Shun
Encyclopedia
23rd century BC
The 23rd century BC is a century which lasted from the year 2300 BC to 2201 BC.-Events:*2334 BC – 2279 BC: Sargon of Akkad's conquest of Mesopotamia....
-22nd century BC
22nd century BC
The 22nd century BC is a century which lasted from the year 2200 BC to 2101 BC.-Events:right|thumb|170px|The [[deluge |Deluge]] tablet of the [[Gilgamesh epic]] in [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]...
leader of ancient China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, whose half-century of rule was one of the longest in Chinese history.
Life of Shun
His ancestral name （姓）is Yao（姚）,clan name （氏）is Youyu (有虞), given name is Chonghua (重華),the Great Shun (大舜) or Yu Shun (虞舜) (Yu was the name of Shun's fief, which he received from Yao – making him "Shun of Yu"). He received the mantle of leadership from Emperor Yao at the age of 53 and died at 100, after relinquishing the seat of power to YuYu the Great
Yu the Great , was a legendary ruler of Ancient China famed for his introduction of flood control, inaugurating dynastic rule in China by founding the Xia Dynasty, and for his upright moral character....
, who founded the legendary Xia Dynasty. Shun's capital was at Puban (蒲阪) (presently in Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
).
Under the Emperor Yao, Shun was appointed successively Minister of Instruction, General Regulator and chief of the Four Peaks, and put all affairs in proper order within three years. Yao was so impressed that he appointed Shun as his successor to the throne. Shun wished to decline in favour of someone more virtuous, but eventually assumed Yao's duties.
After ascending to the throne Hi, Shun offered sacrifices to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, as well as to the hills, rivers, and the host of spirits. Then he toured the eastern, the southern, the western, and the northern parts of the country; in each place he offered burnt-offering to Heaven at each of the four peaks (Mount Tai
Mount Tai
Mount Tai is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an, in Shandong province, People's Republic of China. The tallest peak is the Jade Emperor Peak , which is commonly reported as tall, but is described by the PRC government as .Mount Tai is one of the...
, Mount Huang
Huangshan
Huangshan may refer to:*Huangshan , a scenic mountain range and UNESCO World Heritage Site*Huangshan City, a prefecture-level city centered on the Huangshan Mountains...
, Mount Hua
Mount Hua
Mount Hua or Hua Shan in Chinese is located in Shaanxi Province, about 120 kilometres east of the city of Xi'an, near the city Huayin in China. Also known as Xiyuè, Western Great Mountain, it is one of China's Five Sacred Taoist Mountains, and has a long history of religious significance...
and Mount Heng), sacrificed to the hills and rivers, set in accord the seasons, months, and days, established uniform measurements of length and capacities, and reinforced ceremonial laws.
Shun divided the land into twelve provinces, raising altars upon twelve hills in each, and deepening the rivers. Shun dealt with four criminals: banishing the Minister of Works to You island, confining Huan-dou on Mount Chong; driving San-Miao into San-Wei, and holding Gun a prisoner till his death on Mount Yu. Yu
Yu the Great
Yu the Great , was a legendary ruler of Ancient China famed for his introduction of flood control, inaugurating dynastic rule in China by founding the Xia Dynasty, and for his upright moral character....
was subsequently appointed Minister of Works to govern the water and the land. Later, Shun appointed Yu to be General Regulator (Prime Minister). Yu wished to decline in favour of the Minister of Agriculture, or Xie, or Gao-Yao, but finally accepted upon Shun's insistence. Shun then appointed Chui as the new Minister of Works. Shun also appointed Yi
Yi
Yi may mean:* Yi , a letter of the Ukrainian alphabet* Yi , a text editor written in Haskell* Serbia and Montenegro * Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, and its sequel, Yoshi's Island DS...
as Forester to govern the beasts and trees of the land, Bo-yi as Priest of the Ancestral Temple to perform religious ceremonies, Hui as Director of Music, Long as Minister of Communications to counter deceptions and false reports.
Shun began to reign at the age of 30, reigned with Yao for 30 years, and reigned 50 years after Yao's death, then Shun died.
In later centuries, Yao and Shun were glorified for their virtue by Confucian philosophers. Shun was particularly renowned for his modesty and filial piety (xiao 孝).
The name of Shun's mother was Wodeng (握登), and his birthplace was Yaoxu (姚墟).
Legends
When he was barely an adult, his stepmother threw him out of the house. Shun was forced to live on his own. Yet, because of his compassionate nature and his natural leadership skills, everywhere he went, people followed him, and he was able to organize the people to be kind to each other and do the best they can. When Shun first went to a village that produced pottery, after less than one year, the potteries became more beautiful than they had ever been. When Shun went to a fishing village, the people there were at first fighting amongst themselves over the fishing grounds, and many people were injured or killed in the fights. Shun taught them how to share and allocate the fishing resources, and soon the village was prospering and all hostilities ceased.
When Emperor Yao became old, he distressed over the fact that his 9 sons were all useless, only knew how to spend their days enjoying themselves with wines and songs. Yao asked his administers to propose a suitable successor. Yao then heard of Shun's tales. Wise Yao did not want to simply believe in the tales about Shun, so he decided to test Shun. Yao gave a district to Shun to govern and married his two daughters to him, with a small dowry of a new house and some money.
Though given an office and money, Shun still lived humbly. He continued to work in the fields every day. Shun even managed to convince his two brides, the two princesses who are used to good living, to live humbly and work along the people. However, Shun's stepmother and stepbrother became extremely jealous and conspired to kill Shun. Once, Shun's stepbrother Xiang lit a barn on fire, and convinced Shun to climb onto the roof to put the fire out, but then Xiang took away the ladder, trapping Shun on the burning roof. Shun skillfully made a parachute out of his hat and cloth and jump down in safety. Another time, Xiang and his mother conspired to get Shun drunk and then throw him into a dried up well and then bury him with rocks and dirt. Shun's stepsister, never approving of her mother and brother's schemes, told Shun's wives about the scheme. Shun thus prepared himself. Shun pretended to get drunk, and when he was thrown into the well, he had already a tunnel pre-dug to escape to the surface. Thus, Shun survived many attempts on his life. Yet, he never blamed his stepmother or his stepbrother, and always forgave them every time.
Eventually, Shun's stepmother and stepbrother repented their past wrongs. Shun heartily forgave them both, and even helped Xiang get an office. Shun also managed to influence Emperor Yao's 9 worthless sons into becoming useful contributing members of society.
Emperor Yao was very impressed by all of Shun's achievements, and thus chose Shun as his successor and put him on the throne in the year of Jiwei (己未). Yao's capital was in Ji (冀) which, presently, is also in Shanxi province.
Shun is also renowned as the originator of the music called Dashao (大韶), a symphony of nine Chinese music instruments.
In the last year of Shun's reign, Shun decided to tour the country. But unfortunately, he died suddenly of an illness on the journey near the Xiang River
Xiang River
The Xiang River , in older transliterations as the Siang River or Hsiang River, is a river in southern China...
. Both his wives rushed from home to his body, and wept by the river for days. Their tears turned into blood and stained the reeds by the river. From that day on, the bamboo of that region became red-spotted, which explains the origin of spotted bamboo
Spotted bamboo
Spotted bamboo refers to several species of bamboo, apparently within the genus Phyllostachys, also known as "teardrop" bamboo and as mottled bamboo, which are types of bamboo with stems that are mottled by dark spots...
. Then overcome by grief, both women threw themselves into the river and drowned.
Shun considered his son, Shangjun (商均), as unworthy and picked Yu
Yu the Great
Yu the Great , was a legendary ruler of Ancient China famed for his introduction of flood control, inaugurating dynastic rule in China by founding the Xia Dynasty, and for his upright moral character....
, the tamer of floods, as his heir.
Alternative biography
The Bamboo AnnalsBamboo Annals
The Bamboo Annals is a chronicle of ancient China. It begins at the earliest legendary times and extends to the Warring States Period , particularly the history of the Wei state...
and Han Fei
Han Fei
Han Fei was a Chinese philosopher who, along with Li Si, Gongsun Yang, Shen Dao and Shen Buhai, developed the doctrine of the School of Law or Legalism...
paint a very different picture of Shun. He is said to have overthrown Yao and left him in prison to die. Danzhu
Danzhu
Danzhu was the son of Emperor Yao . His mother was a concubine San Yi.He was described as vicious and a playboy, and his father Yao is said to have invented the game of Weiqi to favorably influence him. Various stories have him either banished, executed, or attempting to kill his...
, Yao's son and rightful heir, was banished and later defeated in battle. Yu
Yu the Great
Yu the Great , was a legendary ruler of Ancient China famed for his introduction of flood control, inaugurating dynastic rule in China by founding the Xia Dynasty, and for his upright moral character....
then rebelled and banished Shun. This account was referenced in a poem by Li Bai
Li Bai
Li Bai , also known in the West by various other transliterations, especially Li Po, was a major Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty poetry period. He has been regarded as one of the greatest poets in China's Tang period, which is often called China's "golden age" of poetry. Around a thousand existing...
.
Elements of this story depict Shun as a usurper. He comes from a family of criminals that claim to be descended from Zhuanxu
Zhuanxu
Zhuanxu , also known as Gaoyang is a mythological monarch of ancient China.A grandson of the Yellow Emperor, Zhuanxu led the Shi clan in an eastward migration to present-day Shandong, where intermarriages with the Dongyi clan enlarged and augmented their tribal influences...
, and thus distantly related to the royal family.
Events of Shun's regime
- In the 3rd year of his regime, he ordered Jiutao (咎陶) to establish penalties to deal with various criminals.
- In the 9th year of his regime, the West Queen came to worship in China and brought white jadeJadeJade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...
rings and Jue (玦) as gifts. - In the 14th year of his regime, Yu of Xia was appointed to manage disasters caused by floods and winds.
- In the 15th year of his regime, he appointed Houshi (后氏) to build the palace.
- In February of the 17th year, dancing was first taught at schools.
- In the 25th year of his regime, envoy of the Xishen (息慎) tribe came and, as gifts, brought the bow and arrow.
- In the 29th year, he ordered Ziyi (子义) to serve as duke in Shang.
- In the 30th year of his regime, his wife Mang (盲) died and was honored with a tomb built for her at Wei (渭).
- In the 32nd year of his regime, he transferred military power to Yu of Xia.
- In January of the 33rd year of his regime, he rewarded Yu of Xia for his achievement in managing the floods, in the aftermath of which, nine provinces were re-established in China.
- In the 35th year of his regime, he ordered Yu of Xia to send troops to Youmiao (有苗). After Yu achieved victory, Youmiao sent an envoy with a request to join China.
- In his 36th year of his regime, he ordered the Great Wall (of Shun's time, not the current Great Wall of ChinaGreat Wall of ChinaThe Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built originally to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by various nomadic groups...
) to be torn down. - In the 42nd year of his regime, the Xuandu (玄都) people came to worship him and brought precious jade as gifts.
- The winter of the 47th year of his regime was very warm and the grass did not die.
- In the 49th year of his regime, he moved to Mingtiao (鸣条), a place later called Haizhou (海州) during the Warring States PeriodWarring States PeriodThe Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, or the Warring Kingdoms period, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BC to the reunification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC...
. His death came the following year, after a rule described as having lasted fifty years.
See also
- Cangwu CountyCangwu CountyCangwu County is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Wuzhou city....
- Chinese mythologyChinese mythologyChinese mythology is a collection of cultural history, folktales, and religions that have been passed down in oral or written tradition. These include creation myths and legends and myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state...
- Emperor Yao
- Great Flood (China)
- Xiang RiverXiang RiverThe Xiang River , in older transliterations as the Siang River or Hsiang River, is a river in southern China...
- Yu the GreatYu the GreatYu the Great , was a legendary ruler of Ancient China famed for his introduction of flood control, inaugurating dynastic rule in China by founding the Xia Dynasty, and for his upright moral character....
External links
- http://www.threekingdoms.com/history.htm#2_3_2 Shun in Outlines of Early China Historyby Li Ung Bing