When Yao was in office, there was a big flood in the Yellow River basin, crops were flooded, houses were destroyed, and people had to move to higher ground. There are poisonous snakes and beasts in many places, which endanger people and animals and make people unable to live.
Yao convened a tribal alliance meeting to discuss water control. He asked the leaders of four tribes for advice: Who should be sent to control the flood? The leaders all recommend guns (sound gǔn).
Yao doesn't believe in guns. The leader said: "There is no better talent than a gun now. Please try! " Yao reluctantly agreed.
It took Gun nine years to control the water, but he didn't subdue the flood. Because he only knew how to cover up with water and build dams, the flood collapsed and became more fierce.
After replacing Yao as the leader of the tribal alliance, Shun personally went to the place where the water was controlled. He found that Gun was ineffective, so he killed Gun and asked Gun's son Yu to control the water.
Yu changed his father's practice and introduced the flood into the sea by opening canals to drain water and dredge rivers. He worked with the people, wearing a hat and holding a shovel, taking the lead in digging holes and collecting soil, so tired that he polished the hair on his calf.
After 13 years of efforts, the flood was finally led to the sea, and the land can be used to grow human crops again.
Shortly after the wedding, in order to control water, I ran around and passed my door many times, but I didn't go in. On one occasion, his wife Tu Shanshi gave birth to his son Qi. The baby is crying. I passed by the door and heard crying, but I didn't go in to visit.
At that time, there was a mountain in the middle reaches of the Yellow River called Longmen Mountain (in the northwest of Hejin County, Shanxi Province). It blocked the river and made it very narrow. The river running eastward is blocked by Longmen Mountain, which often overflows the river and causes floods. When Yu got there, he observed the terrain, led people to dig the Longmen, and made a big hole in the mountain. In this way, the river is unimpeded.
Later generations praised Yu's achievements in water control and called him Dayu.
When Shun was old, he found an heir, just like Yao. Everyone chose because of his meritorious service in water control. After Shun's death, Yu inherited the leadership position of the tribal alliance.
At this time, it has reached the late stage of the clan commune. With the development of productive forces, what a person produces is not only to maintain his own life, but also surplus. The leaders of clans and tribes took advantage of their position and took the surplus products as their private property and became nobles of clans. With the surplus products, wars broke out between tribes, captured prisoners, stopped killing, and turned them into slaves to work for nobles. In this way, the two classes of slaves and slave owners gradually formed, and the clan commune began to collapse.
Due to Yu's achievements in water control, the prestige and power of tribal alliance leaders have been improved. According to legend, when Yu was old, he traveled eastward to Huiji Mountain (in Shaoxing, Zhejiang) and gathered many tribal leaders. All the people who went to see jade held jade in their hands, and the ceremony was very grand. There was a tribal leader named Fang Feng, who was the last to attend the meeting. I thought I wouldn't do it, so I beheaded Fang Feng. This shows that Yu at that time had changed from a tribal alliance leader to a veritable king. Yu once had an assistant named, who helped Yu manage politics. After his death, his son Boyi also became Yu's assistant. According to the abdication system, Boyi should have been the heir of Yu. However, after Yu's death, the nobles of the Xia tribe where Yu lived supported Yu's son Qi to inherit Yu's throne.
In this way, the tribal alliance election system in the clan commune period was officially abolished and became the hereditary system of the throne. The first slavery dynasty in Chinese history-Xia Dynasty appeared.