Da Yu Led People in Curbing Floods 大禹治水 Legend In Book of Mountains and Seas and Huai Nan Zi has It that foul Of five thousand years aao .there came a flood in the Yellow River Valley,which rose as high as the sky，washing away whole villages with their houses and inundating large areas of cropland. Many people lost their lives in the flood and those who were fortunate enough to survive were forced to abandon their homes and go and live on hillsides or migrate to places far away. To stop the flood，Gun a god stole some of the growing earth possessed by the Heavenly Emperor without asking for permission. For this the emperor ordered Zhu Rong to execute him. After the death of Gun，his son Yu carried on the work of fighting flood. Before，under Gun's leadership，the people spent nine long years building dams and dykes to stop the flow of the rivers. All the efforts had however ended only in more disas-trous floods. Yu first made a study of the causes that had led to his father's failure.Then he made a careful survey of the afflicted areas and asked for advice from ex-perienced workers. Knowing that water tends to flow from higher to lower regions，he abandoned Gun's method of building dams and dykes to stop the flow of wa-ters. Instead he led his men in digging ditches and canals to divert the flood and also in dredging the river channels so as to provide outlets for the flood into the sea. In those days there was a high mountain in the upper reaches of the Yellow River that blocked the way of the rivet.In order to cut a canal into the mountain，Yu turned himself into a bear and stole into the mountains to do the digging. Rain or shine，Yu worked in the midst of his men，digging and taking earth away all through the four seasons of a year.He was so dedicatedthat it was said that he had three times re-frained from entering thedoor of his home when he was passing by. Missing Da Yu so much，his wife visi-ted the worksite. In the shape of a bear，Da Yu was dredging the watercourse. His wife was greatly frightened，so she ran away. Da Yu chased his wife，forgetting to convert himself back into a human being. The wife saw no chance to escape and turned herself into a stone. Da Yu was greatly depressed. He said to the stone，“Give back my son!”The stone split and revealed a child-the son of Da Yu，named Qi. After thirteen long years of continuous efforts，Yu and his men succee-ded in dredging all the rivers，big and small，and in doing away with the evil of flood. After the death of Shun，Yu became the head of the tribal confederation. 据《山海经》、《淮南子》等文献记载:四五千年前，黄河流域发生了特大水灾，庄稼被淹没，房子被冲毁，老百姓流离失所。有位叫鲸的神很同情百姓的遭遇，就偷窃了天帝的宝物“息壤”，一种生生不息、能不断生长的土壤，来到大地上掩堵洪水。天帝知道以后非常生气，就命令火神祝融杀死鲸。鲸死之后，大禹继承父志，重新开始治理洪水。此前，鲸率人花了九年的时间造堤筑坝，阻断河水，所有努力的结果却是遭致了更大的洪水。禹先研究了父亲治水失败的原因，然后认真考察了受灾地区，并向有经验的工人征求意见。在明白了水是由高向低流的道理后，改变了父亲鲸掩堵的治水之法，以开渠排水，疏通河道的办法，将洪水引到大海中去。当时，黄河上游有座大山堵塞了河水的去路。为了在山中开凿水道，禹变成熊，偷偷在山里挖掘。无论晴、雨，一年四季都和手下人一起挖土、运土。禹忙于治水，相传他三过家门而不人。妻子想念丈夫，就到治水工地去看望大禹。没想到大禹当时正变成一头熊在疏通水道。她吓得转身就跑。大禹发现以后，急忙去追，匆忙之间忘了变回人形。见逃不掉了，大禹的妻子就变成了一块石头。大禹很伤心，对着石头说:“还我儿子!”石头就裂开了一条缝，露出了一个小孩，这就是大禹的儿子，名字叫启。历经十三年不懈努力，大禹和手下人终于治水成功。他们疏通了大小所有的河道，铲除了水患。舜死后，禹成为部落联盟的首领。