Master Archaeologist

Chapter 25: The Truth About "Dayu's Flood Control"?

What is the concept of a flood of 110 billion to 160 billion cubic meters?
Data estimated based on detailed scientific research by geological experts.

When the flood broke out that year, the peak flow was about 48 cubic meters per second, equivalent to 186 times the current average flow of the Yellow River, and [-] times the flow of the Yellow River in Qinghai!
You know, the largest recorded flood of the Yellow River occurred in 1843, and the maximum flow was only about 3.6 cubic meters per second!

Such a flood that year caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of people were left homeless!
And the flood of the Yellow River, which was ten times more violent than this, gathered together and gushed down from Jishi Gorge in an instant!

Such a large-scale super flood peak is enough to submerge directly from Jishi Gorge to the lower reaches of the Yellow River [-] kilometers away, directly forming a large swamp country!

If it was in a feudal society, such an unprecedented flood would be enough to paralyze or even destroy the entire country!

"A flood disaster of this scale has never occurred in any historical period when China has accurate historical data. It is a very rare huge flood."

"It can even be said to be the largest flood that has occurred on the earth in the past 1 years!"

Zhang Cheng pushed his glasses and said with some emotion: "To be honest, when we confirmed the flood, I immediately thought of the prehistoric flood in the Chinese legend."

"It's Dayu and his father, the two generations of people relayed the great flood that took decades to cure successfully."

"After carbon-14 dating of the juvenile bones buried in the Lajia site, we determined that the flood occurred around 1920 BC."

"If, I mean if." Zhang Cheng looked at Kong Jianwen, with some exploration in his expression: "If this flood is really the great flood ruled by Dayu in the Chinese legend."

"According to the records that Dayu and his father took about 20 years to control the water, perhaps the beginning of the Xia Dynasty should be 1900 BC, not the Xia Dynasty given in the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties Project, which started in 2070 BC. infer?"

As a geologist, Zhang Cheng obviously didn't understand how these archaeologists and historians accurately dated the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties.

However, relying on his professionalism in the geological field and combining with historical data, he gave an amazing guess.

At present, most archaeologists and historians agree with the dating data given by the Xia, Shang and Zhou dating projects.

Zhang Cheng gave a subversive argument, pushing back the beginning of the Xia Dynasty by 170 years.

It is obviously impossible to control such a large flood by manpower.

Not to mention 4000 years ago, even now, if such a large-scale flood suddenly broke out in the Yellow River, the government would be overwhelmed, and even mobilize the power of the whole country, and it would take several years to restore people's livelihood.

However, according to historical legends and historical materials, it took Dayu and his father Gun 20 years to cure the flood.

It just happened to Zhang Cheng that the great flood discovered at the Lajia site did take almost 20 years to calm down as usual.

Of course, this is not the credit of man-made water control, but the self-regulation ability of nature.

20 years is enough time for nature to eliminate the storm of this great flood.

These kinds of coincidences, on the contrary, gave enough evidence to the historical legends!
Perhaps the historical truth of the year was like this.

4000 years ago, a monstrous flood swept the entire Yellow River Basin.

In China, which was in the tribal alliance period at that time, there was a tribe named You Chong. This tribe was very good at controlling floods, so it was sent by the leader of the tribal alliance at that time to control the flood.

However, since it was still in the period of a major flood at that time, and there was the leader of the Chong family, it was impossible to control the flood by manpower. The flood control lasted for nine years without any effect.

Until he died and his son took over his task of water control, nine years had passed since the flood broke out, and the flood had also turned from the outbreak period to the calm period.

You Chong's second-generation leader spent another 13 years exhausting his efforts and physical strength. At the same time, the flood itself had indeed finished venting and calmed down.

"Water control" was so successful.

And these two leaders with the Chong family, the first is called Gun, and the second is called Yu.

The Huaxia Tribal Alliance at that time was the period of the Three Emperors and Five Emperors in historical legends.

Dayu also relied on the credit and prestige of this flood control to take over the leader position of the tribal alliance from Shun!
There is no legend about the heavenly emperor helping to control the water, and there are no messy fantasy events such as Yinglong waiting for Dayu's order.

In fact, the truth is that it took just over ten years for the flood to calm down from eruption. Even if there was no Dayu, the flood would naturally disappear and calm down.

It just so happened that such a tribe took over the task of controlling the flood back then, so by accident, the ancients thought it was Dayu who managed the flood.

In the Qing Dynasty 200 years ago, when there was a flood, I thought it was the Dragon King who was angry.

We can't expect the ancestors who were still slash-and-burn farming 4000 years ago to understand the principles of floods and geographical knowledge, right?

As a matter of course, people at that time thought that it was Dayu who cured the flood.

Zhang Cheng told Kong Jianwen and Li Chunchao his guess truthfully.

Both of them were shocked by his thought.

Is Zhang Cheng's guess reasonable?

Reasonable, very reasonable!

Judging by geological research, it can indeed be proved that such a super flood occurred in the Yellow River Basin 4000 years ago.

In the legends of Chinese history, there was indeed such a flood.

According to legend, Dayu took 22 years to control the flood, which is about the same as the flood period of this flood.

All kinds of coincidences made people believe what Zhang Cheng said.

However, Li Chunchao still sighed.

"Unfortunately, guesses can only be guesses after all. There is no actual evidence to prove that this prehistoric flood is the flood ruled by Dayu in the Chinese legend."

Zhang Cheng can only be sure that such a big flood occurred 4000 years ago and led to the complete destruction of the Lajia site, but there is no evidence to link the flood with Dayu.

"That's not necessarily true." Kong Jianwen, who had been thinking with his head down, raised his head sharply, looked at Zhang Cheng and asked, "Professor Zhang, you just said that the source of the flood you discovered 25 kilometers upstream is called Jishi Gorge. Bar?"

"Yeah, Jishi Gorge, what's wrong?" Zhang Cheng asked suspiciously.

Kong Jianwen had a strange expression on his face, and he confided almost word by word: "There is such a passage in "Shangshu·Yugong"."

"Guiding the river to accumulate rocks, as far as Longmen, south to Huayin, east to Dizhu, east to Mengjin, east to Luo, Rui, as to Dalong, north to precipitation, as to the mainland, and north to Jiuhe, the same is Fell against the river into the sea."

"This is the record of the process of Dayu leading the people to trek through mountains and rivers and dig rocks to release floods."

"You said, if you are asked to control the water, shouldn't the first stop be to deal with the source of the flood outbreak?"

"The first stop of Dayu's water control is called "Jishi". Previously, domestic scholars have always believed that the "Jishi" here refers to the Jishi Mountain at the border between the eastern part of Qinghai Province and Gansu."

"Also, if I read correctly, the location of Jishi Gorge is on the side of Jishi Mountain!"

"The book said that the river guides Jishi Mountain, or Jishi Gorge?"

(End of this chapter)