Romance of the Three Kingdoms (vol. 1)

3. The Xia Dynasty (2200-1700 BC)

3.1. Yu the Great [King Yoder]: Following the example of Yao, Shun made Yu co-ruler in the twenty-third year of his reign. Yu was, therefore, actually in power when Shun died; but being anxious to give Shun's son a chance, he made an attempt to retire. However, his great success in restoring the flooded lands and his subsequent services to the State, had long eclipsed the would-be heir-apparent. When the people had to choose between a tried statesman and one who had no other claim to the throne than that based upon his birth, their preference was naturally for the former.

So, after the period of mourning, Yu was elected to the throne. He moved his capital to Anyi, and adopted the name of his former principality, Xia, as the name of the dynasty he now founded. To show his gratitude, he made the sons of Yao and Shun feudal lords over territories called Tang and Yu, respectively.

Yu [King Yoder], as ruler, desired to maintain the closest relations with his people, and caused to be hung at the entrance to his court five instruments--a drum, a gong, a stone instrument, a bell, and a rattle. The drum was to announce the coming of a caller who desired to discourse with him upon any of the virtues which should adorn a monarch. By beating the gong, he who disapproved of the king's conduct could be admitted to audience. If any one had important news, or personal grievances to communicate, he had but to strike the stone instrument, or ring the bell, as the case might be, in order to gain admittance; while the king was always ready to hear any appeal from the judicial decisions of his judges whenever he heard the sound of the rattle. These instruments kept Yu so very busy that, as historians inform us, he was always late at his midday meal.

The discovery of intoxicating spirits has been traced to Yu's time; but Yi Di, the discoverer, was dismissed from the public service by the sovereign, who said in the presence of his ministers: "The day is coming when the liquor will cost someone a kingdom."

As a monument to his greatness, Yu, in the fourth year of his reign, cast nine metal tripods, and engraved descriptions of the Nine Regions on each of them. These emblems of royalty, as the tripods have been regarded, were then placed in the ancestral temple of Yu. As Yu was ninety-three years when he came to the throne, he did not rule long before death put an end to his distinguished eight-year career.

The Xia Dynasty is worthy of note for the fact that after Yu [King Yoder] the throne ceased to be elective and became hereditary. No selfish motive, however, could be attributed to Yu. Gao Yu, to whom he would have gladly resigned the throne, had died. As his own son, Ji, inherited many of his kingly virtues, it was but natural that the people, who had so much to say in the matter, should insist, as they did, upon Ji's inheriting the throne. Ji's reign was one of prosperity and peace.

3.2. Jie and Mei Xi: Passing over some fourteen kings, we come to the days of the notorious Jie, the seventeenth and last king of the house of Xia. Jie was a man of extraordinary strength, but was no statesman. He conquered many tribes who had refused to submit to his authority; but his military achievements made him haughty, willful, and cruel, and he became both extravagant and immoral. He refused to heed the advice of the wise, and spent his time among bad women, of whom Mei Xi was the most notorious.

Mei Xi was beautiful but wicked. She had been given to Jie as ransom by a noble whom the king had humbled. It is commonly believed that she was largely responsible for the downfall of the Xia Dynasty. According to tradition, there was a lake full of liquor in the palace of Jie. At a given signal, three thousand persons jumped into this lake and drank like cattle, for the drunken conduct of such revelers was the principal amusement of the king and his royal concubine. To please her, an underground palace was built at an immense cost. Here Jie enjoyed all kinds of vice by day and by night while the affairs of state were entirely neglected.

Extra taxation had to be resorted to, in order to provide means to meet the heavy expenditure of Jie; but this so alienated the hearts of the people that a rebellion was started by a virtuous noble named Tang. Little resistance was possible, and Jie, after having led a most wanton royal life for fifty-three years, died in exile.