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29-442: These mountains are reputed to be the burial place of Emperor Shun in ancient Chinese tradition . It is traditionally inhabited by the Yao people . Autonomous counties include: Daqiao Yao Ethnic Township This Hunan location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Emperor Shun Emperor Shun ( Chinese : 帝舜 ; pinyin : Dì Shùn ) was

58-639: A 'jade lady of the Yao ' included Lian the Great and Ruomu . According to the Bamboo Annals , a temple(祠) was made for him after he died during the 6th year of Qi . His son Ruomu was appointed lord of Xu in approximately 2061 BC by King Qi of Xia . Yi was believed to be the ancestor of Zhao clan and Qin clan as well. The state of Zhao and Qin were ruled by the two clans respectively. Descendants of Zhao clan were known as Zhao clan of Tianshui . Qin Shi Huang

87-489: 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 became distressed over the fact that his nine sons were all useless, only knew how to spend their days enjoying themselves with wine and song. Yao asked his ministers,

116-478: A half-sister ( Liènǚ Zhuàn , Ch. 1). Shun's stepmother and half brother treated Shun terribly, often forcing Shun to do all the hard work in the family and only giving him the worst food and clothing. Shun's father, being blind and elderly, was often ignorant of Shun's good deeds and always blamed Shun for everything. Yet, despite these conditions, Shun never complained and always treated his father, his stepmother, and his half brother with kindness and respect. When he

145-680: A legendary leader of ancient China , regarded by some sources as one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors being the last of the Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he lived sometime between 2294 and 2184 BC. Tradition also holds that those with the surname Hu (胡) are descendants of Emperor Shun. The Duke Hu of Chen , 胡公滿 , a descendant of Shun, became the founder of the State of Chen . Later Chen dynasty emperors such as Chen Baxian would also claim descent from Shun. Shun's clan name ( 姓 )

174-479: A mistake of various scholars in reading the original sources. He was eventually titled Boyi or Count Yi. Yi was appointed by Shun to assist in controlling the great flood through the controlled burn use of fire to clear the land forests, overgrowth, and marshes; and, also, to provide meat to feed the workers involved in the disaster management effort: he thus became a close companion of Yu, with whom he worked closely for thirteen years in this effort. Then, after

203-483: Is Yao ( 姚 ), his lineage name ( 氏 ) is Youyu ( 有虞 ). His given name was Chonghua ( 重華 ). Shun is sometimes referred to as the Great Shun ( 大舜 ) or as Yu Shun or Shun of Yu ( 虞舜 ), "Yu" being the name of his fief, which he received from Yao . According to traditional sources, Shun received the mantle of leadership from Emperor Yao at the age of 53, and then died at the age of 100 years. Before his death Shun

232-614: Is recorded as relinquishing his seat of power to Yu ( 禹 ), the founder of the Xia dynasty . Shun's capital was located in Puban ( 蒲阪 ), presently located in Shanxi ). Under 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

261-554: Is the Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation of 胡 Hú . Hồ Quý Ly , the founder of the Hồ dynasty , also claimed descent from Duke Hu of Chen and thereby direct descent from Shun. The Hồ family in Vietnam originated from China's Zhejiang province around the 900s. Tian (田) and Yuan (袁) also claim descent from the State of Chen . It is thought by some scholars that Mencius asserted "Shun

290-519: The Canon of Shun , Shun began to reign at the age of 30, reigned with Yao for 30 years, and reigned 50 more years after Yao's abdication, then Shun died. The Bamboo Annals state that Yao chose Shun as his heir three years before abdicating the throne to him. Both sources agree that after abdicating, Yao lived for another 28 years in retirement during Shun's reign. In later centuries, Yao and Shun were glorified for their virtue by Confucian philosophers. Shun

319-514: The Four Mountains , 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,

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348-572: The Minister of Agriculture , or Xie (契), or Gao Yao , but finally accepted upon Shun's insistence. Shun then appointed Chui (垂) as the new minister of work (共工). Shun also appointed Yi as Minister of Animal Husbandry 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. According to

377-404: The two princesses , Yao's daughters, named Ehuang (Fairy Radiance) and Nüying (Maiden Bloom), who were used to good living, to live humbly and work along the people. However, Shun's stepmother and half brother became extremely jealous and conspired to kill Shun. Once Shun's half brother Xiang lit a barn on fire, and convinced Shun to climb onto the roof to put the fire out, but then Xiang took away

406-527: The " Lü xing " 呂刑 chapter of the Book of Documents , where he is listed together with Yu the Great and Houji as "three princes" 三后. After the succession of Yu as sole emperor, Yu initially designated Yi as his successor, in preference to his son Qi . Versions vary as to whether Yu later changed his mind or if instead Yi was killed in the course of a struggle for the throne, as well as to whether Yi ever served as emperor. According to Sima Qian , Boyi's children by

435-465: The country. But unfortunately, he died suddenly of an illness on the journey near the Xiang River . 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 . Then overcome by grief, both women threw themselves into

464-450: The ladder, trapping Shun on the burning roof. Shun skilfully made a parachute out of his hat and cloth and jumped 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 half-sister, 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

493-503: The river and drowned. Shun considered his son, Shangjun ( 商均 ), as unworthy and picked Yu , the tamer of floods, as his heir. According to tradition, the Hu people are believed to be descendants of Emperor Shun. Gui Man , a direct descendant of Shun, became known as Chen Hugong or Duke Hu of Chen , meaning Duke Hu who founded the State of Chen . Later Chen dynasty emperors such as Chen Baxian would also claim descent from Shun. Hồ

522-525: The rivers. Shun dealt with Four Perils : banishing Gonggong to You Prefecture , confining Huan-dou (驩兜) on Mount Chong (宗山), executing or imprisoning Gun a prisoner till his death on Feather Mountain ( 羽 ), and driving the San-Miao into San-Wei . Gun's son, Yu ( 禹 ), was subsequently appointed as minister of work(共工) to govern the water and the land. Later, Shun appointed Yu to be General Regulator (Prime Minister). Yu wished to decline in favour of

551-469: 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 Huang , Mount Hua 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, and deepening

580-413: The successful struggle against the flood, and the subsequent reorganization of government, Yi was appointed Minister of Animal Husbandry. According to the more mythical accounts, Yi could domesticate animals and birds due to knowing their languages. Alternately, Yi is credited by creation of the canon of laws, while his relationship to the flood quelling is not underlined. This presentation is provided in

609-405: The throne. Shun wished to decline in favour of someone more virtuous, but eventually assumed Yao's duties. It was said that "those who had to try a lawsuit did not go to Danzhu , but to Shun." Danzhu was the son of Yao. After ascending to the throne, Shun offered sacrifices to the god Shang Di ( 上帝 ), as well as to the hills, rivers, and the host of spirits ( 神 ). Then he toured the eastern,

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638-583: Was a tribal leader of Longshan culture and a culture hero in Chinese mythology who helped Shun and Yu the Great control the Great Flood ; he served afterwards as a government minister and a successor as ruler of the empire. Yi is also credited with the invention of digging wells (although Shennong is also credited with this). He was the ancestor of the ruling houses of the Zhao , Qin , Xu and Liang states. Yi

667-561: Was also known as Boyi or Bo Yi , written variously as 伯 益 , 伯 夷 , 伯 翳 , and 柏 翳 . He was also known as Fei the Great ( 大 費 , Dafei ). In the Records of the Grand Historian , Sima Qian 's account of the origins of the House of Ying states that Fei the Great was the son of Ye the Great and Lady Hua . His father is given as Gao Yao , but this seems to have been

696-665: Was an Eastern barbarian ; he was born in Chu Feng, moved to Fu Hsia, and died in Ming T'iao and that emperor Yao came to his field's with oxs and married his daughters to him and appointed him and that he did not reign as emperor until after yao died because they cannot be two rulers. Additionally, the Bamboo Annals and Han Fei paint a very different picture of Shun. Both the Annals and the book Han Feizi stated that Shun overthrew Yao and left him in prison to die. Danzhu , Yao's son and rightful heir,

725-830: Was banished and later defeated in battle. In addition, Han Fei stated that Yu then rebelled and banished Shun. This account was referenced in Li Bai 's poem "Distant Parting" (遠別離). Han Fei also mentioned that Shun personally settled land and water disputes among farmers and fishermen by cohabitating with them. Three Exalted Ones: Suiren · Fuxi · Taihao · Nüwa · Zhurong · Shennong · Yandi · Gonggong · Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) Four Perils: Gonggong · Huandou · Gun · Sanmiao · Hundun · Qiongqi · Taowu · Taotie Five Primal Emperors: Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) · Shaohao · Zhuanxu · Ku · Zhi · Yao · Shun Yi (husbandman) Yi ( Chinese :  益 , Yì ; fl.  2nd millennium BCE)

754-468: 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 could. When Shun first went to a village that produced pottery, after less than one year, the pottery became more beautiful than they had ever been. When Shun went to

783-623: Was particularly renowned for his modesty and filial piety (xiao 孝 ). Sima Qian claimed in Annals of the Five Emperors ( 五帝本紀 ) that Shun descended from the Yellow Emperor through the latter's grandson Emperor Zhuanxu . The Bamboo Annals (048) recorded the name of Shun's mother as Wodeng ( 握登 ), and Shun's birthplace as Yaoxu ( 姚墟 ). Wodeng died when Shun was very young. Shun's blind father Gusou ( 瞽叟 , literally: "blind elder") remarried soon after Shun's mother's death. Shun's stepmother then gave birth to Shun's half brother Xiang ( 象 ) and

812-499: 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 half brother, and forgave them every time. Eventually, Shun's stepmother and half brother repented their past wrongs. Shun wholeheartedly 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

841-502: 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 in modern times is also in Shanxi province. Shun is also renowned as the originator of the music called Dashao ( 大韶 ), a symphony of nine Chinese musical instruments . In the last year of Shun's reign, Shun decided to tour

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