桑珠欢穆
Today I read an article about our ancestors Yao, Shun and Yu. Maybe everybody knowsthis story but I will try my best to write it in English. We may read that Yao, Shun and Yu werethe first three great kings in China’s remotepast. And they all made great influence onChinese history. So for thousands of yearsafter, all the people hope that they can havesuch kings in our country and the courtofficials would yearn for yet never get toserve monarchs such as them. As we knowvery little about them a part from legend, wecan only speculate that they were probablytribal chieftains during the transitional periodfrom primitive to slave society. It is said that Yao was a descendent of Emperor Huang. And historical recordsportray him as being open-minded asthe sky and as wise as the gods. Peopleloved him in the way sunflowers turned tothe sun and longed to see him like dryland thirsting for rain and clouds. Sucha ruler could not incur human dissent,but then an immense flood, of a scaleno smaller than that described in theBible, deluged the country. King Yaoappointed Gun to harness the flood.For nine years, Gun did all he could tostop the waters from running amok,but without success. King Yao grew fatigued after 70 yearsas monarch. He transferred power toShun, rather than his morally corrupt son.The father did not want “the people to sufferin order to benefit his son.” King Yao didn’tmake the decision imprudently: He hadobserved Shun in every aspect, evenmarrying his two daughters to Shun so asto gain a closer understanding of his moralcharacter. Shun lived up to Yao’s expectationsby accomplishing many of Yao’s hoped-forobjectives, amongst which was the tamingof the great flood. Upon taking office, King Shun killed Gun forhis dereliction, and placed Gun’s son Yu incharge of tackling the floods. Drawing lessonsfrom his father, Yu resorted to diverting, ratherthan blocking, the waters. He joined the peoplein this hard work and didn’t take time to visit hisfamily for 13 years,
