For all his exploits, Ruler Shun handed over his throne to Yu. He was the only emperor who had calluses on his hands. But even after becoming a ruler, he continued to correct river beds and dig canals.
One day, while laying one of the canals, Yu found himself in a cave that looked like a hall. In its center was a deity with a human face and a snake body. Yu guessed who it was, but asked out of politeness:
- Aren't you Fusi?
“Yes, I am Fusi, the son of the goddess of nine rivers,” I heard the answer.
They felt great sympathy for each other. Fusi also survived the flood. He was filled with respect for Yu, who was doing great work, pulled out a jade plate from his bosom and presented it, explaining:
- It can measure heaven and earth.
Since then, Yu always carried this plate with him, and when he became emperor, he measured the land and divided China into nine regions. Measured the height of nine mountains. He fenced nine lakes with embankments. He laid nine main roads in the country. He himself walked around all the lands of the empire from north to south and from west to east.
The rulers of all nine regions gave Yu a lot of bronze, and he made nine huge tripods from it, which only ninety thousand people could move! On these tripods, Yu depicted all the evil spirits that he recognized during his wanderings, so that when people met them they could immediately recognize any evil.
Yu reigned happily ever after. And people said about him:
“If it weren’t for Yu, we would all probably turn into fish and shrimp.”
But even a happy reign comes to an end. One day Yu went south to inspect his possessions, fell ill on the way and died. They say that only his shell remained on earth, and he himself ascended to heaven and became a deity.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru