Emperor Yu Paid Great Respect to Heaven and Worked Tirelessly for the People
 
Emperor Yu's surname was Si and his given name was Wenming. He lived from 2200 – 2101 BC and was known as one of the most virtuous emperors in ancient Chinese history. He inherited the virtue of "work for sentient beings but not for oneself" from the previous emperors Yao and Shun. He paid great respect to the divine and heaven, worked on flood control, and taught his subjects moral principles. He accomplished so much and his merits were so great that people say he was sent by heaven to eliminate floods and save people. Many have therefore called him "Yu the Great" or "Yu the God."
 
Back in his time, floods were causing catastrophic disasters in China. They surrounded tall mountains inundated hills. People were constantly losing their homes and lived in misery. The Emperor at the time was Shun (2294 – 2184 BC). He heard that Yu was a bright and hard-working young man with lofty aspirations, so he ordered Yu to lead the flood control effort. Yu immediately gathered knowledgeable people together to help him. Yu was a very humble person. He often showed his appreciation for others' advice with deep bowing. He accepted many suggestions and decided to build channels to control the flash flood waters. He himself climbed over many mountains, traveled through many forests, and crossed many rivers to survey the path the water took to the ocean.
 
Yu devoutly worshiped heaven, and his ceremonies were always very formal and solemn. From the way he carried himself during the ceremonies, one could see how much he respected heaven. His style of walking during the ceremonies was later referred to as "Yu-style steps" and it was copied during rituals. Yu and other workers went to many parts of China to work on flood control. Even the divine beings were touched. The Yellow River God gave him a diagram of the river. When he was working on larger rivers, such as the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, there appeared yellow dragons that helped him to clear the river paths by shaking their tails. The heavenly gods also gave him a jade container, a divine ax, a divine sword, etc. Yu used the jade container to measure the water level and figure out the depth of water in rivers and oceans. He used the divine ax to open the "Dragon Path" in a place near today's Luoyang City, Henan Province, so that the water could flow easily through it. He used the divine sword to kill the evil dragon that stirred up water and caused many disasters. In the end, Yu brought the flooding under complete control.
 
Yu worked tirelessly for 13 years. He went everywhere in China. There is a famous story that, although he passed by his home three times during those 13 years, he did not go home once. He dredged nine river channels, harnessed nine large lakes, and excavated nine mountains. He ended the flooding disasters in China and routed all rivers to the ocean. The people were finally able to live peacefully in their homes. At the same time, Yu helped people to develop agriculture and grow many different types of crops. They learned to grow rice in low, wet locations. Yu also taught people how to transport goods on water and his teachings of morality reached even the most remote parts. Since that time, east to the ocean, west to the desert, from north to south, on an area of several million square kilometers, China became a rich and fabulous place. To reward Yu for his success, Emperor Shun presented him with a piece of royal jade in a formal ceremony.
 
After Yu completed the flood control project, he devoted his time to assisting Emperor Shun. He was very loyal and responsible. He said to Shun, "Following good principles will bring us fortune; following evil will bring us misfortune, just as a shadow will follow an object and an echo a sound. Therefore, at all times we must put virtue as the top priority. If your officials have virtue, your people will support you. If you follow heaven's orders with a tranquil mind, heaven will bring you prosperity." Emperor Shun was very happy because Yu assisted him righteously, showed no flattery and gave him good advice. Yu’s virtue and actions set an example in the royal court. Emperor Shun ordered all his people to learn from Yu. In his 33rd year as Emperor, Shun formally commended Yu to heaven and passed the honor of being emperor of China to Yu.
 
After Yu became the emperor, he worked even harder to make life fortunate for his people. He used good government policies, reinforced teaching virtue to common folks, sincerely recruited wise people to be officials, and widely accepted suggestions from the general populace. When Emperor Yu traveled to the south, he met tens of thousands of vassals from other countries in the "Tu-Mountain Meeting." To commemorate this grand gathering, Yu ordered people to make nine great vessels (called Ding) with the copper that other countries had offered him, which represented the nine states that had unified to become a whole China. At the time, there were nine relatively large tribes in the southeastern part of China. They were known as the "Nine Tribes." Yu went there several times himself to promote China's culture, etiquette and morality. On the way, he learned about the locals' traditions, encouraged them to develop agriculture, taught them about farming seasons and times, and gave them seeds. He also taught them moral principles and encouraged them to follow the law and be at peace with each other. Yu was greatly respected and welcomed by the local people. He also enhanced worship activities and declared "The Music of Shao" as the music of worship. He also composed the music "The Great Xia" to spread virtue.
 
The culture and spirit passed down by Yu are extremely rich. They contain ideas about respecting Heaven, supporting people, and teaching people. They also contain political ideals, such as using righteous virtues and honesty and valuing traditional moral principles such as "nature and man in one harmony" and "think about morals when seeing money or benefits" and "be selfless and think for the big group." All these ideas have had a huge impact on the development of Chinese civilization. The traditional Chinese culture has always been based on faith and morality, and thus the principles of paying respect to Heaven and being loving to people have always been valued.
 
志高任重　为民造福
 
禹，姒姓，名文命，我国上古时期一代贤圣帝王，他继承尧、舜“只为苍生不为身”的美德，虔心敬神，治理洪水，行德化民。其功绩卓著，人们都说他是秉承天命而来，消除水患、救助百姓，因此被称为大禹或神禹。
 
当时中原地区洪水为灾，包围了高山，漫上了丘陵，导致人民居无定所，民不聊生。舜帝了解到禹是一位有抱负而且聪敏勤恳的青年，贤名远播，于是命禹治水。禹受命之后，立即召集百姓前来协助，他为人十分谦虚，听到别人对他的善言相劝，常感激的下拜。他广纳善言，采用疏导的办法，亲自翻山越岭，淌河过川，规划水道引洪水入海。
 
禹极其虔诚的祭拜天地，仪式严肃庄重，他走步恭敬的姿态就连后人祭祀神明时也有“禹步”之说。相传他带领民工到处治水，感动了天神帮助。黄河水神授给他河图，治理黄河、长江等大河时出现黄龙摇尾帮他疏导河道。天神赠给他玉筒、神斧、斩蛟神剑等。他用玉筒来度量天地、定江海水位；用神斧在河南洛阳凿开龙门，使河水畅通无阻；用斩蛟神剑斩了将清水搅浑、兴风作浪的恶龙，根治了水患。
 
禹栉风沐雨，不畏艰辛，历经十三年之久，足迹遍于全国各地，三过家门不入，疏导了九条河道，修治了九个大泽，凿通了九条山脉，不仅治理了水患，而且在全国范围内形成了众河朝宗于大海、百姓得以安居乐业的局面。在治水害的同时，禹还指导人们发展农业生产和水上运输，种植粟、黍、豆、麻等农作物，在地势低洼的地方种植水稻。这样，东临大海，西至沙漠，从北方到南方，九州统一，使天子的道德教化达到了四方荒远的边陲，在几百万平方公里的土地上，呈现出一派井然有序、怡然富足的宏伟景象。舜帝在隆重的祭祀仪式上，将一块玉圭赐给禹，以表彰他治水成功。
 
禹治理四海之后，又敬慎的辅助舜帝，忠心耿耿，尽职尽责，他对舜帝说：“顺从善就吉，顺从恶就凶，就像影和响顺从形体和声音一样。因此任何时候都要恭敬的把德行放在第一位。辅佐的大臣有德行，天下人都会响应拥护您。您用清静之心奉行上帝的命令，上天会经常把美好的符瑞降临给您。”舜帝高兴的说：“禹啊，我想为民造福，你辅佐我；我想观天象，知日月星辰、作文绣服饰，你谏明我；我想用六律五声八音来治乱，宣扬五德，你帮助我。你襟怀坦荡，从不阿谀逢迎，以自己的真诚、德行和榜样，使朝中清正无邪。帮助我奉行天命，施行德政，顺应天时，谨微慎行，使民风淳厚，四方归附。”舜帝令天下都学习禹的德行，在位三十三年时，正式将禹推荐给上天，把天子位禅让给禹。
 
禹为帝后，更加勤奋的为民谋福，实行善政养民，加强道德教化，诚恳的招揽士人，广泛的听取民众的意见。禹帝南巡时，在涂山大会天下诸侯，前来朝见的诸侯竟达万名之众，禹帝为纪念这次盛会，把各方诸侯们送来的青铜铸成九个鼎，象征统一天下九州。当时东南地区有九个较大的部落，称“九夷”，禹帝几次出巡该地区，传播中原文化和礼教，他沿途向当地人询问习俗，鼓励农耕，告其农时，播种五谷，教诲那里民众以德行事，讲礼仪，知法度，不以强凌弱，和睦相处，受到当地百姓的尊敬和礼遇。禹帝加强祭祀活动，将弘扬美德的《韶乐》定为祭祀山川神明的主乐章，又制作乐曲《大夏》将德行发扬光大。
 

禹的精神和禹文化内涵极其丰富，有敬天、养民、教民的民本思想；有正德、利用、厚生、惟和的为政之道；有天人合一、见利思义、克己奉公的传统美德理念，对后世有著深远的影响。我们中国传统文化始终以信仰为本，道德为尊，因此敬天爱民历来为人们所推崇。