[Chinese] The mythical founder of the Xia Dynasty, called Yu the Great. He is the son of the earth-god Gun. According to legend his father fought to control the great deluge, which had already reached up to Heaven, but was unable to stop it completely. Because of his failure, Gun was either executed or degraded, and his son took over. Da-yu made holes through the mountains, thus producing outlets through which the water could drain away. His next feat was to make the land arable by regulating the course of the waters and connection the nine provinces with each other. This took so much of his strength, however, that he began to walk with a limp. This limping gait became the model for a shamanic dance, performed by Taoist masters, called Yu-bu (the "step of Yu"). According to one tradition, Da-yu used to change himself into a bear during his work. Every day his wife brought him food as soon as he beat his drum. One day, as he was breaking up rocks, two fragments clashed against each other, produ...
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