flood has been mentioned in many Chinese and Western masterpieces and legends. This year, many parts of our country have also suffered from a rare flood in history, so today we will talk about the flood.
Speaking of the Great Flood, a myth that we Chinese can easily think of is Dayu water control. In fact, so far, records of the Great Flood have been found in more than 80 languages around the world, but in most cases these records are considered legends or superstitions by mainstream scientists. But are these records really legends or superstitions?
If we think about it from another angle, the era of the Great Flood should be at the beginning of human civilization. At that time, some human scientific methods were certainly not as advanced as they are now. Communication between tribes and tribes is still inefficient methods such as manpower, horse transmission, or flying pigeon transmission. Therefore, it is very difficult to realize the communication between states and different countries. But under these circumstances, many different countries have the same or similar legends about the Great Flood. Is this really just a legend? Or is it really a piece of history that happened in history?
Let’s start with the legend of the Great Flood in China. Legend has it that in the ancient times, there was no one at that time. Our ancient god Nuwa created animals like pigs, dogs, sheeps and horses from the first to the sixth day of the first lunar month. On the seventh day of the first lunar month, they made a few small pieces with water and loess. Clay figures, and these little clay figures are the ancestors of our Chinese nation. Then came the prehistoric era, once water god Gonggong and Vulcan Zhu Rong had a dispute because of one thing, and then they fought. As a result, Z8z Vulcan Zhu Rong defeated the Water God Gonggong. Gonggong became angry because of the defeat, and bumped his head to the west on Buzhou Mountain. This Buzhou Mountain was actually a pillar that propped up the sky and the earth. Gonggong broke it with this collision, and then half of the sky collapsed, and large cracks appeared on the ground. Nu Wa sees that Gonggong has caused such a terrible disaster. In order to save the common people, there is the myth of Nu Wa who made colorful stones to repair the sky. After the sky collapsed, floods and rain began to overflow. After Nuwa made up the sky, the floods and rain stopped, and the Quartet settled down. Legend has it that all the people who survived at that time were kind people chosen by the gods. This is the legend of the great flood about Nu Wa mend the sky.
Another legend about the Great Flood is the well-known Dayu flood control. The legend of Dayu's water management occurred in the Yao and Shun era, which was about 2000 BC. At that time, the world was divided into Kyushu, there were four seas outside Kyushu, and eight wastes outside the four seas. Therefore, we often see that in some TV dramas with ancient mythology themes say that there is nowhere in the world, which actually refers to the era of Yao and Shun. During Yao's reign, floods occurred everywhere, flooding villages, fields, and mountains and rivers. The people don't have a living, they are running around. Emperor Yao made up his mind to control the water, and asked his subjects if there were any capable people. At this time, some ministers recommended a man named Gun, who was the father of Dayu who was behind Dayu's water management. However, after more than ten years of water control, the water has not been cured. So Gun was dispatched to Yushan because of poor water control, and eventually died there. After Emperor Yao died in a blink of an eye, Emperor Shun succeeded him. After Emperor Shun took the throne, the whole world was still flooded, and the flood problem left by Emperor Yao at that time was still unresolved. Emperor Shun asked his subjects again if there were any capable people who could be recommended for water management. At this time, the minister recommended a man named Yu, and said, "This Yu is not the same as his father Gun, he is better than his father. Gun is more capable and very humble", so Emperor Shun quickly handed over the power of water management to Dayu. This is the story that we recorded later that Dayu managed the water three times and never entered the house. Dayu's flood control achieved results, and finally the flood was finally cured. It is recorded in the scripture "Yao Dian" that Gun controlled the water for 9 years, and in the Historical Records Xia Benji, it is recorded that Yu controlled the water for 13 years. That is to say, Gun and Yu together controlled the water for 22 years. In other words, during the Yao and Shun period, the flood was in flood for at least 22 years.
After talking about the legend of the East, let’s look at the West again. Western countries on the bigThe most famous legend of the flood must be the Old Testament of the Bible. In the "Genesis" of the Old Testament, there is a story about Noah and ark. This is what the original text says. God, the Lord, saw that people are sinful on earth, so he announced that he would use floods to destroy all flesh and blood living creatures on the earth, and all living creatures would die. It is God, the Lord, who saw that all the people in the world wanted to do were evil things, and he regretted creating mankind, and wanted to use a flood to destroy all the birds, animals, poultry, and people on the earth. But the Lord God heard that there was a perfect man at that time. The name of this perfect man was Noah. He had three sons and a wife. So God the Lord secretly told Noah to build a big ship. This ship should be built into a square, and it should be divided into three layers, each layer should be coated with rosin inside and outside. After Noah built the ship, he brought all the vegetation and animals in the world, a male and a female paired to the ship. Noah did not ask the reason at the time, so he obediently built the boat. A few days after it was built, the flood began to come. After more than 40 days of heavy rain, the water was getting higher and higher. Finally, all the mountains were submerged and all life on the earth disappeared.
The water is vigorous for about 150 days, and then the water starts to recede slowly. Noah opened the window of the Ark, wondering if the water had completely receded. So Noah released the white dove to find the way. The white dove flew back quickly for the first time. There was no mud or water on its body. The white dove flew around and had nowhere to settle, indicating that the water potential has not subsided at all. After a while, Noah released the white dove for the second time. The white dove came back after a while, still holding an olive branch in his mouth. There are still some new buds on the olive branch, which indicates that trees have begun to grow. After a while, Noah released the white dove for the third time, and the white dove is gone forever. This shows that the white dove has found its own forest and has begun to live its own little life in the forest. So Noah knew that the water had really receded. In the United Nations, white doves and olive branches are now used to symbolize peace. In fact, there is such a meaning.
If everyone thinks that the Great Flood recorded in the Old Testament of the Bible is the earliest record of the Great Flood in Western countries, it would be very wrong. In 1849, the archaeologist Henry excavated thousands of broken clay slabs in the Nini emblem. These clay slabs and other clay slabs that appeared in Mesopotamia were all stored in British Museum . . The writing on the clay board is all cuneiform writing, which is considered to be the earliest writing system developed in Mesopotamia. In 1872, Smith, a British cuneiform research expert, discovered a special clay slab among all the clay slabs in the British Museum. This clay plate is about 15 cm long and is made of black-brown clay. The text on it is divided into two columns, densely packed, and looks similar to a small board from a distance. According to Smith's interpretation, this clay board recorded a story of a great flood that was very similar to Noah's Ark. This clay slab said that houses must be demolished, ships built, property must be discarded, and lives must be preserved. And the ship built should be a square with the same length and width. After that, the gods will drop a lot of rain. The clay slab interpreted by Smith was later called the "Flood Recording Board". According to some studies by some archaeologists, this flood record board should have been made more than 700 BC, which means it was hundreds of years earlier than the earliest version of the Bible. When the conclusion of
was just announced, it shocked the Western world. According to some follow-up archaeological studies, this piece of flood record board is actually part of Gilgamesh’s epic. What is the epic of Gilgamesh? It is the oldest surviving heroic epic in the world, and it has been circulated among the Sumerians more than 4000 years ago. Later, after thousands of years of processing and refinement, it was officially recorded in written form during the time of the Babylonian king. The Gilgamesh epic did not attract people's attention. It was after Smith discovered this flood record board that the Gilgamesh epic slowly became famous and known by people.
Comparing Chinese and Western cultures, we can easily find one thing. The Great Flood recorded in Western culture is a punishment by the gods to humans. Most of the human beings are at their disposal when facing the Great Flood.In a state where I want to run quickly or wait for God to save. Compared with China's record of the great flood, it shows more that people have adopted a choice of active water control when facing floods. This is also a difference between Chinese and Western cultures. When facing difficulties, we Orientals choose to overcome difficulties, while Westerners are more inclined to avoid difficulties and wait for God to save.
In other words, is the flood real? So far, there is no geological evidence to prove that a global flood has ever occurred. However, a geology professor at the University of Wollongong in Australia once put forward such a statement. He said that the Laurentide ice sheet in North America began to melt more than 8,000 years ago. The melting of this ice sheet caused nearly ten The largest increase in fresh water on the planet in thousands of years has also caused sea levels to rise, and this may be the cause of the flood.
Do you think that the Flood is a myth or legend, or is it a historical fact that has existed? Welcome everyone to leave a message below. Your attention is very important to me, thank you very much.
