river spirit. It was, of course, He-bo. He gave Yu a wet green stone, then turned and disappeared into the waves. Yu carefully examined the stone. On its surface, some kind of thin, like a thread, pattern was applied with curved lines. Clever Yu did not have to turn to others for advice. He looked and immediately realized that the stone had a flood control plan. With the help of the footprints left by Ying-long's tail and the plan drawn on the stone, Yu fought the water. And so he was sure of success. Yu used not only the “map of rivers” applied to the stone. According to legend, he had another treasure - a jade plate.

Yu was making a passage through the Dragon Gate Mountain and accidentally entered a huge cave. It was very dark inside; the further Yu went, the darker it became, and soon it was impossible to take a single step. Yu lit the torch and walked forward. Suddenly he saw a flickering light, and this flickering filled the entire cave. He carefully looked around and noticed a large black snake ten zhang long. She had horns on her head, and in her mouth she held "a pearl that shines in the night." The snake crawled ahead, showing Yu the way. Yu threw down the torch and followed the black snake. After a while, he approached a lighted room that looked like a hall. People dressed in black robes crowded around a deity with a human face and a snake body, sitting in the center. Yu guessed who it was and asked: - Are you really Fu-si, son of Huaxu?

Yes, the god replied, I am Fu-hsi, the son of the goddess of the nine rivers Huaxu.

They felt sympathy for each other. Fu-hsi also had a flood. Therefore, he expressed deep respect for Yuyu, who did a great job, and wanted to help him. Fu-hsi pulled out a jade plate from his bosom and presented it to Yuyu. In shape, it resembled a bamboo plank one chi and two cun long. Fu-hsi explained that it could measure heaven and earth. After this meeting, Yu always carried a plate with him to strengthen the earth and pacify the water.

According to legend, the Dragon Gate Mountain was once large and connected to Mount Luilian. It was located on the border of the current provinces of Shaanxi and Shanxi and blocked the Huang He road, so that the river could not flow further and turned back. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the god of waters flooded Mount Myn-mynypan in the upper reaches of the river. Yu laid the channel of the Huang He from the Mountain of stone heaps - Jipsch (in modern Qinghai province) and, having reached this place, with the help of his supernatural power, he divided the mountain into two parts so that the river flowed between two sheer cliffs resembling gate leaves. This place was called Longmen, which means "Dragon Gate". Now the water was falling from a sheer cliff and rushing in a stream. According to legend, sea and river fish gathered under these rocks and competed in high jumps. The one that jumped over the thresholds turned into a dragon and ascended to the sky. Fish that jumped low only broke their noses and returned empty-handed. They also said that in the vicinity of Longmen there was a Carp Stream - Liyujian, there were many carps in it. They came out of their holes and swam for three months against the current to Longmen. Those who managed to overcome the current became dragons, the losers filled their bumps and returned back.

A few hundred li downstream from the Dragon Gate was the Sanmenxia Gorge - the Gorge of the Three Gates. According to legend, Yu also cut the Sanmenxia. He parted the mountain that held back the river, the resulting branches flowed in three streams through the mountains. Each gate had its own name: "Gate of demons", "Gate of spirits" and "Gate of people". From the steep bank of the Yellow River you can see how the huge river carries its waves widely, and the farther to the east, the faster the current. In the Sanmenxia Gorge, the river is divided by two islands into three branches with a very fast current. Then these three streams, squeezed by rocks, again merge into one stream, which passes through a narrow gap no more than one hundred and twenty meters wide and fills the entire gorge with a roar. These lines describe the Sanmenxia. (A gigantic power plant is currently under construction in the gorge.) In the gorge, traces of Yu's struggle with the flood can still be seen. There are seven stone wells in the vicinity of the gorge. According to legend, Yu dug them to get water for drinking when he cut through the Sanmenxia Gorge. Therefore, the gorge is also called Qijingsanmen, which means "Gorge of seven wells and three gates." There are two large depressions in the rock at the Gate of Spirits, larger than the opening of the well, and in shape resembling the footprint of a horse's hoof. They are called Mativo - "Traces of horse hooves." According to legend, Yu rode a horse through the Sanmenxia, ​​paving Zhizhu, and these tracks were left by the front hooves of Yu's horse. Previously, the helmsmen, floating downstream, always made a stop at the temple, lit incense, praying to Yu; lit fireworks, ate and drank to the fullest. Only after that they began to rule the boat, an arrow flying between the rocks in a roaring and swift stream. Sometimes the boat crashed against the rocks in an instant. Therefore, the locals said: "You can never tell how many helmsmen are in Diantoujie (Maojindu), and you can constantly hear the wailing of widows." How much blood and tears of brave people of many generations are hidden in these words!

Pacifying the flood, Yu three times reached Mount Tongbo (in the southwest of the current Tongbo county, Henan Province). Strong winds constantly blew there, thunder rumbled, stones rumbled, trees groaned, and Yu could not resist the elements. He knew that angry monsters and werewolves were to blame for all this, and called on the gods of the Celestial Empire to fight them. Those who did not really want to help, Yu imprisoned. With the joint efforts of the deities, they caught the uzhiqi monster between the Huaishui and Guoshui rivers. It was able to skillfully conduct conversations, it looked like a monkey, it had a white head and a green body, a high forehead and a low bridge of the nose, a hundred chi long, and the body was nimble and light. Even though it was caught, it jumped and jumped all the time, not for a moment remaining calm. Yu did not know what to do with him, and ordered the heavenly god Tong-luyu to pacify him. But he failed to tame the monster. Then Yu entrusted this to Umu-yu, but he also failed. Finally, Geng-chen was ordered to tame the monster. Many river and mountain spirits ran screaming to watch the spectacle. Geng-chen began to stab the monster with a large trident. It reconciled only after it received many wounds. Geng-chen chained the monster's neck and put a bell in its nose. This took place at the foot of the Turtle Mountain - Guishan in the current Huayin County of Jiangsu Province. From that time on, Yu's struggle with the flood went well and the Huai River could safely flow into the sea itself.

Yu, struggling with the flood, reached the Shaman Mountain - Wushan and the Triple Gorge - Sanxia. One of the dragons who laid the waterways made a mistake, laid the channel incorrectly and cut through the gorge. It turned out to be completely unnecessary. Yu got angry and executed the stupid dragon on a mountain cliff as a warning to others. Until now, in Wushan County, the names Tsokaixia - “Improperly laid gorge” and Zhanlongtai - “Terrace where the dragon was executed” have been preserved.

Yu made a feat. In this act, both deities and people helped him. God Bo-i especially tried. He was a descendant of a deity - swallows, and maybe he was a swallow himself. Bo-i often brought people with him, lit torches, burned bushes that had grown after the flood, and chased away wild animals so that the people could work in peace. He knew the habits and understood the language of animals and birds. After pacifying the flood, Bo-yi helped Shun to tame birds and animals, and many of them were tamed by him. The ruler Shun was very pleased with him, gave him a girl from the Yao clan as his wife and granted him the surname Ying. According to legend, Bo-yi was the ancestor of the princes of the Qin kingdom. He gave birth to two sons, one of them was called Da-lian, the other - Zhu-mu.

Da-lian was also called Nyaosu-shi. His descendants Men-si and Zhong-yan spoke human language, but their bodies were birdlike. This proves that they were descendants of a deity.

The rule of Yao, during which a terrible drought raged in the sky because of ten suns, was generally unhappy. Time passed, the shooter Yi was no longer alive, and a new disaster befell the people. They themselves were to blame. Too many bad deeds began to be done by them, and the angry Supreme Lord sent a flood to the earth. Water covered the whole earth, except for the tops of high mountains, on which people were saved. But they suffered from hunger, poisonous snakes and wild animals in such a way that they began to arouse pity even in one of the gods.

Gun saves people. It was Gun, the grandson of the Supreme Sovereign. Many times he asked his grandfather to take pity on people and take water to the heavenly palace, but he was inexorable.

Seeing that the requests were useless, Gun decided to fight the flood himself. But he did not know how to do it, and understood that only his strength to save people would not be enough. Once, during his gloomy thoughts, he met with an owl and a black tortoise. They asked why he was so sad, and after his answer they said in one voice: "To pacify the flood is not a difficult thing." For this, it turns out, it was necessary to get the main treasure of the heavenly ruler - sizhan - self-growing land. It was an ordinary-looking lump of earth, but it was different in that it could grow indefinitely. Sizhan thrown to the ground increased, forming hills and whole mountains, with which it was possible to fill up water and stop the flood. The owl and the tortoise found out exactly where this treasure was kept in the heavenly palace, and Gun stole it, not being afraid of the wrath of the Supreme Lord Shang-di.

As soon as the sizhan fell into the water, hills began to grow from it. and mountains, the water began to subside and soak into the ground. Meadows turned green, people began to descend from the mountains, smiles appeared on their faces withered from hunger. They had already begun to cultivate the land and throw grain into it, when the heavenly emperor found out that his treasure had been stolen. Shang-di's anger became even more terrible when it became known that his own grandson was the kidnapper. The lord sent the fire god Zhzhuzhong to kill Gun and take the sizhang. Gong fell dead on Mount Yushan, and the earth was again covered with water. People suffered from hunger and cold and felt sorry for Gunya, who lost his life for them.

Yu. But Gun's body lay unharmed on the mountain for three years, and his soul did not leave him. Moreover, miraculously, a new life was born inside him - it was his son Yu, who in three years already surpassed his father in his strength.

Great Yu,
flood tamer.
Han era depiction

When the Supreme Lord learned that the body of the dead Gunn did not decompose, he was afraid that something dangerous for his power was hidden here, and sent one of the gods with a magic sword udao to cut Gunn's body into pieces. But as soon as the messenger of heaven struck with his sword once, a dragon swiftly soared up from Gun's cut body. It was Yui. Gun himself turned into a yellow dragon, which plunged into the water abyss near the mountain. He no longer had the former magic power, but he continued to look at people with pity and sympathy and rejoiced at the exploits of his son Yu.

Yu undertakes to complete his father's work. The young dragon Yu was determined to complete his father's work and save the people from the flood. Upon learning of this, the Supreme Lord became thoughtful and finally decided that people had been punished enough and it was time to calm down the water element. He himself handed Yu the magical land of Sizhan and ordered other deities and dragons to help the young hero.

However, not everyone was happy with the decision of the Supreme Lord to stop the flood. The water god Gungun believed that he had not yet shown his full strength and continued to rage. The water continued to flood the land, and many people turned into fish and shrimp. Thus, Yu, along with his allies, was forced to engage in battle with Gungun, who fled.

Now Yu could get down to business without interference. Everywhere he was followed by a large black tortoise with a seat on his back, and Yu, where necessary, built dams, blocking the way for water. There was also work for the dragons: with their bodies they paved the channels of rivers and canals right up to the Eastern Ocean.

Yuya's assistants. Working tirelessly, Yu reached the Yellow River. In its waves, he saw a white-faced creature with the body of a fish. It was the river god He-bo. He gave Yuyu a green stone with a strange design applied to it. Looking closely at the lines of the pattern, Yu realized that this was a flood control plan - along these lines it was necessary to dig channels and fill dams. Now he could work not blindly, but according to an exact plan, and things immediately went faster.

One day, while punching a channel through a mountain, Yu accidentally entered a cave and suddenly saw a huge horned snake holding a luminous pearl in its mouth. The snake crawled forward, and Yu realized that it was she who showed him the way. Making his way after her, Yu entered a huge underground hall, which was bright and crowded. People dressed in black clothes crowded around the deity sitting on the throne with the body of a snake and human face. Yu immediately guessed that it was Fuxi, the one who also had a flood. They immediately felt sympathy for each other, and as a sign of friendship, Fuxi gave Yuyu a plate of precious jade, which could measure heaven and earth. But the magical properties of the plate were not limited to this: with its help, Yu now strengthened the earth and pacified the water.

Yu finds a wife. Yu, as a deity, could take on any form, and usually he turned into a creature that could work harder and faster than a person. Once, because of this, he lost his wife, who left him a son. And it was like that.

When Yuyu was already thirty years old, he was still unmarried - the fight with water took up all his time. But once a white nine-tailed fox ran past him, waving his tails, fluffy like panicles. Yu knew that seeing a nine-tailed fox was a lucky omen. Soon he saw unusually beautiful girl named Nujiao and decided to marry her. But he hurried south to fight the flood and did not have time to confess his love to her. She also felt love for the mighty hero in her heart and decided to wait for him. When Yu returned from the south, he went to Nujiao and they played a wedding. But just four days later, Yu left his young wife and again went to pacify the flood.

The appearance of Qi. Nujiao was very homesick for him, and one day, when Yu a short time returned home, persistently begged to take her with him. Finally, Yu agreed, although he had a bad feeling in his heart.

When they reached the mountain, at the foot of which a torrent was raging, Yu said to his wife: “The work here is not easy, and we must make every effort to do it. I will hang a drum on the mountainside. As soon as you hear the sound of the drum, bring me food." Nujiao agreed and went to prepare breakfast. As soon as she was out of sight, Yu turned into a huge black bear and began to break through the mountain with his muzzle and paws, freeing the way for water. Stones flew in all directions, and one of them accidentally touched a drum hanging at the edge of the cliff. He rumbled, his wife heard and carried Yuya a basket of breakfast. But when, instead of her husband, she saw a terrible bear, then, frightened, she rushed to run, forgetting everything. It never occurred to her that it could be Yui. He, having heard the cry of his wife, forgot about his appearance and ran after her to explain everything to her. But despite his cries, Nujiao continued to run faster and faster. When she was exhausted, and Yu was already catching up with her, Nujiao turned to stone in horror. Seeing this, Yu angrily shouted, "Give me back my son!" A piece of stone fell off, and a boy, whom his father named Qi, fell into Yu's arms.

New edges. Pacifying the flood, Yu went around the whole earth and saw many wonderful things. He visited the country of the winged, the country where people did not die, the Golden Mountain. In the north, he found a land where eternal spring reigned, and its inhabitants did not have to worry about food - water from the local river, called Shenfen [“divine moisture”], was unusually pleasant in taste and quenched hunger and thirst. They lived there for a hundred years, and after death they immediately found themselves in heaven.

But Yu, although he tried the magic water and liked it, could not leave his suffering people. Two days later he left the hospitable land and again set to work.

Completion of Yuya's works. And then the day came when the hard work was over. Then Yu decided to measure the land and ordered the two gods who helped him to do it. One of them went from east to west, the other from west to east. Each of them counted two hundred million thirty-three thousand five hundred li and seventy-five steps (li is a measure of length, in ancient times equal to about 400 m). The earth was then square in shape. Big lakes it had more than two hundred million. Yu decided to sleep extra and used sizhan for this. In some places he overdid it, and in those places high mountains arose.

Yuya is elected emperor. After the pacification of the flood, people's lives became joyful and calm. As a reward for Yu's great services, he was elected emperor. The heavenly ruler himself presented the new emperor with two magic horses, which appeared to their master, as soon as he thought about them, and served him.

Outwardly, Yu was not at all like the emperor. The calluses on his hands and feet did not pass from labor, he looked exhausted and walked with a limp: because of work in eternal dampness, his legs hurt badly. However, all people treated him with love and respect. They said: "If not for Yu, then we would all turn into fish and shrimp."

Emperor Yu did a lot of good for the people. Once he went south to inspect his possessions, but on the mountain where he once met the beautiful Nujiao, his future wife, he fell ill and died. Yui is buried there. Birds fly to his grave every spring to uproot weeds and thus express their respect for the memory of the great hero.

Returning home, I put the vessel on the table and, having explained to his wife that they would drink the potion of immortality during the next holiday, lay down to rest. When I woke up, I saw the vessel empty. Chang-e drank the contents and flew to the moon. On the moon, the traitor turned into a huge toad (it can be seen during the full moon), but Yi was no different from people. Being a mortal, like everyone else, he became irritable. More than once, servants who did not commit any offense suffered from his anger.

However, to one of the servants, Fengmenu, Yi treated as if he were his son. He decided to leave him everything he possessed, and he possessed only the art of archery. Starting to teach Fengmen, And announced to him:

First you must learn not to blink. Learn to come back to me.

After going home, Fengmen lay at his wife's loom for days on end. The pedals were spinning, and he looked at them, trying not to blink. Soon he learned this and asked his wife to unexpectedly bring a sharp needle or awl to her face. When his eyes got used to this, he ran to the master and asked him to give him a bow and arrows.

It is too early! - said And smiling. - A good shooter should see a very small thing as big, and not at all distinguishable by the eye as noticeable. When you know how to do it, come!

Fengmeng pulled out the thinnest hair from the tail of the bull and somehow tied the caught flea to it. After that, he fastened the hair to the ceiling and, lying on the bed, fixed his eyes on it. He spent many days like this without food or drink. The wife, thinking that he was crazy, went for the healer.

The first person to enter here, I will kill! Fengmen shouted without turning his head.

The wife, stopping, burst into tears: after all, the husband was looking into the void.

A day later, he joyfully shouted:

Look, now it has become like a button!

And can I bring you food and drink? the wife asked.

It is too early! Fanman replied. "I'll tell you myself when I can make out the eyes and mouth."

And the wife cried again. For what kind of mouth and eyes can a button have?

Three more days passed, and Fengmen shouted:

Now she's like a wheel, and her mouth is bigger than mine. Give me my food and drink.

Fengmeng got drunk and ate, and immediately ran to the master to inform him of his successes.

Now I will teach you how to shoot! I exclaimed happily.

They went to the field, where Yi taught Fengmen until they began to talk about the master and his servant as the best marksmen all over the Celestial Empire, putting their names side by side.

Fengmenu should have rejoiced and thanked the teacher, but he was naturally envious and considered himself the first, since Yi was old and he was young. And envy began to flare up in Fengmen's soul, like a flame in dried bushes. He began to think how to destroy the teacher.

Fengmeng got himself a quiver larger than Yi's and filled it with arrows. While returning home with Yi, Fengmen suddenly shot an arrow into the empty sky. Grabbing a bow, And sent an arrow in pursuit. There was a crack. The arrows collided in the air. The same thing happened with the second, third, fourth arrows ...

But soon Yi's arrows ran out, and Fengmeng had more than a dozen left. No sooner had Yi moved than Fengmen ran aside and drew his bow. The arrow with a whistle flew off the bowstring and hit And right in the mouth. Shooter Yi staggered and fell.

Believing that Yi was dead, Fengmeng approached him to make sure. But as soon as he was near, And he got up as if nothing had happened.

Sweat broke out on the traitor's forehead. His hands shook and he dropped his bow to the ground.

You decided to kill me too soon! Yi said, spitting out an arrowhead. - I did not have time to teach you how to catch and bite arrows with your mouth.

Dropping to his knees, Fengmen grabbed his master's legs.

I'm sorry! he murmured. - I was possessed by an evil spirit of envy ...

But he pushed Yi Fengmen away, raised his bow and, breaking it, said:

A traitor will never be a good shot!

Meanwhile, Yi continued to be rude to his servants. Fengmeng, who remained to live in his house, decided to take advantage of this. He persuaded the servants And to revolt against the master. They brought a large club of peach wood from the forest, lay in wait for Yi during the hunt, struck him with a club and immediately threw his body into a boiling cauldron prepared for game.

So the hero died, who saved the Celestial Empire from many troubles. After his death, he was revered as the deity Zongbu.

Gun and Yu - conquerors of the flood

Gun and Yu belonged to the cultural heroes, fighters against catastrophic natural phenomena. The motif of theomachism is associated with Gun, uniting him with Prometheus. Prometheus steals fire for humanity, Gun steals the heavenly earth, turning into stone. The place of punishment of Prometheus was the Caucasus, where the wings of an eagle tormenting the liver rustled over him, the place of execution of Gunya was Mount Wing. Developing the myth of the Gun, the great Chinese poet Qu Yuan introduces the motif of the hero's persuasion present in Aeschylus to submit to power. This resemblance is, of course, a coincidence. But it may have been called similar processes in social ideology, which gave rise to skepticism in relation to the gods.

Obviously, Gun and Yu were originally two independent characters in different parts China, equally associated with the flood. By uniting the two heroes, they were made father and son, delimiting the functions between them. At the same time, it is believed that the image of the theomachist Gunya is younger than the image of Yu, who appears only as a cultural hero.

Somehow a flood hit the earth. Raging streams spilled over the land, flooding all of its space, except for the Five Mountains. The whistle of the wind and the roar of the waves drowned out the cries of people who could not escape. None of the gods thought of the unfortunate.

Then the divine hero Gun ascended to heaven. He addressed the Sovereign of Heaven with these words:

Look! - he showed him the people overtaken by the waves. - They perish because of your waters, and you do not hear their groans. Let me build a dam and stop the flood.

Build if you want! The Sky Sovereign replied with a smirk.

He taunted the hero because he knew that soft ground, from which Gun can build a dam, will not withstand the onslaught. Only heavenly earth is suitable for this, which, when combined with water, swells and turns into stone.

Gun went down to the people and began to dig the earth, erecting a dam in the way of the waters. The waters washed away the dam, and the stubborn Gun dug and dug until he realized that his labors were in vain.

Then Gong again ascended to the sky, but did not ask the Lord of Heaven for help anymore. When he slept, he dug up a bag of heavenly earth and carried it on his shoulders.

After waking up, the Sky Sovereign looked down at the ground and froze. The water that flooded the mountains began to recede, and people on the slopes of the mountains and hills began to throw grains into the mud to grow bread, began to build huts and houses. And the Lord of Heaven realized that Gun had deceived him and stole the heavenly land for the sake of the people. The Lord of Heaven got angry and sent Gun to the North Mountain, where snow falls like feathers. There he sent death to him.

Yu, the son of Gun, rose from the body of the deceased, as kind and brave as his father. The indefatigable Yu traveled all over the land rescued from the flood by Gunem. On land, he rode a four-wheeled cart drawn by horses, walked through muddy places in wet shoes, and climbed impregnable mountains in spiked shoes. Everywhere he cut down forest and shrubs, dug ditches, diverting water, built dams and dams, broke through the channels of rivers and gave them a passage through the lands of the Four Barbarians and nine regions.

Yu himself carried the sack and shovel. A heavy rain washed him away, a violent wind combed his hair. Yu's assistants were a yellow dragon and a huge turtle. The dragon crawled ahead, marking the direction of the channels with its tail. The tortoise moved behind, carrying magic clay on its broad back.

Once, during his wanderings, Yuya ran past him, teasing with nine fluffy tails, a white fox. Then Yu remembered the legend that everyone who saw such a rare animal would be happy, gain good wife and become the ruler. So Yu remembered that he was already thirty years old and not yet married. And since he was a man who valued time and did not like to put things off, he did not look for a bride throughout the Celestial Empire, but right there, on Mount Tushan, where a fox appeared to him, he met a girl and announced to her that he wanted to marry her . Having hardly waited for her consent, Yu left, for it was impossible to let the waters of the South overflow.