Yu the Great Harnesses the Flood
大禹治水
Yu the Great was the chieftain of the legendary Xiahou clan. He was o-riginally called Yu or Xiayu. According to legend，the Yellow River floo-ded during the reign of Emperor Yao，and the people were forced to abandon their villages，and go to live in trees or on mountaintops.The flood brought great misery to the people.Emperor Yao，the chieftain of the Yan-Huang tribal alliance，appointed Gun to har-ness the flood.Gun built dikes to keep back the water,but failed.Shun，who succeeded Yao，killed Gun，and appointed Gun’s son Yu to continue with the flood-harnessing work.Drawing a lesson from his father’s failure，Yu adopted the dred-ging method to lead the flood waters to flow along river courses into the sea.Yu worked very hard.It was said that during the 13 years he spent taming the floods，he passed his home three times，but did not enter until his task was completed. As a result of his successful efforts，the people bestowed on him the title“Yu the Great” and with the approval of the tribal chieftains，Shun chose Yu as his successor.
大禹是传说中夏后氏部落的首领，原称“禹”，也称“夏禹”。传说尧的时候，黄河发大水，洪水冲毁了村庄和房屋，人们只能住到树上和山顶上。洪水给人民带来了极大的灾害。那时，炎黄部落联盟的首领尧任用稣(gun)治理洪水，稣采用筑堤堵水的办法治水，遭到了失败。尧之后，担任部落联盟首领的舜杀死了鲸，然后命令鲸的儿子禹继续治水。禹吸取了稣的教训，改用疏导的方法治水，让洪水顺河道流向大海。禹辛勤地工作，传说他在外治水13年，三次经过家门都没有抽时间进去看看。最后，禹终于制服了水患。人们感谢禹，尊称他为“大禹”。由于禹治水成功，得到舜的“禅让”，舜征得各部落首领的同意，推举禹为自己的继承人。