MICHAEL WOOD:'China, the land of dragons,
MICHAEL WOOD:'the land of magic and mystery.
MICHAEL WOOD:'All countries have myths and legends about how they began.
MICHAEL WOOD:'This story is about China's Yellow River.
MICHAEL WOOD:'The Yellow River is so big and so strong 'that every year in ancient times it killed thousands of people.
MICHAEL WOOD:'So to build houses and villages, human beings needed to learn 'how to control the waters.
MICHAEL WOOD:'And that takes us to the legend of King Yu, 'which is still told by Chinese storytellers.
STORYTELLER:King Yu had two fantastic helpers.
STORYTELLER:Yellow Dragon, who had a very long tail, and Black Turtle, who was very strong.
STORYTELLER:To stop the flooding, Yellow Dragon dragged his tail through the earth, to make a channel for the water to run away.
STORYTELLER:'And when King Yu wanted to build a dam, 'Black Turtle pushed huge heaps of mud into position.'
STORYTELLER:King Yu, Yellow Dragon and Black Turtle worked so hard for 13 years, they didn't even have time to go home.
MICHAEL WOOD:Look at this.
MICHAEL WOOD:'So King Yu was the one who built dams to hold back the river. 'And made channels to water the fields, so crops could grow.
MICHAEL WOOD:'He was so important that the Chinese people remembered him,
MICHAEL WOOD:'and built temples where they could thank him in their prayers.'
MICHAEL WOOD:This is a main dynasty temple. Built in the 1520s, but on a very, very ancient terrace.
MICHAEL WOOD:And that's King Yu.
MICHAEL WOOD:'Now everybody thought these tales were just legends, 'but not long ago, a bowl was found, nearly 4,000 years old, 'engraved with King Yu's story.
MICHAEL WOOD:'So maybe after all he was a real person.
MICHAEL WOOD:'And as for Yellow Dragon and Black Turtle, 'well, what do you think?
MICHAEL WOOD:'So King Yu made a kingdom on the banks of the Yellow River, 'and it was said he ruled 10,000 villages and tribes.
MICHAEL WOOD:'And not long ago, the archaeologists dug where the legend said.
MICHAEL WOOD:'And there, they found traces of a city
MICHAEL WOOD:'which once had thousands of people.
MICHAEL WOOD:'In the middle was a great square with earth walls, 'and a gateway to a royal palace.
MICHAEL WOOD:'And there they found a man buried with a dragon sceptre.
MICHAEL WOOD:'And the dragon would be the badge of Chinese kings and emperors 'ever after.
MICHAEL WOOD:'So that's how the old legends told the tale 'of one of China's earliest rulers.
MICHAEL WOOD:'But in around 1500 BC, King Yu's family were conquered by new kings, 'the Shang.
MICHAEL WOOD:'The Shang were China's first great dynasty, or royal family, 'and they would rule for the next 500 years.'
Michael Wood describes the importance of the Yellow River, and how every year it flooded and brought death and destruction to this part of China.
We hear a traditional Chinese storyteller tell the story or myth of King Yu and the Yellow River, and how he controlled the flooding and brought wealth to the area.
We hear how he and his helpers, Yellow Dragon and Black Turtle, worked to build a channel to control the river, irrigate farmland, and make the land prosperous.
This was so important that the Chinese built temples to King Yu.
Most people thought this was a myth until very recently when archaeological evidence; a huge bronze bowl with inscriptions, and an old royal palace, were discovered that suggested King Yu may well have existed, just before the start of the Shang dynasty.
This clip is from the BBC series The Story of China. A series of videos exploring the stories, people and landscapes that have helped create China's distinctive character and genius over four thousand years.
Teacher Notes
You could ask pupils to retell the myth of King Yu.
They should consider which parts may be fact, and which parts may be fiction?
You could discuss how has archaeology changed our view of King Yu?
Which is better evidence - the remains of the Palace or the engraved Bronze bowl?
To pull it all together you could discuss how useful these three myths are in helping us understand China at the time of the Shang?
Curriculum Notes
This film is relevant for teaching history at Key Stage 2 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and at Second Level in Scotland.
More from The Story of China
How People Were Created. video
Michael Wood visits a farmer's festival in the plain of the Yellow River to honour the gods FuXi and NuWa. He explains the story or myth of how the first Chinese people were created.
How Humans Got Fire. video
Michael Wood climbs the Hill of Shang and visits a temple to the Gods of Fire and Water. He tells how one of the king's sons, Ebo, stole fire by tricking the gods.
How the Shang Invented Writing. video
Michael Wood describes the discovery of Shang tombs in Anyang, where archaeologists discovered cow and turtle bones with writing on, the first writing known in China.
How the Early Chinese Made Bronzes. video
Michael Wood visits a state of the art science laboratory in Nanjing. He investigates a beautiful bronze bowl, over 2,500 years old.
How We Know About the Shang. video
Michael Wood explains how we know about the Shang dynasty and gives a survey of the evidence that tells us the Shang really existed.
The Rise and Fall of the Shang. video
Michael Wood explores the reasons behind the rise and fall of the Shang dynasty.
