It is said that Yao proposed Shun as his successor during his reign. At that time, it was not the custom for the father to die and the son to succeed him, but to choose a wise and capable person as his successor. According to the legend, Yao nominated Shun, Shun nominated Yu, and Yu nominated Yi. According to "Mozi. According to "Shangxian Shang", "Yao raised Shun in the Yang of the Sui Ze and gave him the government, and the world was at peace". Mencius. It is written in Mencius Wanzhang that "Shun had served Yao for twenty-eight years, which was beyond the power of man. Shun probably did good deeds that no ordinary man could do and won the support of everyone. Therefore, after Yao's death, although Shun avoided Yao's son in the south of the Nanhe River, the lords of the world went to him instead of Yao's son, and when there was a lawsuit, they went to him. This reflects that Shun, the successor proposed by Yao, was indeed a virtuous person.
Legend has it that after the Yellow Emperor, the tribal alliance in the Yellow River basin produced three famous leaders, Yao, Shun and Yu. The story of their "meditation" has been recorded in many ancient books.
Yao, known as Tao Tang, was the son of Dichao and the fifth grandson of Huangdi, who lived in Pingyang (Linfen County, Shanxi Province) in the west. When Yao became the leader of the tribal alliance, he lived in a thatched hut, ate brown rice, cooked wild vegetables for soup, wore a rough linen coat in summer and only added a piece of deer skin in winter to keep out the cold. The people loved him as much as they loved their "parents, the sun and the moon".
After Yao had reigned for 70 years, he grew old. His son, Dan Zhu, was very rude and troublemaking. Some people recommended Dan Zhu to succeed him, but Yao did not agree. Later, Yao held a tribal alliance meeting to discuss the choice of a successor. Everyone recommended Yu Shun, saying that he was a virtuous and capable person. Yao was so happy that he married his two daughters, E Huang and Nuying, to Shun and tested them for three years before giving the throne to Shun.
Shun, called You Yu, is said to be the seventh grandson of Zhuan Xu, nine generations after the Yellow Emperor, and was born in Zhu Feng (in present-day Shandong Province). After taking over the throne, Shun personally plowed the fields, fished, and made pottery, and was loved by everyone. He perfected the system of social management by holding a tribal alliance meeting, in which he put Bajuan in charge of the land, Barkai in charge of education, Chi in charge of civil affairs, Fei in charge of mountains, forests, rivers and ponds, Boyi in charge of sacrifices, and Gaotao in charge of punishment. He also held a meeting to discuss the succession candidates in a democratic manner, just like Yao. Everyone elected Yu to be the successor. In his later years, Shun was in poor health, but he continued to go around the south and died on his way to Cangwu (in present-day Hunan province). After Shun's death, Yu became the head of the tribal alliance.
The historical legend of Yao and Shun's "transfer" reflects the democratic system of the primitive commune.
Emperor Shun