前言
The Xia Dynasty was the first dynasty in ancient China. Regarding the existence of the Xia Dynasty, we made a detailed discussion in the previous article. The Xia Dynasty only exists in later documents, such as "Historical Records" and "The Year of the Bamboo Secretary". There has been no contemporary archaeological discovery.
Therefore, we don’t know much about the Xia Dynasty. The most familiar story is that of the Dayu, who controlled the water three times without entering the house. I won’t go into details here.
Let’s talk about the real reason Dayu didn’t enter the house. Is it really because Dayu worked hard to control the water and didn’t have time to go home?
The reason is not so simple. It starts with the failed hero Gun.
Gun was exiled to death by Shun for failing in water control
Gun is actually a failed hero, and a very popular hero. His "failure" does not actually lie in the failure of water control. Strictly speaking, Gun's water control is not a failure at all.
such a big flood, who stipulated that it must be cured in nine years? Didn’t Dayu spend another 13 years on the basis of Gun’s governance? Why did no one say in the ninth year of Dayu's flood control that he had failed in flood control?
Therefore, Gun was exiled to death by Shun on the grounds of failure in water control. The reason was nothing else, but because Gun’s prestige and influence in water control had threatened Shun’s successor. status. To say that Gun failed to control the water is just to find a reason to deal with him. He should actually be a loser in the struggle for political power.
Judging from historical records, Gun is not only good at water control, but also good at building cities. "Lu Shi Chunqiu" and "Huainanzi" all have the record of "Gun as a city", "Wu Yue Chunqiu" more specifically:
"Gun built the city to defend the monarch and the Guo to live in the people, the beginning of this city .”
It seems that Gun is the founder of China City. In ancient times, the reason for the "city" should have originated from the activities of the ancients to prevent floods. According to legend, during the times of Yao, Shun, and Yu, there were continuous catastrophic floods in the Yellow River basin. In order to survive, the ancients had to do everything possible to fight the floods.
And the original method is to "fall from high to the ground to prevent hundreds of rivers", that is, to build a dike-like earth enclosure with earth and stones to block the flood and let the clan members The residence, farmland, and property are protected from flooding.
This kind of soil enclosure for waterproofing is the prototype of "city". Because of this, there are records in the history books of Gun "as a city of eight ren" and "Gun barrier flood" [8].
In the traditional historical evaluation, it is said that Gun water treatment is only "deep" but not "guided", which means that he can only block but not sparse. It is not objective to say that Gun water control is only "problem" and not "guide".
Can water control only be "drained" but not "blocked"? It depends on the specific situation. In the history of water control, blocking and dredging were all necessary. Didn't the Yellow River, Yangtze River, and rivers of all sizes all have "dikes". The so-called “repair of dykes” means blocking water; “repair of dykes” year after year causes some rivers to become “hanging rivers”. Doesn’t this mean that “blocking” is necessary?
Therefore, Gun was exiled to death by Shun because of political struggles, and the clan also understood how Gun lost power.
But Gun died, and the flood had to continue to be cured. After Gun, there seemed to be no more suitable person except Yu. Under such circumstances, Shun had to "lift Gunziyu and continue Gun". The industry".
Dayu did not want to enter the house, but did not dare to
"Historical Records" described this point very accurately:
"Yu hurt his father Gun’s failure to be punishable is a hard work. He stayed outside for thirteen years and did not dare to enter.”
Sima Qian’s description is very detailed: Dayu’s grief is because “Father Gun’s failure to be punishable” , Instead of "Father Gun's failure", thisThe focus here is "受诛".
Why did Yu "do not dare to enter" instead of passing the house? How much meaning does a word "dare" contain. Because if Yu fails to control the waters, Gun’s fate is waiting for him there. There is a record in "Lu Shi Chun Qiu":
"Yu did not dare to complain, but the opposite was the case, the official was Sikong. The water was scribbled, and the color was black. If you can't walk together, you can't get through, you can use Zhongdi. Heart.”
Dayu knew well the cause of his father’s death and knew well about political struggles, so he was cautious not to make mistakes and focused on Shun in everything.
Under such circumstances, Yu, who was conquering the water, had no intention of going home.
Another reason is that Dayu knows how to use prestige to shape his image of diligence and conscientious dedication to the clan to gain the recognition and respect of the clan.
After Yu took over the position of Gun, he united many tribes to gradually start water control work in Yi, Luo, He and Ji. He is no longer "blocking", but a combination of "blocking" and "smoothing" and analyzing specific situations. According to the topography, the river water in the highlands can be drained to reduce the flood disaster on the plain.
Dayu's success in water control can be said to be half of the credit to Gun.
First of all, because the people at that time publicly recommended Gun and Yu to control the water, it still did so after Gun was "punished". It can be seen that water control is the unique skill passed down by the Gun family from generation to generation, and it was Gun’s father who taught Gun to control water. Home Skills".
Secondly, through nine years of hard work, Gun has laid a solid foundation in water conservancy projects, and even achieved initial results. Yu finally completed the great cause of water control based on Gun’s creation. of.
However, Dayu succeeded in controlling the waters and knew how to use his prestige. He also learned his father's lesson and avoided repeating his father's mistakes.
Emperor Shun gave Yu the position before his death, which can be said to be the result of political game.
When Dayu became the "communist" of the world, especially the Southern conquest of San Miao, the formulation of the criminal law, and the Tushan League, the Xia Dynasty, the first country in our history, was established.
